Whether you are planning to raise money online for a charitable cause, medical emergency or a business startup, there are certain best practices which you can incorporate to ensure successful fundraising. It might sound easy at first but online fundraising can be a painful undertaking when approached in the wrong way. It requires not just passion but a good grasp of the factors needed for successful fundraising via the internet.
To succeed in raise money online, it is important to get a good grasp of the basics first. For example, start by telling your story. This is by far the most important part as your story will determine your degree of success when you raise money online. The more compelling the story, the higher the chances that you will win hearts that are sympathetic to your cause. Vividly describe the cause that you are fundraising for and why it is important to you. It is also important to clearly describe the impact which each donation will make in your story. Do not make it too long. Most donors would like to get a clearer picture of your cause quickly before making a donation.
The next important thing to do is set a clear fundraising goal and prepare a budget estimate and breakdown illustrating why you have chosen the particular fundraising goal. Do not turn your fundraising goal into a moving target. It is important to put forward a fixed and predetermined budget that will help you fund your initiative. If the budget is inadequate, you can create a new fundraising campaign. It is important to issue constant updates through blog posts or newsletters on the status of your fundraising efforts. You can raise your new fundraising goal once you have attained the previous goal.
Once your fundraising project has been published, it is important to link it to various social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and begin an active marketing process to increase its visibility. You can post daily updates about your fundraising efforts with relevant hashtags to attract the right donors who can actually help you push your initiative to the next level. 
Thanking your donors after every contribution is also a great best practice when you raise money online. Many online fundraising platforms will send automated thank you messages when a donation is made but where permissible, it is advisable to send personalized messages to your donors informing them of how much the donation means to you. This may sometimes result in repeat donations.
A final tip is to blog about your fundraising initiative to increase its profile. Post regular updates on your blog about your initiative and the progress of your fundraising effort. Regular blog updates also inspire trust amongst donors in your initiative. Additional tips which you can incorporate when you raise money online include fundraising page optimization if the platform allows, and sharing your fundraising page with friends and families. It is also important to explore multiple portals when you raise money online.