Why do I need crowdfunding

Apply to be on icause's Blog for Guest Blogging

• We believe our icause community is truly inspiring, in fact, we know that it is! That's why we would love to share your stories with the world.

• If you have a special cause or a fundraising story that you would like to share, send us an email and we'll feature you as a guest on our blog.

Guest blogging isn't just great for you, it's great for the community too:

1. For you: Share your story, get more support, boost your fundraising

2. For others: Inspire change, motivation to take the first step, make a difference

If you have a story or some wisdom to share, but you're not sure how to share it, follow our tips to become a guest blogging guru.

Choose your topic

Obviously, your topic is probably your cause or your fundraising campaign. But while it's tempting to tell your audience everything in one go, it's better to choose one interesting element and tell us all about that. You can always write more blogs to cover everything else!

By choosing a specific topic to focus on, you'll be able to delve deeper into the subject and connect more with your readers.

Some examples of topics you could write about are:

1. How you became involved in your cause

2. The process of filming a video for your campaign

3. How the funds from your campaign helped the cause

4. What was the one 'game-changer' that made your campaign successful

5. A profile of an inspiring person connected to your cause

Write an outline

You might remember this gem from your high school English teacher - make an outline of your piece before you start writing.

Having an outline will make sure your blog is clear and concise so that your readers understand your most important points.

To write your outline, you first need to decide if your blog is going to be a story, a how-to-guide or something else altogether.

Once you know the format, you'll know how to write your outline. For a story, your outline needs to include an intro, beginning, middle, end and a 'lesson learned' or the moral of your story. If your blog is a how-to-guide, your outline could include a numbered step-by-step guide or dot points of the key steps to achieve success.

Speak from the heart

Fundraising is a topic that brings out a lot of passion, so don't be afraid to share yours. Try not to dwell too much on your writing style, instead write in a style that feels authentic and reflects the way you would talk about your topic to friends and family.

To make sure your blog is easy to read, stick to the outline you have created, and make sure you only talk about one point per paragraph!

Once you've got everything onto the page, make sure you proofread and spell-check your blog. As well as your computer's spell-check tool, try a tool like Grammarly, which will also suggest if your sentences are too long or if your grammar is missing the mark.

The final step is to read your blog out loud. This is a great way to identify anything your brain might have skipped while reading in your head, plus it will help you identify if your information is flowing in the way you intended.

Select your images

Including images in your blog will help to connect with your readers and give them visual insight into your topic.

As well as images about the information in the blog, it can be a nice touch to include an author's photo of yourself, so people know who is talking to them.

Send it to us!

Send your blog to info@icause.com.au with the subject line GUEST BLOG: Your blog name. You can either attach your blog as a document or send us a link to a Google doc, just be sure to set your permissions so we can open the file.

1. And don't forget to attach all your images separately, rather than embedded in the document, so we can include them in all their high-resulution glory.

2. Once we've received and read your blog, we'll be in touch to let you know when it will go live, so you can share it with your friends and family.

3. A quote from a supporter.

4. A video or photo of a supporter.

5. An update on funds raised so far and how close you are to your goal.

6. A thank you for the number of shares or likes your campaign has had to date.

7. Any challenges or setbacks you're facing.

Every time you post an update on your campaign page, don't forget to share the link on social media, SMS and email to get your campaign all the attention it deserves!

Take it offline

Even though crowdfunding gets its superpower online, don't ignore your offline community. There are a number of effective ways to get more attention for your campaign offline. You could consider:

1. Talking to people in your workplace.

2. Leaving leaflets in local businesses.

3. Advertising at events.

4. Using print advertising.

5. Letterbox drops

6. News articles or television interviews

7. Including a postal address so supporters can mail donations if they prefer.

Be the heart of your causes community

Get social

The most successful crowdfunding campaigns take their supporters on a journey. Social media is the perfect place to do this – share your campaign and updates on all your social platforms and encourage your supporters to do the same. Make sure you like and comment every time a supporter posts about your campaign and create a unique hashtag so you can easily search for posts about your cause.

Consider an event

Fundraising events are a great way to motivate your community of supporters and build meaningful, face-to-face connections. If it's appropriate for your fundraiser, consider planning an event (our Event Manager will make it easy!)

Write a blog

Harness the power of storytelling and link your campaign to a blog. This gives you the opportunity to really take your supporters inside your journey and build a community of people that care as deeply as you do

Become a PR whiz

Let's face it, the world can be a bit gloomy, but feel-good stories about successful crowdfunding can break up the news cycle and give people something to smile about. Follow our tips to get your fundraiser in the news:

1. Write a press release that includes:

   1. a summary of your campaign

   2. a link to your icause page

   3. your contact details

   4. a compelling hook so that journalists can't resist

2. Find newspaper and television journalists to send it to by searching for similar stories and contacting the journalists that covered them. Alternatively, find the submission details on news outlets' websites (but this can make your chances of getting covered a bit lower).

3. Consider using a press release distribution service to get your story picked up. These are paid services and fees vary, so make sure you do your research.

Don't forget – if you've pitched yourself to the media, you need to be prepared for the interviews that follow. If you're fundraising for a person or organisation, make sure you have their permission first as journalists will probably want to talk to them too.

Show your gratitude

This is so important for so many reasons, most of all because it captures the essence of crowdfunding – a community of people coming together to help someone in need. Making your supporters feel appreciated will not only create good vibes but might inspire them to donate again. At the end of your campaign, share photos and videos to show how they've helped and the real, life-changing difference that crowdfunding can make.