Guide · 5 min read
How to promote a charity walk
A six-week plan for promoting a charity walk in your area, with what to post each week, who to ask and how to turn sign-ups into walkers who turn up.
Promotion for a local walk is not advertising. It is asking, clearly and repeatedly, in the places where local people already look. A glow walk has one advantage over most events: it looks good. Use that.
Before you start
Get three things ready:
- One sentence. “A 5 km glow walk along the seafront at sunset on [date], raising money for [specific thing].”
- One image. If you have a photo from a previous year, use it. If not, a simple graphic with the date in large type.
- One link that goes straight to sign-up.
Every message for the next six weeks contains all three.
Week by week
Six weeks out: the warm launch. Tell the people closest to the cause first: supporters, staff, families, last year’s walkers. Ask each of them to bring one person.
Five weeks: local reach. Send a short note to local newspapers, community radio, parish and school newsletters and neighbourhood groups. Put up posters. Ask shops on the route to display one.
Four weeks: teams. Write to workplaces, sports clubs, faith groups and schools inviting them to enter a team. Offer a small prize for the largest team and the brightest team.
Three weeks: a story. Share one person’s reason for walking, in their words, with their permission. This is the post that gets passed on.
Two weeks: practical details. Where to park, what to wear, how long it takes. Practical information removes the reasons people give for not coming.
One week: last call. A countdown, the weather outlook, a reminder that sign-ups close. Message registered walkers asking them to share once more.
What to post
- The route at dusk, photographed on your test walk.
- A box of lights arriving.
- A marshal explaining why they volunteer.
- The total raised so far, with what it pays for.
- A short clip of someone trying on their glow kit.
Show preparation, not just announcements. People join things that look as if they are really happening.
Ask groups, not individuals
One person deciding alone often decides not to. Six colleagues who have said yes to each other all turn up. Give teams something to do together: a name, a colour, a shared target.
Turn sign-ups into walkers
Some people who register do not come. Reduce that with:
- A small entry fee.
- A message a week before and another the day before.
- A reason to come early, such as face painting or a group photo.
On the night and after
Give your photographer a list: the start, the lights-on moment, the memory point, the finish, the crew. Post three good pictures the same night and send the best one to the local press with the total by the next morning. Then save everything. Those photographs are next year’s promotion.
For the order of everything else, see the planning timeline.