How to contact local media

How to contact local media

Nov 14, 2024 | Club building, General interest, News | 0 comments

Here are 8 tips for getting television, radio and newspaper attention.

By Julie Saetre

You can do a lot to promote your club online, but don’t neglect traditional media such as television, radio and newspapers (both print and digital versions). These longstanding outlets offer powerful ways to communicate what your club is doing — and why others should join. These tips can help get your message out there: 

  • Choose the right stories. A speaker at one of your meetings probably won’t catch the media’s attention. But a fundraiser for children or a service project where club members will be giving items to children in need has a better chance of getting airtime or publication. 
  • Pick three key messages about a club event. It’s enough information to support why the event will make a good media story, but not enough to overwhelm the reporters you are contacting. 
  • Write a media release. For a service project or other club activity, the document should include who you are, what you will be doing, why you will be doing it and where and when it will be. We provide a free media template in our online PR Tips & Tools Guide. When your release is finished, ask another club member, friend or colleague to review it for grammar, spelling and punctuation.  
  • Focus on the beneficiary. When writing your release, your club’s name doesn’t need to be in the first sentence. Who you’ll be helping should be up front. 
  • Identify a spokesperson. Choose someone who is comfortable delivering messages to be your club’s media contact and representing your club in media interviews. 
  • Identify contacts. Look for reporters who cover children’s issues, philanthropy, education or service. Media websites usually include information about each reporter and what areas they cover. 
  • Send your media release via email. Reporters’ email addresses are usually included with their online information. If not, call the outlet and ask for the news desk (for print publications) or assignment editor (for television and radio). Copy the media release into the body of your email. Don’t send it as an attachment. 
  • Provide your club’s links. Include your club’s website and social media pages and make sure those links are up to date. 

These are just a few of the ways Kiwanis International can help your club communicate with the community. For more tips and resources you can use at any time, check in at our branding and marketing webpage on our website. 

5 tips for regaining members

5 tips for regaining members

Nov 11, 2024 | Club building, General interest | 0 comments

By reMembering, your club also can recruit people who have left or drifted away. 

By Tony Knoderer

Clubs lose members. It’s a fact of life. But it’s usually life itself — including busy schedules, family circumstances and career changes — that causes people to leave.  

The good news: Those are also reasons not to give up on them. With reMember recruitment, you can reconnect with former members or even with current members who have drifted away.

It all begins with five commonsense steps. While you’re on our reMember webpage, you’ll also find tips and ideas for getting started — and for keeping former members in mind on an ongoing basis.

Spread the word to your fellow members and club leaders. After all, membership growth should be a club-wide effort — whether you’re recruiting new members or reconnecting with former and “missing” members. And don’t forget to visit our club toolbox, which offers many other resources for retaining members by keeping them engaged in the club experience.

ACE tools turn ideas into action

ACE tools turn ideas into action

Nov 4, 2024 | Club building, General interest, Leadership | 0 comments

What happens when inspiration doesn’t bring progress? These three resources can get things moving.

By Tony Knoderer

Some Kiwanis clubs fall into a rut, relying on the same projects and fundraisers until the inspiration runs out. But sometimes inspiration isn’t the problem — it’s the lack of progress afterward.  

Does your club have a pile of ideas from motivated members, but no real-world results to show for it? Kiwanis International offers resources that can help. Check out some of the Achieving Club Excellence (ACE) tools that can turn inspiration into action: 

  • Club vision. Go back to basics — by defining what your club does and why it exists. That kind of clarity can result in a vision that steers club leaders and other members. The guide to this tool also provides instructions for conducting a group exercise, so everyone has a voice in the process.   
  • Club excellence. Maybe your club needs a framework for all those ideas. The best clubs set up a strategic plan every Kiwanis year, so members and leaders know what they want to accomplish when October arrives. The tool’s guide shows how to set SMART goals, along with milestones that help you measure your club’s progress. 
  • Club scorecard. Does your club sometimes make progress toward something new, only to see it fade away? Try tracking your activity as you go. With this tool, you can set up key indicators and reflect on them periodically, helping you determine where you may need to adjust your plan — and even make changes in the club if necessary.  

All these resources can be found on the ACE tools webpage, which includes other common concerns clubs face — and pairs them with the tools that help club leaders address them.