Club Promotion

[AngelaG]

Use this thread to suggest and discuss ideas on how to promote your club.

[andym]

Leaflet distribution around the local area.

Advert in the local paper.

Posters up on school/workplace notice boards.

[Aefibird]

Posters up in gyms (if they will take them) as well as libraries, community centres, shops etc.

[nkudahc]

public demos

[Aefibird]

Car stickers.
Sign on the outside of the building where you train.

[andym]

Sandwich board and a lazy afternoon in town?

;D

[Aefibird]

There's a club in Doncaster called Lynx TKD that use a sandwich board to advertise for new students. Most Saturday afternoons they have a mini demo in the pedestrianised area and have students in uniform handing out leaflets. They also have a club mascot (a Lynx) - some poor blackbelt gets the job of wearing a stupid costume and going around talking to people and trying to persuade them to join.

Their strategy seems to be effective for them as they're one of the largest MA clubs in the area and seem to have a good turnover of members.


Edited for typos.

[Andy]

OMG, I've walked past that very school in Doncaster
I was interested initially in covering the club for a website, but once I read their blurb, I just walked away.

"Good Turnover of members"?

Do you mean high turnover of members?

[Aefibird]

The word "good" was used in the sense that it is good for them - they get lots of student cash! But yes, replace the word "good" with the word "high" and you get the idea of what the school is like.

They have a MA equipment shop there, though, and the staff serving are always very pleasent and helpful, even though it's clear that once inside the building you're in a McDojo and that if you join the club they will extract the maximum amount of cash out of you as possible.

I know what you mean about their blurb Andy - on the board outside the club advertising them it says that their goal is to make every student a "black belt leader". Everytime I see that line it makes me roll my eyes.

[whitewarlock]

The greatest means to gain new members is to walk right up to people and talk to them, get to know them, and then eventually ask them what their interests are. From there you invite, locking them into making a commitment, right then and there, to meet you at a certain time/date at the club/school. When in a clinch, and by using this method as well as encouraing other members to use the same method, i was able to build the college's club memberships from 50 to 500 students in one month.

This is known as 'active' advertising, as opposed to passive advertising (such as putting up posters, etc). Signs help, and indeed increase the likelihood of success in presenting active advertising, mostly because people may be interested, may have seen the sign, but just need that extra push of 'knowing someone,' being invited personally... made welcome and treated as someone 'worthy' of membership.

The catch is, you need to be at least a little extroverted and it's real hard to motivate other members to do this if most of the other members are introverts. Still, it's an 'extra' action that makes the greatest difference. I mean, how many people can you approach in a day, especially on a college campus?

[whitewarlock]

A note of caution. If you invite too many people for one meeting, you will have effectively shot yourself in the foot. They will feel as if they were tricked into showing up and that your invitation was not sincere. So pace yourself and take ownership of those you invite.

[AngelaG]

Out of interest, how did everyone here find their club?

[andym]

Decided I wanted to do Karate and looked in the local paper. Phoned up and 2 days later I was stood at the bottom of the class in a tracksuit!

[Aefibird]

angelag said:

Out of interest, how did everyone here find their club?

I watched a friend do Kihon kata and thought it looked like the greatest thing in the world!! Yes, I'm that easily entertained... lol

I went along with her for a trial session. Nowadays I'm at the dojo that much I almost need 'trial sessions' outside of it. "If you step out of the dojo then you will find this place that we call 'The Real World'..." ;D ;D

I come from an MA background, though, as my father and brother were/are dan grade Judoka, although I was never allowed to train.

However, that's a rant for another thread.

[Andy]

angelag said:

Out of interest, how did everyone here find their club?

Mixed answer for you.
Initially a combination of advert and word of mouth.
Next one, word of mouth only.
Next one's, went looking for something specific, cos I knew what I wanted/needed.