Fundraise Like A Sub Shop

This image arrived in my inbox on a Friday morning.

They don’t know it, but Firehouse Subs might accidentally be great radio fundraisers. Three takeaways that can benefit your station when it’s time to fundraise.

1. Be personal.

I would never think to eat at Firehouse Subs. Nothing against them – there are just too many other options.

Sure, I get a junk mail flyer occasionally that gets chucked in the trash. But I never walk in the door.

So what makes this offer different? It’s got my name on it.

TAKEAWAY: Put the listener’s name on what you’re doing.

Talk to one person at a time. Read the names of donors on-air. Don’t forget what’s going on in her world – as she’s parenting or stuck in traffic or working late.

It shows you’re paying attention. It makes them feel like a rockstar.

Put their name on it.

2. Make it worthwhile.

Know what wouldn’t get me in the door?
“10% off all sandwiches before 11am!”

Okay? So my $9 sub is now $8? And I have to order lunch at 10:30?

Hey, Wendy’s. You up?

TAKEAWAY: If you do a giveaway during your fundraiser, make it worthwhile.

Remember: she gives because she believes in the mission.
She gives now because she wants Chris Tomlin tickets.

So if the incentive isn’t – well, incentivizing – get rid of it.
Replace it with something more tantalizing.
Or, frankly, abandon it altogether. Don’t lose focus on why she gives to begin with.

Otherwise, you’re just making a big deal about a dollar off your station sandwich.

3. Create deadlines.

This offer was for Friday, May 6th.
If they told me I had the entire month, I probably would have forgotten.

But I only had right now.

Vidare Creative’s Dave Kirby shared with me a brilliant philosophy on deadlines from Brant Hansen. In sum, Brant offered that if deadlines create urgency, then create as many as possible.

TAKEAWAY: Create as many deadlines as you can.

Three songs. Fifteen minutes. Put sixty seconds on the clock (but only if you’re Bill Scott).
And for the love of Chris Tomlin, don’t tell your audience this is “Day 2 of 5.”

Be present in the moment. Create immediate urgency. They only have right now.

If you create fundraisers that are connected personally, offer something worthwhile, and create urgent deadlines, you will be amazed at how much more successful those weeks will be.