“Without publicity a terrible thing would happen, nothing” – said the Circus Legend, P.T. Barnum. When you are planning your event, don’t underestimate the power of publicity that you can generate by doing simple things: preparing a press-release and sending invitations for your event to local media; or invite one of the radio anchors to be the host of your event – local radio is looking for publicity too.
Another approach is to encourage one of the local publications or radio stations to be an informational sponsor at your event. If you are targeting specific ethnic groups – most likely ethnic media will be willing to support you in exchange for the opportunity to promote itself.
Another old fashion way to promote your event is word-of-mouth. Print nice flyers and distribute them in your neighborhood at your local stores, schools, and restaurants. If you have an Informational sponsor already, don’t forget to put their logo on the flyer – it will be greatly appreciated.
Send SMS to all your friends and invite them to attend your event. Encourage them to bring more friends by giving out small free appreciation gifts at the event. (You can barter those gifts from the local businesses by providing a free spot for their promotion at your festival).
Go online and spread the word about your event via
Facebook,
Craigslist,
MySpace, and
EthnicEvents.com, of course. All methods will help. Remember, the worst thing you can do is do nothing.
