Your Campaign Is An Amazing Story: Here’s How To Tell It

Get inspired!

Have you ever donated to a cause within minutes of reading the page? What was the first thing that caught your eye? Was it a bold title, a heart-tugging tagline, or did the campaign creator remind you of someone in your own life? Ask yourself: which campaigns draw me in, and why?

Then, define these 3 things in your own campaign:

1. How do I want my audience to feel while reading my page?
2. Why should someone want to donate to my campaign?
3. What main points do I want to highlight for my reader?

The First Thing People Read…

The title of your campaign is the first thing donors will read. You want to create a title that highlights the main challenge of your campaign and who the campaign is benefiting. E.g: Help Bring Amit Ramnarain Home

Your campaign’s title should draw in donors by gripping their attention, but also as short and clear as possible.

Creating headings in your campaign story can be just as important as your title. Break up your story with 3–4 bold headings before each paragraph.This will allow readers to skim your page and still take away all of the main points you need to get across.
E.g: Help us SAVE Disempowered Youth in Atlanta and Beyond

1. Introduction: Who are the main characters
2. Appeal to donors: Why should someone donate to your campaign now? What is your cause?
3. Breakdown of funds: How will a contribution help your cause, what is your goal with this fundraiser?
4. Can we learn more: Do you have any resources for donors to learn more about your cause? Where and how will you be providing updates as your campaign grows?

Nice To Meet Your Campaign

Imagine you are meeting someone new for the first time, you would never jump into the conversation without introducing yourself first. Treat the interaction between donors and your page the same way. Every reader is getting to know you and the cause that you are fundraising for, so give the most important information at the start.

Who are you and how do you relate to your cause? Are you raising funds on behalf of a beneficiary, for an organization, or for a business you’re starting? Establishing the relationship between yourself and the reason you are creating your campaign.

The Breakdown

You’ve introduced yourself to your donors, now to answer the next set of pressing questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how. This last question of ‘how” is most important. If you are raising funds to a local homeless shelter, how does the shelter plan to use the donation? If you are raising funds for a friend who was recently diagnosed with cancer, will the donations be used to cover medical bills, assistance in daily living expenses? Clearly let donors know how donations will be used.

Answer questions like these:

1. Who is benefiting from the fund?
2. What kind of impact would a donation create?
3. What inspired you to start your campaign
4. Why should readers donate?
5. How the donations will aid you or others.

Creating transparency for potential donors is a key element to a good campaign. We want readers to become part of your story and this can only be achieved through honest, clear details. E.g.: Hmzah’s Legacy

Creating an Emotional Appeal

The main point you want to get across is why donors should care about your campaign. Get them invested in your story through impactful images and thoughtful writing. You want to be able to establish a human connection to your reader. Although it is difficult to be vulnerable to an unknown audience, doing so will strengthen that connection.

Use descriptive and moving wording, Italicize, bold, and underline to emphasize the most important points in your campaign. Utilizing good quality pictures and short videos will also help your campaign become more personal. Putting a face to a cause creates a strong connection to your audience. E.g: Building a Water Well in Mali in Honor of Saeed

Remember to always speak from the heart to clearly let donors know why your campaign is worth donating to.

Fill in the details

Now that you’ve got the main points across, it’s time to fill in the gaps. Connect all the main elements with the details that will draw in donors. What is unique about this campaign?What other events led up to you creating this fundraiser? At this point, you will begin creating a timeline for your readers to follow. If your campaign was put together in quick response to a tragedy or emergency, establish the sense of urgency needed. Let the reader be a part of this story by bringing them in from the beginning.

Your Checklist

Now that you’ve successfully written a story for your campaign, do a quick read-through of your work. If you came across this campaign, would you feel compelled to donate? Make sure the story flows. Is it engaging enough to keep the reader’s interest throughout, are there any details you can expand on? Send it over to trusted friends or family members for feedback.

Here is a checklist you can use to make sure you’ve written the best campaign story you can:

• First Impressions: Make sure your title draw in readers
• Introductions: Clearly established the main characters in your story at the beginning
• The Headlines: Break up paragraphs with bold headlines so readers can skim through and find the main points.
• Breakdown of Funds: Clearly let donors know your fundraising goals, why funds are being raised, and how they will be used.
• Create An Emotional Appeal: Be thoughtful and honest in your storytelling
• Emphasize the details: Use bullet points, bold, underline, italicize the points you want to stand out
• Put a face to it: Add impactful pictures and videos to connect with your reader
• Feedback: Share with family and friends. Make sure your story flows and motivates readers to donate.

Congratulations, You’ve now written a compelling, thorough, and concise story for your campaign! You’re ready to start sharing and achieving your crowdfunding goals. In fact the best time is now! Start your campaign today by clicking here.

GivingTuesday 2021 is right around the corner and is a great way to jumpstart your campaign. Get in touch with one of our Business Development Specialists to get started here.

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