There's no doubt the Internet has had a great impact in all of our lives. We can save precious time by getting online to send message and important documents, buy nearly anything, contact loved ones, learn a great deal on any given subject and many many other important and not so important things. The possibilities and opportunities seem to go on forever when it comes to the internet.
Those endless possibilities are the same for charity with online giving. Now, because of the internet, people have the option to donate to their favorite 501(c)(3) when ever they are connected online. This is a huge thing for charities and the online giving trend has been growing more and more each year, and quite rapidly. This allows charities to connect to thousand and even millions of donors who otherwise might not have taken the time to fill out a check and drive to the post office. Now charitable individuals can just visit the website of their favorite charity or cause and donate directly to them with a few clicks of a button.
One organization that has recognized the power of the internet as well as the power of peer-to-peer networking, is uPlej.com...pronounced, . With uPlej, users pay only $4.79 per month with $4.00 from that $4.79 going directly to charity each month. Of the left-over .79 cents, .39 cents goes to uPlej for system development, maintenance, web hosting, etc... And then .40 cents is a processing fee assessed by credit card companies and is not retained by uPlej.
uPlej works on the premise that once you join, you spread the word to friends and family by asking them to join your network, not by asking for donations. The $4.00 that is donated to charity each month is broken up like this...taken from their website...
$4.00 goes to charity:
$1.00 is donated to the charity you chose to support
$1.00 is donated to the charity of the friend who asked you to join their network.
$1.00 is donated to the charity of your friend's friend.
$1.00 is donated to the charity of your friend's friend's friend.
With this simple system this gives each one of their users the potential to raise thousands of dollars a month for their favorite charity by just getting 4 people to join their network, and then having those 4 people get 4 to join and then those people get 4 and so on until 85 people are in the users network. With 85 people this would generate $1,020 per month that would go directly to charity. All of this for paying only $4.79 per month.
That's only one organization that is utilizing the internet for online giving to help others in the world. With organizations continuing to create new tools online that benefit charities and that allow even the most novice internet user to easily donate to their favorite cause, the future of online giving certainly looks positive and it seems quite clear that the amount of people that donate to charity over the internet will continue to rise for years to come.
The success of an Online Business depends on the traffic the website is able to generate. Getting the site noticed by the Search Engines or getting reciprocal links and one-way links are no easy tasks for the Newbie. This is in fact one of the most frustrating periods for the new online entrepreneur.
To solve this problem you have to adopt certain strategies that can bring traffic to your website. The best way to get about is to plan out an offline promotion strategy right from the beginning. Offline Promotion can bring you substantial traffic and help you keep your morale up till you start generating regular traffic from the Search Engines and other online promotion strategies.
Word of mouth:
Word of mouth is considered to be one of the best forms of advertising your business, products and services. Pass the word around about your Online Business to your friends, acquaintances. Unique and quality products and services will soon be taken note of, appreciated and promoted by word of mouth.
Jeff Bezos the founder of Amazon.com places great importance to this mode of offline promotion. He says "If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful." He should know!
Business Cards:
Most entrepreneurs who are new to business do not realize the importance and effectiveness of a business card. A business card immediately projects your business image and credibility. Seize the opportunity and exchange cards with friends and acquaintances at parties, seminars, conferences, trade fairs, clubs and other functions. They can be your future customers or they could recommend your business to their friends.
Stationery:
Put your URL on all printed material that goes out of your office such as envelopes, faxes, invoices, labels and letterheads. You could even print special offers on envelopes that you send out. They all add up to a huge number and collectively can promote your business offline.
Flyers:
Distributing Flyers is an inexpensive method of promoting your Online Business. These are cheap to produce and in fact can be produced by you in the computer. Provide all the details of your business as briefly as possible and especially your URL. You can leave them at libraries, community centers, stores and other places where people gather. These can also be distributed door to door.
Brochures:
Brochures are well known promotional tools. A well designed attractive brochure can capture the heart of many a potential customer. The URL should be displayed prominently. This can be handed out to potential customers and also placed in clubs, bars, supermarkets and libraries.
Automobiles:
Placing bumper stickers or magnetic signs on your vehicles is an inexpensive way of promoting your online business, Offline. Prominently displaying your URL and phone number to be noticed and remembered by thousands of people everyday is the secret of
Success.
Newspapers and Magazines:
Advertising in Newspapers and Magazines are a great way of promoting your business. It could be costly for some of the new entrepreneurs, but you could start off by placing small classified Ads. in the local newspapers. You could move on to the more popular newspapers once you have established your business.
Radio:
An effective but expensive way of promoting your business is to advertise over the radio. The advantage is that your message will reach millions of people nation wide. The disadvantage is that most new entrepreneurs will find this mode of promotion beyond their means.
Television:
Advertising on the TV. is one of the most expensive ways of promoting your business. There are certain local channels that are not very costly. The advantage of TV advertisements is that you can project a powerful image and your potential customers would get the impression straightaway that yours is a successful business.
Conclusion:
The success of these Offline promotion strategies depends on how well you plan and implement them. These Offline strategies should be put in place the very moment your business goes Online so that they will collectively generate substantial traffic that will keep you happy till your Online promotion methods start working and thereafter too.
Both Charitable01 & Kanaga Siva are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Charitable01 has sinced written about articles on various topics from The Internet, Food And Drink. Jon Klemin specializes in and is a proud supporter of Also visit COMPOSEDARTICLES to. Charitable01's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.
Kanaga Siva has sinced written about articles on various topics from Site Promotion, Home Based Business and Small Business. Copyright ? 2007 Kanaga Siva Kanaga Siva is an Experienced Author and Marketer. Welcome to his Website and. Kanaga Siva's top article generates over 60500 views. to your Favourites.