❖ Heads up! This article is intended for agency managers.
You've set up your agency, created Needs, and started sharing with your community. Hopefully, you've already started receiving volunteer responses to your posted Needs. But what if you're an agency who's newly established on a volunteer site? Maybe you don't have a built up volunteer base. Regardless of where you stand—newly established or already cemented in the community—you can use these tips to create your own buzzworthy volunteer Needs! 
1. Think like a marketer.
- When creating titles for your Needs, be sure to avoid anything that's vague or generic—e.g., "Volunteers Needed" or "Help Wanted".
- Think of fun and exciting titles that are attention grabbing and specific. Here are some real-word examples that other sites have used:
- Volunteer Crisis Counselors Needed - Help Make a Difference in Someone's Life!
- Tutors Needed for English Literacy and Math Students! It Feels Good to Give Back!
- Our Residents Need You!
- Be a part of something BIG! Seamster Park Playground Community Build
- Have fun with it! Want to include a pun? Go for it! For example, if you're looking for volunteers to stuff envelopes for an upcoming campaign, you could say:
- Help Make This Year's Campaign Be the "Stuff" of Legend!
- Know your audience. This is also crucial when attempting to appeal to your audience.
2. Appeal to your volunteers.
- Knowing your audience and understanding their interests can help direct your creative approach to posting exciting and buzzworthy Needs.
- The description field of your Need postings is where you want to appeal to your volunteers' interests:
- Explain how the volunteers' contributions make a difference in the community.
- Show them the big picture in the description.
- Appeal to their interests, causes, skills, etc.
- Share how their work helps reach and crush goals.
- Don't forget to share the perks!
- Are you going to offer them swag?—e.g., t-shirts, hats, bags, keychains, etc.
- Whatever the "swag" or "merch" is, be sure to let volunteers know what they'll be getting when they sign up.
- Do you offer snacks, coffee, or other treats for volunteers on duty?
- Be sure to highlight that in your Need descriptions!
- Does the site your agency is registered with have benchmarks in place for volunteer achievements?
- Gamification can help encourage volunteers to sign up again and again!
- Are you going to offer them swag?—e.g., t-shirts, hats, bags, keychains, etc.
- Be sure to keep your Need postings currents! Volunteers are more comfortable signing up for Needs that have specific dates and times. Use Recurring Shifts, Happens On, and Custom Shifts durations to be more specific!
- Update your Needs periodically to push them back to the top of the list for exposure.
ⓘ So you know: By default, Needs appear with the most recently added or updated at the top.
- Needs with Is Ongoing or Runs Until duration types won't appear at the top as you continue to add more and more Needs.
3. Share, Share, and Share some more!
- Share your volunteer Needs with the community.
- You can copy and paste share links to emails, newsletters, social media posts, etc.!
- Create QR codes with links to your agency profile, events, or Needs to share on flyers, business cards, etc.
- Click here to learn more about where to find share links in your agency manager dashboard and on the front end of the site!
ⓘ So you know: This isn't a comprehensive list of all that you can do to promote volunteer engagement for your agency. These are only a few suggestions. You can also go to My Agency > Stats to see how your agency is doing. See what works for you and try to replicate that process. Be sure to reach out to your site manager if you want further help or suggestions for how to make your agency and Needs stand out!