4. Send donation request letters to potential donors.

I know it is tempting to brush off direct mail as a “thing of the past”; however, sending letters can be a huge asset in your fundraising efforts.

As receiving traditional mail becomes less and less common, your chances of effectively reaching your donors via traditional mail actually increases.

To explain, consider what your average mail delivery includes. You probably receive some coupons, lots of junk mail, and maybe a bill or two (if you haven’t switched to online billing).

Now, imagine that within that packet you receive a thoughtful and well-written letter asking for a donation to a worthy cause. It is likely to stand out and pique your interest, right?

That said, if your letters are going to be effective, they need to be cohesive, direct, and well-crafted. You can put them over the top by sharing campaign-related pictures or maybe even a testimonial (when relevant).

To get you started on your fundraising letter, make sure you’re following these best practices:

• Use the donor’s preferred name — No one is going to respond well to being called the wrong name or a misspelling. A mistake in the greeting sets a negative tone for the rest of the letter.
• Focus on the donor — Don’t brag about yourself or your cause, instead highlight how the donor can get involved and help drive your mission. Your letter should be donor-centric.
• Sign the letter — While you can and should type up the letter, you should always close with a hand-written signature. It gives the letter a personal and genuine touch.
• Give other ways to get involved — Of course, the primary goal of your fundraising letter is to ask for donations; however, you should always offer one or two additional engagement opportunities (sharing your campaign, volunteering, peer-to-peer fundraising, etc.) in case someone wants to help but isn’t able to or interested in donating.

Those tips should get you started, but for a more complete rundown of fundraising letters and free templates, check out our resource, Fundraising Letters: 7 Free Examples to Successfully Ask for Donations.

To summarize: When written well, a fundraising letter can be the personal touch you need to convert prospects into donors.

As you can see, there are many options for you if you want to broaden your crowdfunding campaign promotion beyond email and social media. In fact, the most effective campaigns employ a combination of both marketing approaches.

So go ahead! Test out these strategies today!

If you want to continue to learn about crowdfunding promotion and related fundraising strategies, check out this list of additional resources:

1. Peer-to-Peer Fundraising: A Nonprofit’s Guide — You can activate the “team fundraising” option for your crowdfunding campaign and be peer-to-peer fundraising in no time. So brush up on all you’ll need to know about the process.
2. Crowdfunding 101: Raising Money and Awareness Online — If you’re looking for even more crowdfunding-related advice, look no further than our comprehensive crowdfunding guide.
3. 3 Crowdfunding Social Media Templates (To Raise More Money!) — Since you just finished reading an article all about offline promotional strategies, head on over to one of other resources that’ll help you get started with online marketing! Specifically, this resource will guide you through asking for donations on social media.

Source: https://blog.fundly.com/offline-crowdfunding-campaign-promotion/