How to Promote Your Fundraising Efforts
Extra Lifers frequently ask about the best way to promote their streams, events, or offline fundraising activities. This can be a tricky question because everyone has different strengths, skills, and needs when it comes to raising money for the kids. However, we have a few simple guidelines that have been incredibly helpful for the community – hopefully, these can help you, too!
Promote in the Extra Life Discord
It’s always a great idea to go promote your charity efforts where people will be the most supportive. One of the first places you should stop by when looking to promote your fundraising is the Extra Life Discord community. While you’re on Discord, promote your stream or fundraising activity to any of your other friend groups on the platform. You never know who might decide to become your biggest supporter.
Use Hashtags
Hashtags have become the core tools of social media sites like Twitter. It might feel strange to use them, but they definitely get more eyeballs on your work, and that’s always a good thing when it comes to fundraising! Use #ExtraLife to tap into the wider Extra Life community and consider starting your own hashtag that others who support you can use when posting to social media.
Reach Out
No matter who you are, you have a community that supports you. Reach out to friends, family, gaming groups, acquaintances you’re on friendly terms with – all of these can be some of the most valuable resources at your disposal. Think of all of the networks you have access to and then all of the ones just two or three other people are linked into. Getting even a handful of people close to you onboard can dramatically increase the reach of your fundraiser. Talking with them might be a bit awkward, but just remember: It never hurts to ask.
One of the best ways you can get people within your social circle involved with supporting your Extra Life fundraising is by starting a Facebook Fundraiser. As of 2019, Extra Life has been an option for people looking to fundraise on Facebook. Starting one is really easy and it enables your entire circle of connections to easily donate or promote for you. From 2015-2018, Facebook Fundraisers have brought in over $1 billion USD for charities and non-profits, so don’t forget this effective tool! Learn how to set one up through your participant page, here.
Share your Why on the Extra Life Blog
Did you know that you can share a guest post to our blog? That’s right! Visit this link to share your story, promote your upcoming fundraising activation, thank your donors, etc. You can embed social posts and upload photos and then have the link to share on your social channels to friends and family. Check it out here.
Meme Your Way to the Top
We have members of Extra Life who have gone out and shot incredible promotional videos, who create impressive artwork to promote their streams, or who have created attention-grabbing headlines to promote their fundraisers. While we know that not everyone can promote in these ways, there is one thing that everyone on the internet loves: Memes. Make your own promotional memes. Use established memes or create new ones. The meme format is incredibly flexible and something everyone online can be instantly familiar with. Take advantage of that when promoting your fundraising!
Don’t forget to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games!