Catch the Eye
Don't hide it! Provide it!
So you have this great event you are planning and you are trying to get attention to it!? Why are you hiding it then? I know ink is expensive, but what's the point of keeping it cheap if nobody sees it?!
Fundraisers are aimed at making money for a certain purpose. It is important that you, just like in retail, conduct as much advertising as possible!
I once created a flyer for a pancake breakfast offered by one of my most favorite fast food places to help out a local rescue. They didn't have the money to do a lot of ads in papers and other advertisements, so I used up my entire supply of printer cartridges and created a colorful flyer.
The most important thing was to separate it from the usual junk people stuff under your windshield wipers! So I had to make sure it showed the purpose at the first view of it! The purpose were the animals and the pancakes!
I spend several hours in a Superstore's parking lot placing these fliers under people's windshield wipers. The place was booked and all pancakes sold!
There are several parts to successfully advertising your event:
- Eye-catching fliers, informational material, hand-outs!
Black and white is cheap, but it often hides the information as well as a thousand page regulation of the United States Air Force! Add a little color and some pictures, a banner and whatever else you can do to lighten up the page a little and it will catch attention!
- Get busy!
The greatest flyer is worthless if nobody sees it! So the Superstore doesn't have a board anymore... but they have one in their employee lounge! If this is for animals, find your local pet- and farm-stores and ask them if you can hang it up somewhere. Even their board by the restrooms will do! Hand it out! Give it to friends! Send it to friends!
- Network!
Communication spreads information! Information can save lives! Talk about it! Have your friends talk about it! Use social networking such as Facebook and Twitter for your advantage! Not all those people on there can be bad or you wouldn't have made them your friends!
- Advertise
If you can't afford the paid ads in a paper and your newspaper is not supportive of your cause, use what is out there and free! There are multiple classified websites out there that are viewed by many! One of the most viewed one besides your local classified sites is Craigslist! While animal rescuers often hate it for the pathetic excuses used to 'get rid of' an unwanted animal, it is also a great way to spread the news and get your fundraisers known!
And your informational material doesn't have to be done by a professional. Some of the greatest tools that most people have are hidden within Microsoft Office! I do a lot with Power Point when I create fliers that include pictures and clip art. If I want to change a picture or cut parts of pictures together, I use the sometimes stubborn and a little limited but working MS Paint. If I want to create a brochure or handout, I take advantage of some of the existing options Word has to offer. Leave the expensive programs and tools to those that need them. If you are just doing a few things here and there, your basic computer programs can help you do it!
The most important thing is to become a little creative and create something that presents your information in a interesting and fun way!
And, of course, if you promise the paradise, you have to step up to the plate and offer it! The greatest flyer will not help you if you didn't put any effort into your event!
