PUBLICITY

You are trying to:
• Announce your arrival.
• Publicize and advertise your programs and events.
• Find the “hidden yidden” in an unobtrusive way.
Below are popular effective methods and venues to meet your targets.

Getting the word out: Advertising
“Half the money I spent on publicity was wasted. I’m just not sure which half.” -Spend Wisely.     

Some of these options can be done before you arrive to publicize Chabad’s arrival.
  
Press Release: This is an effective tool and does not cost. What you have to do is compile a list of local newspapers. Be liberal in the accumulation process. Write a paragraph about your announcements and forward them to the editors. Many smaller local papers have a ‘community pictures’ page that you can post on.

Phone Tree: It is a paid service, though not expensive. It basically works as follows. You call a number and record a message of an upcoming event and then hit 1 button on your phone pad. The computer will then proceed to send your recorded message [or email] to literally hundreds of people within minutes (or delay it until you tell it to send). It is a fantastic tool as a reminder for an upcoming program, schedule change or instant survey. You even have the option of asking people to press the 1 key if they plan on attending the event. You can then log on to the site and check the responses.
Some companies include:
1) Dial M for Mercury.
Visit http://www.dialm4mercury.com/Landpage.html to view a short presentation or free trial. Service Plans start at $5 a month.
2) www.onecallnow.com, which is CMS compatible.
Links can be found on Shluchim.org
→BEWARE: many people do not like telemarketers, especially prerecorded impersonal ones.

Yellow Pages: Many people look to their phonebooks to find synagogues, especially for bar/bat mitzvah lessons and the like.
The first thing we have going for us is that we start with CH, usually making us the first synagogue in the Yellow pages before Congregation.
You can include a few lines detailing programs (prices generally range from about $30 to $60).

Websites: Regardless of who you use, you should get a website. A website is very non-threatening, and people will check up to see what is going on without having to call your office and risk an appeal. Chabad.org is popular choice, which contests its reliability.
→Proviso: If you are not going to constantly update it then do not bother. It will look really bad if someone checks the site to see if you are holding a public Seder on the second night of Pesach, and they see that you are still offering old ice cream from last year’s Shavuos party.
Email: buying email lists is usually construed as spam. Though, email is a great way to keep acquaintances posted.  
There is a great website called constantcontact.com which is helpful in regard to getting your message across and assists you in managing your emails. It will help you know who actually reads your messages.

→Don’t forget to plug your Email and website on your letterhead, envelope and of course newsletter.

Finding local Jews

For a free, no obligation count of Jewish people in your area, you can email a list of zip codes to thejewishtrack@mfpsolutions.com . You can also buy local listings of Jewish sounding names from The Jewish Track. TIP: Generally, they are not very accurate. With time on your hands, you can also pick out Jewish sounding names from a phone book. There are other list source companies you may want to buy from.
Other options include searching or reverse searching phonebooks and whitepages.com.
Depending on your rapport, you may consider asking the local Jewish center.

Hospitals are a great place (and time) to meet people. Hospitals will generally not give out names of patients, but becoming a chaplain will give you that privileged access.
The Jewish Family Services may get such information as well.

→At every event, have a guest book for people to sign in with their addresses and emails. Besides getting their information, this accomplishes that they won’t be feeling preyed upon when they receive brochures or emails later on.

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