Every Monday, I talk about an individual, group, or business doing something neat marketing online. Have an internet marketing idea you’d like me to write about? Let me know!
You know you haven’t been your usual blogging self when you are only posting twice a week (three times if you include a regular guest post at another blog). I have been busy business-wise (more on that this Thursday) which means that all my creative energy has gone into ideas for other people and at the end of the day, I’m reduced to a heap of Peep-eating, reality show watching woman.
My friend Sarah A., as if my blog idea angel, sent me a great email idea this morning for Marketing Monday.
Matt Holt is “Walking for Art,” through-hiking the Appalachian Trail to raise awareness and funds (through trail sponsorships) for New Sense Studios, an art program for at-risk youth in Raleigh, NC that is completely volunteer-run. The Will Walk for Art website is http://walkingforart.wordpress.com/.
Why some people (including my friends Chris and Renée) host their blog on WordPress itself is the additional exposure it gets to the rest of the WordPress community (and there is the benefit of not having to pay for web hosting and a domain name). Perfect for a college age guy collecting donations for a non-profit.
Saul Flores is completing “The Walk of the Immigrants,” the journey of Latin American immigrants to the United States, starting in Quito, Ecuador and ending in Raleigh, NC, to raise awareness of the journey and raise funds for the school of General Emiliano Zapata in Atencingo, Mexico. The Walk of the Immigrants website is http://refiningthelines.com/ .
Both Matt and Saul are using a blog site to raise money for a good cause. Simple enough. But Sarah put it better than I could about what makes this so interesting:
What struck me about both of these projects (other than how awesome the causes are) is that these are young people, my age and younger, who are doing something to make these causes happen. Not only are they raising money, but they are inspiring those individuals from the organizations, letting them know that someone believes in the cause enough to put life on hold for a few months and devote all of their time and their well being to make these dreams become a reality. This isn’t just writing a check, it is actively “doing something about it,” and making a difference.
Matt and Saul are all in the Caldwell Fellows Program, which is an intensive leadership-development scholarship program, developing leadership for social change focused on servant-leadership at NC State University. (http://ncsu.edu/caldwell/) Sarah is aware of this because she was also a Caldwell Fellow before heading to grad school.
I’m always impressed with what people are able to learn (website development, online fundraising, promotion, etc.) when they are truly motivated to do it. And here’s hoping this post helps raise money for their causes!