Get The Word Out Project

A newsgroup is an internet discussion forum, kind of like an electronic bulletin board. People can post a question or comment, and others can respond. There are thousands of newsgroups on the web, on every topic imaginable. Do a basic search to find the newsgroups that relate in some way to your project. To join a newsgroup, simply follow the basic directions — a simple process which usually entails sending an e-mail to the specified address with the words "subscribe" in the subject and/or text area of an e-mail. (Do not use your primary email account to join a newsgroup — set up a new webmail account to be used specifically for newsgroups. That way, your primary email account will not be overrun with postings to the newsgroups.)

Certainly you should alert a newsgroup about your new project, but that should not be the principal way in which you utilize newsgroups. Post comments about the goings on in your industry. Get involved in the many dialogues that spring up in the newsgroup. Don’t just criticize and complain. Make sure to post positive comments about other people’s projects. You can also post details on events that you are aware of or other kinds of information that might be of interest to the newsgroup. Don’t just write about yourself and your projects.

In newsgroup postings, be sure to list your project after your name, as well as your website URL. If people find your comments stimulating, they’ll probably check out your website.

With regard to posting comments at websites — you should not be announcing your project in these areas. You want your comments to be specifically about whatever is posted on the site, or in response to the comments already written. This is not a place to advertise your project. But once you comment, your name is often linked directly to your website (the fields provided when you comment often require you to enter your name, your email address and your website, with the website being the item that is hyperlinked), so if your comments are insightful, you can expect that people will be curious about who you are, and they will click into your website. And by regularly posting to specific websites, you are essentially joining online communities.

The main thing with posting comments to newsgroups and websites is that you should be a real member of these communities, and therefore respecting what these specific communities are all about. The benefit of your involvement goes beyond the promotion of your own project. You are learning new things, and contributing to a dialogue, meeting and being opened up to new people and projects and insights. The more active you are and the more insightful your posts, the greater the benefit all around (including the reaction members of your communities have to your new projects).

There are all kinds of ways you can help out. You can enclose flyers about other people’s projects in all your mailings. You can provide links to other websites on your website. You can review and write stories about other people’s projects. You can pass out flyers or hang posters for someone else. And most importantly, you can talk up other people’s projects and spread word-of-mouth as much as you can. And don’t forget to financially support other producers of independent projects by buying their goods or going to their shows. Your support will most definitely be reciprocated.

This is a basic incentive for people to purchase your goods. If people think they are getting something extra, they are more willing to fork over a few bucks and purchase your product. Remember the Ginsu Knife commercials? How could you forget. "But wait, there’s more…"

Some items you can offer for free are: stickers, buttons, a poster, a bonus zine, a bookmark, or a free pass (or a half-off coupon) to an upcoming show. Even though these items are being offered for free, you’ll notice that they offer additional opportunities for you to further get the word out about your project.

If you do a zine or a book, then join the local small press organization, or the writing center. If you make movies, join the local film arts group. This is an excellent way to meet people who one, will be supportive of your work, and two, will be full of ideas and energy that you can learn from. This is the kind of place where networking happens just by showing up at events and talking to people. You never know who you might meet, what idea or tip someone might offer you, what horror stories you will be told that will allow you to avoid a similar failure, or what kind of relationship will be forged between you and another like-minded individual. And the more people you meet, the more people who will know about you and your projects. Also, the more involved you are in these arts organizations, the more exposure you get in the community-at-large when the organization holds events or participates in projects that go beyond the membership.

Often times getting involved with arts groups means volunteering your time and talents for a good cause. This altruistic behavior will energize your spirit and make you feel good about yourself. You will be empowered by your good deeds, and this new energy will allow you to work even harder and more diligently on your own independent projects.

Also, along the lines of being altruistic, give part of your profit to a non-profit. This is a way for you to share your good fortune. Also, if people know that you aren’t just out to make a buck and that part of the money you make goes to a good cause, they will be more inclined to support you and your projects. Share the wealth. You always complain that all those CEOs of the giant mega-corporations are greedy. Well, here’s your chance to walk the talk and set an example. No doubt, your donations aren’t going to be gigantic, earth shattering amounts, but every little bit counts.

Organize an event showcasing more than just your project. If you put out a zine, then get together with a band and a painter and put together an event where the band does a set, the painter exhibits her work and you pass around your zine. The more people you involve, the more people who will show up at your event. Or organize an event focusing on the type of project you are producing. If you are publishing a zine, organize a zine fair. If you make films, organize a film festival. This is a way to not only connect with the public, but with other artists who are also producing projects. It’s a great way to share and grow your respective audiences.

This will mean more as you grow, but in the beginning, simply make sure that all of your projects have your name (or company name) on them, as well as a mailing address, website and e-mail address. Don’t think you need a big, fancy logo, but start to consider some form of a distinct identifying mark to be placed on all projects that you produce. This kind of consistency will help increase and intensify the awareness of your current and future projects.

