Fish Have Clubs, Why Can't I? Part 2, by Schuyler Sloane

Fish Have Clubs, Why Can't I?
Part 2: Flyers, Advertising, the Meeting Place.

by Schuyler Sloane
Founder and President of The Northeast Philadelphia Aquarium Society
www.phillyfishclub.com
Aquarticles

Flyers and advertising
Now you want to get people to know who you are and what you do. This could involve many things: flyers, buttons, magnets, business cards, billboards, infomercials. OK, the last few were a little on the big side but not impossible - but let's stick to what we can afford.

Let's start with flyers:
You have a few people and a few fish, but nobody has a clue you exist. The best way to fix this is with flyers, and you don't have to run off a million flyers to get people to visit your club.

First come up with some small art work to put on them.

Next you will want to give as much info. as possible, and the best way to do this is to remember the "6 W's": Who you are; What you do; Where you do it (very important); When you are doing it; and Why you are doing it. Now I know you are thinking these are only 5 Ws, what's the 6th? Good question, the 6th W is one of the most important: What do I get? Remember this last one because I will explain more a little later.

Now that you have a flyer made up I'll give you what will be the best piece of advice at this time in your club - cut the flyer in half horizontally. Yes, I said 'cut it in half' - why spend the money for printing full page flyers when you can get the most important information on a half sheet of paper instead of a whole one? Look at it this way: with your old flyer the cost would have been as follows: say you make 100 flyers a month for 6 months at 5 cents a copy - in 6 months you will have spent $30. Now cut that in half and you have only spent $15 and can send me the difference... Just kidding! - but that $15 will come in handy in other ways.

You could try all those other ways to advertise your club, but remember they are going to cost you money, so I would wait until you have a core membership base and the finances that go with it before doing them.

Now all you have to do is distribute the flyers. This can be done in a bunch of different ways. Try to stay local, and stay within the hobby. For example if your club is located in Northeast Philadelphia do you really want to invest in sending flyers to Southern New Jersey? In my opinion all you will be doing is wasting time and gas, besides that's what you have the website for. If people from outside your area want to visit your club they will. Your best bet for putting out your flyers is to ask people - go to the local fish and pet stores and speak with the managers and introduce yourself to them. Remember their names and how to get in touch with them - this will come in handy in the future when it is time to start looking for sponsors. ( I'll get to that in a future chapter). The flyers that you put in the pet stores will be the best chance you will have for getting people to check your club out. Think about it - where do most people get those heaters and tanks and … oh yeah, the fish!

The other most important places to put out flyers will be the local crowd gathering places - places like local stores and libraries. These will always have a lot of people coming in and out of them. Just make sure that you have permission.

One last way to advertise your club is in the hobbyist magazines. Most have a section for local aquarium societies to place their listings, and even better - most are free. This is great because hobbyists read these magazines for all the knowledge they provide. It also helps when you go to find local sponsors that you can show them your listing. It helps to show that you are legit.

The Meeting Place
Now you have people calling asking how to get to your meeting place. You did get a meeting place right? A thought or two about meeting places:
When I first started my club we only had a few people, (OK, we only had 2 people). It was very easy to have the members come to my small 2nd floor apartment. My tanks were all there and we had all the equipment we needed. That didn't last too long - following a newspaper article on my club I went from having 2 people to trying to find seating in my little living room for 12 people. It was a tight fit. Look around for a public place that can accommodate your possible size. Libraries are great, and as long as you schedule it in advance they usually don't mind providing space for a group discussion. Most libraries have areas for just such things. Another great meeting place that you may find is a recreation center or church hall. It all depends on your area, so look around for the most convenient spot.

ŠSchuyler Sloane 2005