Last week, NLE Resources posted the first half of a recent workshop on Marketing for Kiruv by Rabbi Issamar Ginzberg. We thank Rabbi Moshe Atlas and Rabbi Jon Joffit for transcribing this workshop, and present the second and final part here:
The Best Photographs
Always make sure that your photographs communicate the message you are trying to get across. Pictures of your center or a beautifully setup event may not be what is really needed. People want to see that others are enrolled and excited. Take your pictures at the busiest times.
Print Advertisements
People are reading the newspaper and magazine for light entertainment. When adverts are boring, people ignore them. Rather than filling your space with flyers and graphics, write about yourself in an entertaining way.
This way people are bound to notice and read your entire advertisement. In the advertising world, that is a rare privilege. A readable page is worth four pages of graphic advertisement.
Placing Ads
The most effective position is the outer column of the right hand page in an English language magazine. People have to notice it even while they are instinctively turning the page. Advertising on a page filled with ads ensures that your ad gets skipped. Always place your ads on a page with text and articles which people will be reading.
Bask in Reflected Glory
People love joining something that is successful. This addresses the customer’s fear that he’ll be the first idiot to try your product. You can try advertising yourself linked with other famous people. But you can also
display examples of “regular people” who have been satisfied customers so your target market will think “if it works for them, it will work for me.”
Create Positive Ads
Do not cause people to disagree with anything in your ad. People spend a matter of seconds taking in ads, and causing them to respond NO to any of your questions will encourage them to swiftly move on.
Focus Your Advertising
Figure out where your target audience is by looking at houses on Google Maps, buying lists of magazine
subscriptions, etc. Gear your advertising to their specific interests, and use respected media such as non-
Jewish newspapers. Figure out what about you is important to them.
Target Your Audience
There is an amazing, as well as expensive, firm which specializes in categorizing people and their interests.They can tell you who is interested in a particular sport, who drives a particular car model, etc. The firm is called SRDS. Using this service can eventually save you a lot of time and money. Practically, a great way to get people through the door is by running events which really interest them.
For example, run a golf evening and target the young, Jewish golf-lovers using SRDS. People are more likely to attend events catered specifically to people like them. An event advertised “for doctors” is a great way to bring in doctors. Using SRDS, you can advertise the exact same event to doctors, lawyers, accountants, students, and housewives. Topics with universal appeal can easily be presented as specific. “Time management in the work place;” “Time management in the build-up to exams;” “Time management in running the house.”
Beyond Advertising
Instead of buying advertising, get an article written about you or write your own column. One page of an article about you is worth four pages of advertising. When you’re the featured speaker, you’re valuable. When you’re advertising, you’re annoying. Attract people with a free offer for a survey. For example, you can give out free t-shirts for people who fill out a survey including religion and interests. Then you’ll have market information you can use. This is one example of how any talent/creativity can be used to channel Avodas Hashem.
