Sharing is the key to success! This checklist covers the best sharing strategies and tips to maintain momentum on your GoFundMe campaign.
Starting Your Campaign: Planning
So your GoFundMe is live; now what? At this point, you’ve completed signing up and most likely already shared to Facebook. Now it’s time to get strategic with sharing your GoFundMe and organizing your contacts. Taking the time to learn how to share your GoFundMe can make a huge difference on the amount of donations you receive!
Build a Winning Fundraising Team: Think of your closest friends and family members. Now, let’s think of 2-3 people who would be willing to share your campaign for you. This can be through any type of communication (online or offline), as long as they share! Every additional person that shares your GoFundMe increases your sharing network by 100%! This is the perfect way to include your loved ones and raise awareness about your story and goal.
Not sure what to say? See: 9 Message Templates to Send Right Now
Gather and organise your contacts
Dig into your phone and email contacts. Are those same contacts on social media? If so, be sure to add them as followers and friends on your social media accounts. You’ll want to divide your contacts into 2 groups:
- Potential Donors: Are there certain contacts you feel are more likely to donate than others? These should be grouped together as “potential donors” and sent personalised outreaches via text, email, or even a direct message on social media.
- Potential Promoters: These are people who you feel are less likely to contribute due to extenuating circumstances. However, these people can help you promote and share the GoFundMe.
Update your social media accounts
Even the most active social media users should update their accounts from time to time! Now’s the time to update your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even your LinkedIn to share your GoFundMe with your network. Add your link to your each of your profiles, and write a new status/post to share the exciting news. You can even use the “suggested friends” features on these sites as well to add new contacts. See: How to Make the Most of Facebook
Create a soft deadline: GoFundMe campaigns with a sense of urgency often receive more donations. Including a soft deadline or end date in your GoFundMe story will encourage supporters to donate sooner, rather than later!
Not on social media? No problem!
Fundraising without Social media can take a little more planning, but we have seen many organisers find even more success by being so strategic! You'll want to rely on the contacts that you do have, and seek out friends who are on social media to have them help you promote your GoFundMe.
How to Print a Campaign Sign
Printing and posting a campaign sign is one great way to gather support without the use of social media.
You can print a campaign sign by following these steps:
- Sign in to your GoFundMe account and select the correct campaign
- Click “share”
- Click “Print campaign”
Note: If you’re a campaign organiser or a member of a “Teams” campaign, the links on the campaign signs you print will be connected to your GoFundMe account, so any donations made by following that link will count towards your personal total of donations raised from sharing the campaign.
Personal messages to friends and family
The best way to share your GoFundMe with your contacts is to share your GoFundMe link with them in emails, text messages, phone calls, Facebook posts, or private Facebook messages. When sending the link, include a bit about why your fundraiser is so important to you, and even ask them to share on your behalf with their networks, too. Imagine if one of your friends shared, and then one of their friends shared your fundraiser (and so on and so on)! That is how your GoFundMe could become a viral fundraiser, like the ones you see on TV and the internet.
Frequent multi-platform social media posts
Challenge yourself to share daily across multiple platforms. For example, Monday could be a Facebook share, while Tuesday could be a fun Instagram post! This ensures you're not over sharing on one platform. See: How to Share on Other Social Media Sites
Update your supporters
The best way to engage your supporters to build and maintain donation activity is to post frequent updates on your GoFundMe. This allows you to share your progress with your community, keep them interested in your GoFundMe, and encourages them to continue promoting your fundraiser online. A compelling update can include any of the following: a thank you to your supporters, a personal story or quote related to the situation, any recent news, and photos or videos. See: How to Use Updates: The Key to Success
Create urgency with final updates
It is smart to remind people that you need help now. Campaigns don't actually have an end date, so you can continue to raise funds for as long as you'd like. However, you can create a soft deadline by making a countdown within your update posts on social media. Try posting a "final update" at least two days before the end of your GoFundMe.
Thank donors
Don’t forget to thank all of your donors for their support! Showing appreciation and gratitude for your donor’s support is a key part of fundraising.