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Starting to advertise your group
This help sheet is designed to help you think about the different ways that you can advertise the existence of your group and attract new members. It covers:
Bulletins
Bulletins provide a low-fuss way of communicating with and between group members. But they can also provide a way to regularly communicate to people who are interested in your group but who maybe don't want to (or can't) attend face-to-face meetings, or aren't ready to join the group yet.
For small groups a bulletin is an easy way to let the broader community know about the group's activities, actions, plans, discussions and decisions.
They don't need to be fancy. A photocopied hand-written A4 piece of paper functions just as well as any other.
Bulletins can also be sent electronically to people who have indicated their interest in your group and are comfortable with email.
And if your group already communicates internally through the use of bulletins, then it is a fairly simple matter to edit out anything that is sensitive, private, or not relevant to anyone else but the group, and send it out to the broader community.
Making a brochure
The group may wish to advertise its existence to the broader community and a brochure can be a successful way to do this.
Your group can also use a brochure to attract new members. Before you start writing your brochure, it might be useful to consider the following points:
- What do you need to say in the brochure? Try not to get too bogged down in lots of words. Stick to the main points.
- Who is it written for? It's important that this point is clear to you as the writer of the brochure and to the person who picks it up.
- How do you want the brochure to look - Glossy? Flashy? Professional? Simple? Welcoming? Who will design it? Can you afford to get it printed?
- Where will you distribute it? How will you know if the supply has run out? Who will be responsible for supplying more?
The answer to these questions will depend on the purpose of the brochure. If it is mainly to attract new members to your group, there are a variety of ways you can go.
Brochures as two-way communication
In this type of brochure, information is given about the group, and information is sought by the group from the broader community.
The information given by the group may include:
- Name of the group
- Type of common interest / experiences / goals of the group
- Purpose of the group
- Type of group (open or closed membership)
- Meeting times and places of the group
- How to contact the group.
The information sought by the group may include:
- Topics or issues of concern from a community
- Ideas for priorities of discussion by the group
- Expressions of interest from individuals who would like to join the group (and their contact details)
- Feedback from individuals who would like to receive more information about the group and its activities (and their contact details)
Two-way information brochures are a good way for your group to start interacting with the community.
Newsletters
Newsletters are a good way of reaching a wider audience. They can include articles, opinions, reports of current debates, news, events, quotes, cartoons, photos, etc.
People can also be invited to submit their poetry, jokes, essays, thoughts, ideas, and art.
Like your bulletins and brochures, your newsletters don't have to be flashy to be effective.
'Expression of Interest' forms
Expression of interest forms - forms that people can fill in if they're interested in taking part in or finding out more about the group - can be included as part of or alongside your brochure, bulletin or newsletter.
Expression of interest forms have an additional function for the group if they ask 'How would you like to participate?' The group can then endeavour to meet the needs of individuals by ensuring there is a range of ways people can participate.
Examples of different methods of participation include:
- Face-to-face attendance
- Writing ideas and opinions to contribute to the group
- Telephone or email contact with a group member who is comfortable in passing along the information gathered during the face-to-face meeting
- Email communication with the group (if the individual has access to computer and email and the group has access to computer and email)
Membership forms
Membership forms can also be included as part of or alongside your brochure, bulletin or newsletter.
Membership forms should include some very brief information about the group - where and when it meets, who is eligible to take part and the methods of participation that are possible, for example - and should also provide a space for
- the person's name
- their preferred method of communication (phone, email or mail)
- their interests (optional).
You must also include details of how the membership form can be returned to the group - i.e. where to post, fax or email it to, and whether it can be hand delivered.
Issues of privacy
Any time that a group asks people for personal details, such as phone numbers or mail/email addresses, it is important that it is made clear what the information will be used for and who will have access to it.
It is also extremely important to be clear that people's personal details will not be used for any other purposes or passed on to any other people or groups.
People have a right to have their privacy protected, and this is both a moral responsibility and a legal requirement for all groups.
Privacy information should be included as part of the membership application form and the expression of interest form.
Thinking Point:
An important question for each new group to discuss in relation to principles and privacy is; 'Does completing the membership form force a person to disclose their consumer or other status?'
There is no right or wrong answer to this very important question. In fact, there are very good arguments for both asking people to disclose and not doing so.
Each group needs to weigh up the pros and cons and come to a conclusion that they can live with and argue for if they are challenged in the future.
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