See What Other Bloggers Are Saying About the 3-Day!

This year, we’re pleased to have several bloggers involved with the Susan G. Komen 3-Day® who are sharing their adventures on their own blog sites. Follow the links below to see what these wonderful walkers are saying about their Komen 3-Day experience!

Meghan C. (Atlanta 3-Day) – “My Breast Exam at 29 and Walking 60 Milessusan g. komen 3-day breast cancer walk blog jamonkey meagan cooper blogger walker 60 miles

Jamie R. (Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day) – “Susan G. Komen 3-Day: Do Something Hugesusan g. komen 3-day breast cancer 60 miles walk blog jamie roubinek reality blogger walker

Trina O. (Philadelphia 3-Day) – “3 Days. 60 Miles. Why I am Doing it Again!susan g. komen 3-day breast cancer 60 miles walk blog trina o'boyle obo y! organic blogger walker

Jessica C. (Philadelphia 3-Day) – “10 Reasons to Sign Up for the Susan G. Komen 3-Daysusan g. komen 3-day breast cancer 60 miles walk blog jessica cohen eat sleep be blogger walker and “What to Pack for the Susan G. Komen 3-Daysusan g. komen 3-day breast cancer 60 miles walk blog jessica cohen eat sleep be blogger walker

Krystyn (Atlanta 3-Day) – “I’m Doing Something Huge… Will You Support Me?”

ReallyAreYouSerious

Crystal – “Hey Cancer, You Lose!susan g. komen 3-day breast cancer 60 miles walk blog crystal and co blogger walker

Hey, speaking of packing, you can join the online conversation about this important aspect of your 3-Day preparations on our Packing Tweet Chat, taking place tomorrow, July 16, 5:15 p.m. PDT. Find out more about joining the chat here.3DAY_2015_SocialMedia_FacebookMeetUps_v2a

Have you spotted stories about the 3-Day elsewhere on the web? Be sure to share them with us on our Facebook page!

Find Last-Minute Fundraising Success With These 8 Tips

For our Susan G. Komen 3-Day® walkers who are headed to Michigan, the event is less than a month away, and for everyone else, your Komen 3-Day event isn’t far behind. There is so much to be excited about, but some 3-Day® walkers may also find themselves stressing out as they inch toward Day 1 and still have not reached their fundraising minimums. The anxiety of that ticking clock doesn’t have to signal doom though, even if your event is just a few weeks away. See below for some time-tested tips that will push your last-minute fundraising through to your goal.

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Set a Deadline – This is a great little fundraising trick to use all the time, but especially when you’re crunched for time. The pressure of a deadline is a powerful motivator for just about everyone, including your donors. The deadline can be whatever you choose, though you should make sure your donors get their online donations in no later than the Monday before you walk (two weeks prior to that if they’re mailing their donation in) . Reach out to all your potentials—by email, Facebook, face-to-face, whatever it takes!—to share the deadline and encourage them not to wait any longer.

Follow-Up – Remember back to the beginning of the year, when you sent fundraising emails out right after you initially registered for the 3-Day? And remember all those people who replied and said, “I’ll definitely donate, but I’m going to wait until later.” And then remember how that was the last you heard from those folks? Now is time to follow up with these wonderful “procras-donators” and very sweetly remind them that later is now. Send a personal text or email and tell them how much their donation will mean to you and to the cause.

Divide Up the Balance – Take the amount that you have left to raise and divide it by the number of days until your event. That’s how much you have to raise (at least) each day in order to reach your goal. Share this number with your donors and ask them to donate in that amount. Sometimes the unusual dollar amount (“I need $41.07 every for the next 4 weeks!”) is just catchy enough to inspire someone to give.

Increase Your Facebook Activity– Perhaps you’ve already tossed up some posts on Facebook about your participation in the 3-Day, and maybe even made some donation requests. As you approach the final countdown to your event (starting one month out or so, I’d say), update your status on a daily basis, let people know exactly how much left you have to raise, and divide up the balance as mentioned above. Did you know that posts with photos are more likely to be shown in your friends’ Facebook feeds? But sure to include a shot of your lovely face with your posts!

Delegate – Think of five of your most spirted, ambitious, won’t-take-no-for-an-answer friends or family members, and ask them to help you. Assign of them the task of procuring five (or whatever number you choose) donations each, or set some dollar amount for each of them to aim for. By delegating in this way, you’ll be able to reach potential donors (your friends’ friends and coworkers) who aren’t even in your circle.

Recycle for Cash – If you live in an area that has recycling programs that will give you cash for your empty bottles and cans, this can be a great way to drum up a few hundred bucks. Distribute trash bags to your neighbors, your office, your gym—any place that generates a lot of recyclable trash—and tell them you’ll return in a week to collect whatever they’ve saved up. Then take it to the recycling center and walk away with some green. (Long time 3-Dayer Jim has been extremely successful with recycling for donations. See his story here.)

Go Where the People Are – It’s summertime and people are out and about everywhere—the beach, parks, outdoor concerts and movie nights, parades. Throw on your 3-Day t-shirt or other pink ribbon gear, grab some friends or your kids, give everyone a bucket, and go where the crowds are. The more elaborate and eye-catching your efforts look (how fun would it be to bling up some pink bras and send your crew out in those?), the more you’ll be likely to inspire donations from complete strangers.

Shorten Up the Ask With a Text – It may sound crazy, but for some people, an email or Facebook message just isn’t short or fast enough. For these donors, craft a brief, catchy text message and send it their way via text message. Add a picture (a selfie sporting your best “pretty please” face, perhaps?) and don’t forget to include your personal URL. One simple tap on their smartphones, and your donors will be taken to the 3-Day mobile site where they can donate quickly and easily, no matter where they are.

 

Join us for a 3-Day Tweet Chat All About Packing on 7/16!

Curious to know the must-haves for your 3-Day adventure, and what can stay home? How do you stay within that 35-pound bag limit? Find out the answers to these and other pressing packing questions at our Packing Tweet Chat next Thursday, July 16 at 5:15 p.m. PDT (that’s 7:15 p.m. PDT for CT, and 8:15 p.m. for EDT).

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Never done a Tweet Chat before? That’s okay! Some people call them Twitter Parties or Twitter Meet-Ups, but whatever the name, it works like this:

  1. Sign on to Twitter at 5:15 p.m. PDT (or a few minutes before).
  2. Make sure you’re following @The3Day on Twitter.
  3. On Twitter, search for #The3Day, which is the official hashtag we will use for this Tweet Chat.
  4. You can also use the website TweetChat.com. Sign in, enter the hashtag #The3Day, and you’ll be able to watch and tweet in real-time with us.
  5. We’ll ask some questions to get things started, and we will also share tips and tricks from 3-Day veterans and coaches. This will be a great way to meet your fellow 3-Day participants, ask your questions, and motivate yourself to get ready for your 3-Day adventure. Our 3-Day Social Media Team, Alyssa and Erin, can’t wait to tweet with you!

Not on Twitter yet? Here are a few quick tips to get you started:

  • It’s free and easy to join at Twitter.com.
  • Go to Twitter.com/The3Day and click “Follow” to make sure our messages show up in your feed.
  • A hashtag is a way to “file” tweets and collect them under a certain topic, so you’ll be able to see everything everyone is tweeting under this hashtag. Just search for #the3day in Twitter and you’ll be able to see everyone’s messages about the 3-Day, not just ours.
  • When writing your own messages, keep in mind that tweets can only be 140 characters at a time, so it’s best to keep things short n’ sweet.

See you on the 16th!