<CORSA Chapters> Getting the word out

[Bryan Blackwell]

Hi folks,

At the beginning of the year I posted a question looking for ideas on getting the word out about our local club.  I got some good replies and thought I'd report back on how it worked out.  For background, our club is based in the Virginia suburbs of DC and has had about 30 - 35 members over the years.  Generally our meetings center around a tech project at a member's home, and we do a couple social events each year.

Unfortunately one of the best ideas didn't work out, having an ad in the paper.  Our local paper charges for ads and the online versions want a location, which I didn't want to post since it's someone's home.  I have been posting CraigsList ads in the "Auto Parts for Sale" section each month with a general location at the nearest major intersection.  That's gotten us some response, one or two hits per month.

One of our members also set up a Facebook group page for us, that has been helpful both in getting some interest from non-members, and it also gives us an easy way to share photos.  Along with e-mail it's a nice adjunct to the newsletter.  You can see it at https://www.facebook.com/NVCCHOME

I also made up some business cards, right now I've just printed a few on the Avery card stock you can get at an office supply store, but I'll run a batch from a pro printer once we're happy with the design.  One tip I can pass along is you may wish to set up a Google Voice number for your club - it isn't a phone line per se, it's more like an answering service.  GV does voice mail and forwarding, you can set it up to ring multiple numbers on whatever schedule you like.

Hope that helps,

--Bryan

Bryan Blackwell
Northern Virginia Corvairs
www.corvair.org/chapters/chapter220/
www.facebook.com/NVCCHOME
nvcorvairs at corvair.org