Promoting your event is easy. Just be sure to start early, be creative, and be persistent.
Turnout is crucial to the success of your gathering. House parties and other visibility events and gatherings can be about raising money, raising awareness, outreach, training, or a combination of any of these things. So the more people you can encourage to attend your event, the more visibility you will generate for your cause, which will mean more support -- and more success in your specific event goal.
Now, follow these tips to get the word out about your event:
- Start inviting people as early as you can. In fact, start now! You can always go back and add more names to your list. For now, just get started on those invitations ASAP. Each invitation will build a little bit more awareness about your gathering. If you're using www.party2win.com you'll find ready-to-use invitation templates to get you started.
- Customize your personal Event Page. Make it fun! Your own enthusiasm is contagious; a successful fundraiser, action day, screening party, or relief benefit can be uplifting and really energizing too. How are you going to decorate your home? What kind of refreshments are you going to offer? How about a theme for your event: a masquerade ball, a cookie exchange, or a backyard luau. Fun doesn't have to mean expensive! Don't hesitate to ask guests to bring a dish for a potluck or a dessert party -- people love to pitch in.
- Planning a big gathering? Recruit co-hosts and work with your host committee to ensure that news of your event is spread to every person possible. Ask everyone in your organizing group to commit to bringing a specific number of people. Then, your committee members will represent a diverse cross-section of friends, family, co-workers, sporting buddies, support groups, church and union members, etc. Each one of these people will have their own network of potential guests.
- Print up nice invitations on your home printer. This tactic has worked well for many people. Some hosts print their invitations on heavy card stock to make it look professional. You'll also find many paper templates online or at arts and crafts or office supply stores. This simple step can go a long way toward making your event a very exciting and important gathering that everyone will want to attend.
- Become a walking billboard for your event. Party2Win hosts report that the best way to reach new people is to wear a button or t-shirt that advertises the message, and to be ready to respond if someone asks about it. Never leave the house without a stack of flyers promoting your gathering. Hand out invitations to anybody who seems interested -- or interesting.
- Post flyers in places with lots of pedestrian traffic, such as coffee shops, subways, bus stops, grocery stores, churches, VFW halls, sporting events, schools, libraries, DMVs, post offices, shopping malls, and busy Main Streets (remember to follow all local regulations and ordinances about posting flyers). If you want to keep your event private, include only a phone number or an email address, and ask potential guests to call or email you before you invite them into your home.
- Contact your local media. Nervous? Don't be - many parties and events have gotten media coverage by sending press releases! First, make sure you get listed in any appropriate community calendar sections. Then, create a press release and send it out to local radio & TV stations, newspapers, public access shows, and even local college publications. The media is very interested in grassroots activities, so think about that angle as you write your press release. Consider calling the editor or reporter to follow up on your press release.
- Get free publicity! There are many opportunities to get free advertising for your event. One excellent place is Craigslist.org, a community site with many affiliates in most major U.S. cities. Also, consider free weekly newspapers and newsletters in your area, such as "The PennySaver."
- Ask your friends and fellow supporters to forward email invitations for you. Send these viral invitations out and encourage everyone to forward them. Every time you send an invitation, be sure to include a P.S. asking your friend to forward the message.
- Be creative about contacting your network of friends and acquaintances. Think about that old saying, "Six degrees of separation . . ." You never know when a contact will know someone who is really enthusiastic about attending a charity benefit, an action day, or other outreach event. Contact distant relatives, out-of-state friends, old bosses, listservs and Yahoo! Groups that you belong to, friends of your parents and your children, your favorite bartender, your letter carrier, a long-lost college buddy, your fraternity/sorority, etc. Remember: carry invitations with you wherever you go.
- If your home can handle it, consider making your event "kid-friendly." Provide games and food for the little ones. Perhaps dedicate a room in the house to the kids and ask one responsible adult volunteer to look after them. This allows parents to attend and bring their children along. Or consider asking a teenager from the neighborhood to manage the kids -- it's a great way for teenagers to participate.
- When you invite guests, encourage them to bring along a friend. Ask them to come to the event "full-handed" - that is, with a guest in tow. You can also remind guests to bring friends when you send them a "thank you" for RSVPing or contributing online. You can even include a pre-written message at the bottom of your thank-you e-mail that your friends can use to forward on to their friends.
- Pick up the phone and call. Email invitations and flyers get you started, but phone calls are critical. If you're doing a really big event, ask your friends or co-hosts to help you make calls. The organization you are sponsoring the party or event for may have lists of local supporters you can call. If not, ask your friends and co-hosts to call their contacts and invite them personally.
- And finally, invite, remind, repeat. Follow through is crucial. Send out reminders as often as possible without annoying people. Thank-you notes and directions to the event can each serve as a reminder that it's coming up soon. Send out a reminder e-mail a week or so before the date, and again the day before. (Include directions in your final email.) Be sure to remind your guests to bring a friend or two!
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Comments: 1
We'll link to this page from our main web site as well.