Increase Your Scholarship Applicants With These 10 Top Scholarship Marketing Strategies

Do you want to know how to effectively advertise a scholarship program? If you are about to introduce or are already running a scholarship program, the very next step is to notify prospective scholarship candidates that your award is easily accessible to them. 

Your scholarship marketing could target a particular group, like students at an online coding Bootcamp. They may be able to reach a large number of scholarship candidates who may not have the financial capability.

Scholarships can be established by anybody, including businesses, individuals, and non-profit organizations. According to the NCES, the average scholarship for four-year schools in 2018-2019 was $13,700. 

The average scholarship amount for two-year schools across all wage levels was $5,580.  In this article, we have mentioned a few top scholarship marketing strategies to get more scholarship applications. 

Start Your Scholarship Email Marketing Campaign

One of the greatest methods to connect with students who meet the requirements for your scholarship is through a targeted drip email marketing campaign. These campaigns may target students based on their age, region, program(s) of interest, academic standing, heritage, and other factors using the database of students.

Sending a one-time email campaign promoting your scholarship, in particular, might be a great way to spark interest and encourage applicants.

Students could find emails useful during the application process. They might contain applications as well as connections to resources. Students may be reminded via email to submit their scholarship applications. Additionally, it might acknowledge that you have received the student's application. 

In short, you can run effective email marketing campaigns to send emails to qualified applicants as your award deadline approaches to remind them to submit their applications. 

Here have a look at the email newsletter sent by LEAP to their potential candidates:

Use A Single Scholarship Application Form & Make it Easy For Applicants To Apply

Create a single scholarship application form where candidates can submit all of their basic information (such as name, major, GPA, class standing, location, etc.) once if you're managing multiple scholarships, and then use this information to instantly connect them to all of the scholarships for which they could be eligible. 

Ask further questions to get the information you need from a student if you need more details on a specific scholarship.

Students will be encouraged to apply for more scholarships since they will only need to submit one general application and will only need to furnish their information once. It will greatly speed up and simplify their experience. You can find really great practices for building scholarship application forms which makes it easy for applicants to apply. 

Promote Highly Targeted Social Media Advertisements

There are currently more than a billion users on Facebook. It's the perfect venue for advertising your scholarship, whether you want to reach out to other companies or students to whom you want to apply. But using Facebook effectively entails much more than just publishing a post on your company's page and calling it a day. No likes? Not surprising at all.

You need to invest in the promotion if you want to have a significant impact. More specifically, sponsored adverts on Facebook cost money. Fortunately, there are ways to guarantee that the money spent advertising your scholarship truly reaches the correct people.

Finally, if you want news editors, marketing directors, and the directors of journals and other magazines to view your scholarship, you might choose to put out advertisements for them.

Have a look at the social media ad of OPJU School of Management:

Build Links and Write Blog Posts to Promote Scholarships

Publish blog entries with vital information about the scholarships. You could provide information about qualifications and criteria. Use specific keywords along with URL links to the institutions and scholarships. Put your efforts into developing relevant anchor text and high-quality link placement. Search phrases that college students might use are what you desire.

Link building should be done to make the scholarship more visible. Send attractive emails of outreach to colleges or high schools. The information about the scholarship may be published on the institution's websites, emails, or newsletters. Eligible students may quickly access the scholarship because it was stored in the school's database.

Leverage Industry Groups & Websites

Starting with the National Scholarship Providers Association, you can draw on the expertise of your fellow providers. The goal of NSPA is to raise public knowledge of scholarships and how they affect higher education. NSPA accomplishes this, among other things, by observing National Scholarship Month each November. 

There are more possibilities to get involved with NSPA all year long through their engaging Member Q & A Forum, where members can pose queries to other professionals for the purpose of exchanging best practices.

The Scholarship Program Toolkit, a comprehensive resource guide on founding and maintaining scholarship programs, and the Resource Library are two examples of their member-only, online resources that might benefit your scholarship program.

