Publicity
Purposes
The purposes of publicity are both to encourage seekers to come to the Quaker Quest public sessions and to raise the profile of the meeting in the community, so that people will know:
- Where the meeting is located.
- When worship happens and when other activities happen.
- That they are welcome to come anytime (“You are welcome here” is a very welcoming phrase.)
- A little about the nature of the Quaker way.
Some folks who see publicity for QQ might never attend a public session – but they might come to worship at some point because of the publicity.
The purpose of publicity and of QQ is to invite folks who are on a Spiritual journey to experience public sessions and/or worship to see if our journey might, also, be their journey.
General Tips
Nearly twenty monthly meetings have held public sessions in the US and Canada since 2008! They have used numerous forms of publicity and have had various sized turnouts.
In general, more publicity means more seekers will know about the sessions and more will come than without the publicity.
- Hearing and/or seeing publicity in numerous ways reinforces the message.
- Brevity in the message works well. (FGC has templates that can be used for posters, flyers, and banners.)
- Traditional newspapers are often expensive and should be used prudently. Be sure that you aren’t already reaching that target audience in other ways before spending limited resources on many ads.
- Traditional newspapers can be a good source of having an article written about the public sessions – containing lots of information about the meeting in general. These types of articles are usually read more often than ads.
- Various radio stations – including but not limited to public radio and college radio stations – can carry the message widely.
- Publicity that goes to a diversity of audiences shows a commitment to various diversities.
- If there is a college or university nearby (or more than one) with a religion department, specifically invite the professors to attend and let them know that their students are particularly invited, also.
- Some religion courses require students to attend various services; since these students still have a choice about where to attend, this can be a positive experience all around.
- Website work is key to folks finding out about the meeting. Be sure that the meeting has a website and that it is up to date and easy for newcomers to navigate. Some examples are below. FGC is developing a web hosting site. Click here for information.
Cautions
Advertising is good; inappropriate advertising isn’t. In general, test the message and format by asking, “If another religion was substituted for Quaker in the ad, or if another religion was advertising in this way, how would I respond?”
- Don’t advertise to people who you supervise.
- Don’t advertize in other faith communities’ bulletins.
- This is different from when the meeting holds a forum on peace or has a flea market. Then, it is very appropriate to invite folks from other faith communities’ to attend.
- It is not appropriate for the public sessions because they are an invitation for folks to join us on our journey.
- Note that sometimes an individual or group from another faith tradition will come to the public sessions to learn about Quakers, which is, of course, wonderful!
- Don’t go door-to-door.
- Ask yourself, “How often have I welcomed someone coming to my door and sharing their religion?” If the answer is anything other than never, then ask yourself, “How did I feel about having someone coming to my door like that? Did I consider finding out more about that religion?”
- How authentic is this approach to what a seeker or newcomer will find when they worship with your meeting? It is reasonable that they would conclude that Quakers normally do this and that they would be expected to, also.
- While leafleting door-to-door is much less invasive, it is often very inefficient. However, it definitely can target those in a specific area – like near the meeting’s location.
- Consider your resources of time and energy, as well as money, before doing any leafleting.
- Ask yourself, “How often have I welcomed someone coming to my door and sharing their religion?” If the answer is anything other than never, then ask yourself, “How did I feel about having someone coming to my door like that? Did I consider finding out more about that religion?”
Conclusions
Enjoy finding out what works for your meeting! Learn from the meetings that have gone before and from FGC. Consider on-going publicity so that your community knows that you exist and welcome newcomers.
Share your publicity with FGC so that we can share it with other meetings! If your meeting has started the Quaker Quest process, then go onto Atrium to share your experiences. [link]
