Ways to Promote an Event | PromiseLand San Marcos

The way you plan the event will help increase the attendance and participation.  Start planning your event in a way that involves as many people possible.  The more people you get in on the ground level, the more ‘owners’ you have in the event and the more people you have to sell the event by word of mouth.  You also have more volunteer recruiters.  Make sure the event is appealing on its own (without a lot of hype).  Study the people you want involved and make sure the event reaches their needs and personality.  Finally, if you need people to sign up for your event, make sure to communicate clearly that process.  Make the process quick, easy, and stick to your deadlines.

To effectively market your event, you need to use MULTIPLE methods to get the word out.  Do not rely on one way (especially a pulpit announcement) to promote.  Our congregation is very diverse and therefore, you will need to hit it from all angles.  

Here are some creative ways to get your message out.

• Word of Mouth– This is simply the best and cheapest way to promote your event.  Informal invitations will get the most people to your event.  Have people in your event invite others to ‘go with me’ to the event.
• Table in atrium or patio – We are able to have 1 or 2 groups per week in the atrium or patio with an info table.  Talk to secretary to schedule this.
• Bulletin Insert– If you have a small flyer that can be placed with the bulletin, then get that to Harry Fleming by Monday BEFORE you want it inserted.  He will let you know if we have room for it and if the design will work.  We are only able to have 1 insert per week.
• List in Bulletin – We usually list the top 3 things coming up in the next 7-10 days.  These events are the ones that apply to the most people in the service.
• Wear t-shirts at church with message of group or event – If your group has shirts, then have everyone wear them on a certain weekend to promote your event.
• Facebook Event from PromiseLand’s Profile – Secretary can assist you with this.
• Facebook Post from your profile.  Have others ‘share’ and repost.
• Record a Youtube video and post to Facebook or our Vimeo page – After you record your video, talk with Harry about posting to our Vimeo page.  You can post video on your Facebook profile and then we will link to our Facebook profile.
• PSM online Calendar on psmchurch.com – Once you fill out the event sheet and it is approved, then our church secretary will post on our calendar.
• Slide on screens before and after weekend services – Once you fill out the event sheet and it is approved, we will submit to our tech team and they will create a slide for you.
• Announcement from pulpit – We usually announce from the stage events happening within the next 3-7 days.  The exception is huge events happening in future that relate to the entire congregation.  We do not announce meetings or small gatherings from pulpit.   Some Sundays there will be no pulpit announcements.  ON SUNDAY, DO NOT GO UP TO A PASTOR AND ASK FOR THEM TO ANNOUNCE YOUR EVENT.
• Bathroom frames: We have frames in the restrooms in which an 8.5×11 flyer can be inserted.  Please see Harry if you would like to use this.
• Twitter message:  Pastor Robin is in charge of our twitter account. If you would like something tweeted, then contact him.
• Mass Text to Congregation:  We are able to text all the numbers we have or categories of ‘leaders’, ‘men’, and ‘women’.  We usually only text once a week, so if you would like to promote with texting, contact church secretary.

• Email newsletter to members and or guests – We send out a weekly email to our database.  We profile 4 big events or stories in our church.
• PromiseGroup announcements – Having PromiseGroup leaders announce your event to their groups is a good way to have a personal touch. If you want to use this angle, then email Pastor Robin so that it will be included in the PG lesson.

As you can see, some of these methods are automatic when you fill out an event sheet.  However, many will take additional effort on your part.  It is the responsibility of the event creator to effectively promote the event.  

A crucial thing to remember is that some events target the entire church while others target a handful.  The church staff determines the amount of promotion of each event depending on this criteria.  A huge part of your success depends on how you plan the actual event.