Engage in PR and Media Relations For Your Scholarship

A wonderful technique to get more attention is through press releases, news articles, and media reports. You may narrate a compelling tale as to why you decided to establish the scholarship. You might work with a PR or media firm to conduct media outreach. You might also contact the local TV network, radio station, and newspaper.

A directory of sources for upcoming stories is available through Help a Reporter Out (HARO). You could ask them about your scholarship. You can contact different journalists through HARO. These writers could produce a motivational article about your scholarship.

Early Bird Closing Dates

If the deadline for all of your scholarships is the same, you might want to introduce an early-bird deadline to draw in more candidates. Give applicants the opportunity to be considered for a smaller scholarship if they submit their applications well before the early bird deadline. 

Students that are motivated will finish their applications early, giving them plenty of time to work out any issues they may have with the procedure. Additionally, the early bird deadline provides you with additional chances to speak with kids about the deadlines and rewards.

Post About Your Scholarship on Industry-Related Websites

Students can find numerous scholarships in one location thanks to websites like ScholarshipOwl. On platforms like this, there may be more competition, but there are also benefits. 

Students can first contrast their scholarship with others to determine what they are receiving. Second, because they'll be constantly searching to apply on websites like this one, students are more likely to locate your award in the first place. So, less money will be spent on advertisements and promotions.

Engage with Schools

By getting in touch with the school districts, advertise your scholarships in high schools. A list of guidance counselors who could advertise the scholarship may be given by them. Inform the guidance counselor of the scholarship's eligibility requirements. Make sure to contact the schools where your award-qualified candidates are present.

Through the admissions and financial aid departments of the university, you can connect with college students. Your scholarship can be listed on the counselors' website. When giving guidance on financial aid, they could also include specifics. They could also include your firm's contact information in newsletters they send out about the scholarship program.

Word of Mouth

Our last but not least advice for promoting your scholarships is word of mouth because it is typically regarded as the most efficient form of marketing. Reach out to the following four essential organizations for assistance with scholarship advertising as soon as your scholarships are prepared to accept applications:

1. Encourage former grantees and alumni to spread the news. Prepare a succinct social media post for alumni to share about the scholarship and send them an email with all the information they need to share it with their networks.
2. Notify the principal employers and guidance counselors at the area high schools. High school guidance counselors can assist kids with the application process, and nearby businesses can assist you in recruiting non-traditional students.
3. Inform the counselors and teachers at your institution. Teachers have a lot of interactions with students, therefore they are in a good position to spread the word about your scholarships. If your scholarships are also accessible to part-time students, be sure to let the campus officials know.
4. Remind your volunteers and reviewers. Scholarship reviewers are excellent scholarship advocates because they are educated about your scholarship program and can be passionate supporters of your university. Ask them to tell their family and friends about it!

Bottom Line 

A scholarship program will be more successful the more awareness there is about it. Try the suggestions above if your program isn't succeeding in your objectives, and think about speaking with a SmarterSelect expert as well. Their skilled team of program solutions specialists is glad to make sure you can receive the applicant pool you're after while making the most of your money.

FAQs

1. What are the best scholarship marketing strategies that I can use to get more scholarship applications?

Some of the best scholarship marketing strategies to get more scholarship applications are:

• Start your scholarship email marketing campaign.

• Use a single scholarship application form & make it easy for applicants to apply.

• Promote highly targeted social media advertisements.

• Build links and write blog posts to promote scholarships.

• Leverage industry groups & websites.

• engage in pr and media relations for your scholarship.

• Post about your scholarship on industry-related websites.

• Word of mouth.

2. How can I use early bird closing dates to draw in more candidates?

You can give applicants the opportunity to be considered for a smaller scholarship if they submit their applications well before the early bird deadline. The early bird deadline also provides you with additional chances to speak with kids about the deadlines and rewards.