In addition to your efforts to get stories written about your project, be sure to provide information about other people’s projects when you talk to the press. Anytime you’ve got a piece of information about an event or an interesting project someone you know is working on, make a call or send an e-mail to an appropriate reporter. Like I mentioned before, reporters are always looking for stories. Maybe they’ll use your tip, maybe they already have the information, maybe they’ll think your idea is simply no good, but they will appreciate your call. Passing on information creates and strengthens the relationships you have with your media contacts. And you can bet that the next time one of your contacts is writing a story on something relevant to the kind of work that you do, he’ll give you a call and interview you, possibly including your comments (and who you are and what you do) in his story. Naturally, any reporter that you have provided good leads to will feel inclined to write about your next project. The point is, don’t just reach out to reporters when you want a story written about yourself. Give your contacts information they can use for stories about other people’s projects. By becoming a reliable source, you forge a strong relationship with your media contacts, which will result in more stories about your projects over the long haul.

Seek out events that you would be interested in attending, find out who is putting together the event, and then offer to sit on a panel or give a lecture. Send a letter outlining why you would be a good speaker or panelist, and then follow-up with a phone call. Keep in mind that these types of events are organized way in advance, so you have to get in touch early on, during the planning stages.

You can also make your talk an event in and of itself. Put together a how-to workshop based on your project, and seek out stores, community centers, schools, colleges, churches, etc., that might be interested in hosting your program. Not only will this help get the word out about your project, but it can also bring in some extra dough. Definitely charge an appropriate, market-based fee for your workshop, whether it’s a flat fee charged to the hosting facility/organization or based on enrollment. It’s certainly okay to do your workshops for free — you may have no other option — but do your best to get paid for putting a workshop together.

This way, you can do promotional mailings, event and show announcements, and even send out a newsletter. The longer you’re in the business of making projects, the bigger your list will get, and the more valuable of an asset it will become in your efforts to get the word out.

There are all kinds of ways to collect contact information. Keep in mind that you want to collect both physical mailing addresses and email addresses. You want to be cool, upfront and professional in the way you go about collecting this information, so the best way to get it is to ask for it — that way, the people you are contacting actually want to hear from you. Always put out a clipboard at events or shows and ask that people who are interested in your work to join your mailing list (again, request both mailing and email addresses, though most people will only put down an email address, and that’s just fine). On your website, be sure to invite people to sign up for your mailing list (if possible, have an easy-to-use form built right into the site). In correspondence and even on the project itself, let people know that you keep a mailing list, and encourage them to join it.

It is very important to keep in mind that the value of your mailing list lies in how many people actually want to be on it. Don’t be tempted to increase the size of your list by adding people who haven’t given you permission to put them on your mailing list.

E-mail is the most useful kind of contact information. It’s an extremely efficient way to reach a large number of people quickly, effectively and cheaply. Cheap is key — it doesn’t cost anything to send out e-mail (except the monthly ISP fee, which you’re most likely paying for regardless if you are sending out an e-mail newsletter or not). Mailing out a postcard not only involves money to print up the postcards, but postage as well.

But mailing out postcards or other types of printed matter is cool too, and if you get really creative with whatever it is that you decide to mail out, the physical nature of the piece might have more of an impact on the people who receive your printed mailer.

It must be noted that the number one rule with a mailing list is to hold sacred this contact information. Never give it to anyone else, and don’t abuse the fact that you have it. This means that you shouldn’t be sending out e-mails every week to your list. Keep the contact to an effective minimum. You don’t want to approach anywhere near what people on your mailing list will consider spam or junk mail. Spam-like levels of e-mail will not only keep people from being interested in your project, it will cause people to start hating you. To avoid such a circumstance, in addition to keeping the issuance of mailings at an appropriate level, always let people know how they can get off your list, and make sure you promptly remove anyone who requests to be taken off your list.

VERY IMPORTANT: Never, ever send out an e-mail to a large group of people where everyone’s e-mail address is listed. If you do that, you’ve made the horrible mistake of exposing your entire list, and not only is that wrong just on the all-important issue of privacy, but there’s a good chance someone will take those e-mail addresses and use them for his or her own mass-mailing. Make sure you know how to properly set up a mailing list with your e-mail program so that when you send out your mailing, no e-mail addresses are revealed. Run tests until you know you are doing it right.

One of the best ways to effectively grow and use your mailing list is to offer an e-mail newsletter. It’s okay to simply use your list to make announcements, but if you offer some kind of newsletter, not just about your projects but something that offers coverage beyond just what you’re up to, people will be more willing to join your mailing list. If you publish books, you could send out a newsletter about new technologies impacting the book industry, or a newsletter of book reviews. If you publish a zine, you could send out a newsletter detailing all the cool zines you’ve come across lately. If you make films, you could send out a newsletter about film festivals, including not only entry deadlines but your commentary on the films you’ve seen at recent festivals. If you run a progressive magazine, you could send out a newsletter about upcoming protests, or coverage of recent protests that you have attended. If you run a literary journal, you could send out information about writing contests or calls for entry in other journals and anthologies. The more useful and interesting your newsletter, the greater the number of people who will sign-up for it. Not only that, but people will forward your e-mail newsletter to friends and colleagues, and therefore more interest in your newsletter, and your project, will be generated.

A couple of companies that offer free e-mail newsletter list service are Yahoo Groups (formerly eGroups), and NotifyList. Keep in mind that when you utilize these free services, you may end up carrying ads served by these companies. Not a good thing, but not necessarily a deal killer. It’s your decision whether or not you want ads you can’t control going out with your communications.