We recently had a chapter president ask us what advice we could give her to promote her chapter’s “Visitor’s Day”. This is what we told her…
1. Call the news editor of your local community newspaper or newspapers. It’s better if you make the call (rather than somebody from BNI) because local journalists are more likely to help local people than those they perceive as corporate types. Tell him or her what you’re doing and ask the news editor to do a story and photo to support your membership drive.
2. Even better, if you have a good photographer have him do a truly exceptional, truly creative photograph, of something related to the chapter or the visitor’s day. Local newspapers are always desperate for excellent photographs, unfortunately it does have to be an interesting, entertaining and professional photograph to do the job. The news editor won’t be able to resist.
3. Contact your local community radio station i.e. CoastRadio, and ask them to promote the visitors day to support local businesses. In return invite their advertising sales person to attend for a complimentary breakfast to see if they can drum up some business for the radio station. You might also offer to do an interview on how you – as a small business owner – have managed to be so successful at referral networking. That angle could also work with the newspaper.
4. Register for eventfinda: http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/about/list-events and register your visitor’s day there. In fact, register with all event type directories in your area.
5. Broadcast the event via your chapter Facebook.
6. Ask BNI Support to publish the details in the newsletter and the BNI blog because members in other chapters have colleagues they can refer.
7. Ask your local BNI director to send an email to the entire region asking members in other chapters to refer their colleagues. Be sure to put in the categories you are looking for, as many as possible.
8. Contact your local business association. Invite them along (complimentary breakfast) and ask them to include your invite blurb in their outgoing emails or on their website.
