Question

Topic: Strategy

How To Write A Proposal For A Non Profit Website?

Posted by Anonymous on 10/1/2004 at 4:32 PM ET 250 Points
I am a student. I also run a website which is pretty pretty
succesful in my nation. I am from India by the way. the website is mainly forum based and there are other elements as well.

The website has been completely designed, maintained and developed by me with help from a free forum software from the internet.

The website has been featured in several national dailies and magazines.

The site is about bikes and is located at https://www.xBhp.com

In fact i get so much traffic that i was ousted by my previous host, but in a rather professional way :)

Now the question is I want to approach the big companies in my nation with a proposal for them to sponsor the website. The
website also has an offline role in which we hold meetings. But being an Indian and living in India i know that many of the companies' heads do not give a damn to what the youth of the country is trying to do. I fear that this effort of mine will go in vain, the long hours i have put, the studies of mine that has suffered, and primarily the interest of mine in biking, which is why the site is there in the first place, would all go in waste.

I want sincere advise in how should i approach these big
companies with disposable incomes for advertising.I dont want my creation and my hobby to die a premature death.

Need advise.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by telemoxie on 10/2/2004 at 11:43 AM Member
    I'm curious - you have a forum section of your web site - have you asked this same question of your loyal readers? You could ask them - what kinds of products do they buy? Which vendor would they suggest that you approach? Can they email you with any specific contact info?

    Also, you might get a feel as to the level of commercialism which they would be comfortable with. For example, it always seemed to me magazines wrote articles about companies who placed large full page color ads. Are you willing to give some additional exposure to those who support your site? If so, will this erode some of the trust you currently have with your current visitors? Could you somehow "draw a line" between the paid and commercial portion of the site, and the free and open forum?

    If you have many folks suggesting that you contact a specific vendor, and you can then say you are contacting a vendor at the request of a large number of their customers and prospects, you might get their attention.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 10/2/2004 at 5:44 PM Member
    The very first step in preparing your proposal is to clearly articulate your positioning and the value you bring to the advertiser/sponsor.

    What are the needs of the potential sponsors? What are their biggest problems, and how does sponsoring your site help them address those problems? Remember, they have other ways to spend that money that may be more comfortable and familiar to them, so you'll have to present a compelling argument to get them to consider this new approach.

    If you can step in their shoes and look at your proposal from their perspective, you'll have a much better chance at developing a proposal that they'll find attractive. And if you can be specific to each prospective sponsor, that's even better. It will mean more work for you, but it will also up your success rate.

    And don't forget to include all the wonderful things you will do with the money you raise, and show how they'll get a big return on their investment. They will not want to think that all the money will go straight into your pocket, to repay yourself for what you've already done.

    Hope this helps. Let us know how you end up with this.
  • Posted by SRyan ;] on 10/6/2004 at 2:00 AM Member
    Sandeep,

    You are NOT really a not-for-profit site.

    You are a hobbyist site that's about to generate profits.

    Think of it in THOSE terms, and you might do a better job of turning your traffic into advertising revenue. No "sponsor" has disposable income for you. However, they do have piles of money to spend when someone can deliver a focused target market to them!

    - Shelley
  • Posted by sammykarij on 10/6/2004 at 5:31 AM Member
    Sundeep,
    As someone has said this is a business. That is why you want sponsors. It has been stated that companies are out for value to their business.

    What does this translate to ? For you to succeed in in this endevour you should start to think about your potential clients not you. Think of what are their needs in terms of online business. Think of the problems they may be facing and then and only then should you think about what you are offering.

    If you speak about their needs and how your site will meet them, if you understand their problem clearly and have your site provide the solution then you will succeed.

    Your potential clients will be thinking about themselves not you. So think like they do and you will succeed.

    Sammykarij
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