10 Ways to Promote Your Genealogy Events

I shouldn't have been surprised to learn the the Richard the Third Society in the UK would have gladly promoted my recent BIFHSGO presentation "You be the Judge: Did DNA Prove the Skeleton Under the Leicester Car Park was Richard III? " to their members in the Ottawa area. It was a missed opportunity and caused me to reflect on whether our family history and genealogy societies give enough priority to promotion.

How important is promotion? It's an essential element of the 4Ps in the marketing mix (Price, Place, Promotion, Product). The recent third quarter report for Ancestry.com showed marketing and advertising accounting for 38% of  operating expenses. Five percent is suggested as a starting point for promotion of a services business.

For non-profits volunteer promotion effort substitutes in part for budget. There's no lack of free or low cost ways. Here are ten.

1. Trade for promotion at meetings with like-minded organizations. Last Saturday OGS Ottawa Branch promoted the next BIFHSGO meeting at their Memorial Lecture. BIFHSGO returns the compliment at their meetings.

2. Trade promotion in publications of like-minded organizations. Ottawa Branch and BIFHSGO cross-promote their annual conferences in the event literature.

3. Extend cross promotion to non-genealogical but like minded societies. Friends organizations exist for libraries, archives and museums. Historical societies are natural partners. There are also umbrella organizations. In Ottawa BIFHSGO and Ottawa Branch OGS are members of  the Council of Heritage Organizations of Ottawa (CHOO/COPO) but their events are not listed in the CHOO Heritage Happenings section.

4. Libraries, archives, museums and community centres often have locations where notices can be posted.

5. Go online. Facebook, Twitter and Google+ . . .  is there any end to the number of social networking sites?

6. Use an online events listing. In Ottawa there's the free Ottaw Start website at http://ottawastart.com/. Google your community and events to find such services.

7. Add your event to the Global Genealogy listing of Upcoming Events, Conferences & Workshops at http://globalgenealogy.com/admin/events.htm

8. Archive CD Books Canada include a listing of genealogy events in their periodic newsletter. Find contact information at http://archivecdbooks.ca/pages/contact-us

9. OGS has a location for listing society and branch events on their calendar at https://www.ogs.on.ca/calendar_of_events.php. There are many more OGS branch events than listed - it's an underused resource.

10. Bloggers are always looking for material. Send announcements for Canada's Anglo-Celtic Connections to me at johndreid at gmail dot com. Gail Dever at dever199 at hotmail dot com may be contacted for Genealogy à la carte. and Elizabeth Lapointe at genealogycanada at aol dot com for the Genealogy Canada blog.

The specific resources listed have an Ottawa orientation. Check for similar resources in your area, and let me know of any other types of resources with which you've had success.