Thank you, Sue Hobbs, for your kind words recently about our Broward Shell Show. You requested we share publicity/success ideas and we will gladly do so. First of all, many thanks to Joyce Matthys for her very thorough response outlining methods the Sanibel Club has utilized to achieve their high level of success year after year. Their inspirational Artistic Division has long set the standard among all shell clubs. Your advertising is amazing as well, and you have the full backing of the entire community. And yes, your location makes a huge difference in the success of your show. You run a magnificent show, in so many ways!!!
It’s hard to follow that but I appreciate the opportunity to tell the Broward Shell Club story. While the Broward club has been around successfully for decades, we have experienced enormous growth during the past seven years. We have grown from 75 members in 2009 to 310 members in 2017. It’s difficult to separate our show’s success from the overall success of the club and here’s what we have done.
1) PUBLICITY: We started paying for show advertising and focused on drawing locals to the show to increase our membership. We currently advertise in two major newspapers, the Sun Sentinel and the Palm Beach Post, and list in additional newspaper, magazine and on-line travel calendars. Fortunately, our club membership includes two excellent graphic artists who have been essential in branding our club’s identity by creating colorful flyers, posters and newsletters. We also run an active website and Facebook page.
One very important shell show publicity partner has been the local Pompano Beach Pelican, a Friday newspaper publication. I spoke with the Pelican owner who agreed to support our club. Each year, we advertise on two Fridays before the show. Alternately, the Pelican runs two feature articles for us on the Fridays between the ads, giving us an entire month of local exposure. Our Pompano Pelican ad includes a unique clip-off DISCOUNT MEMBERSHIP COUPON, “Bring this coupon with you to the show and receive a 50% discount on annual club membership.” So at the half price membership fee of $9, the first year we signed up 25 new members. Each year, the show coupon has brought increased membership enrollment. During our recent 2017 show we signed up an amazing 45 members!!! This has been our most effective way of increasing membership. The new members have brought vitality and excitement to our club and many are currently on our board of directors!
2) ARTISTIC DIVISION EXPANDED: In 2009, we opened a second room at the shell show for artistic exhibits. During the following years, as Artistic participation increased, our club membership increased. An important consequence of this action is we now have a strong Broward artistic/shell craft club that meets monthly. We have more artistic exhibits and the overall quality of the show’s artistic entries is much higher. Additionally, the artistic club sells their beautiful creations at the shell show.
3) ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF REVENUE: Admission to the Broward Shell Show is FREE and we needed to create new ways to fund the show. We now receive over $400 in membership revenue at each show. Because of our added publicity/advertising, we have received many shell and shell craft collection donations from strangers who found us on the web. This has allowed us to sell higher quality seashells and shell craft items at our club sales tables at the show.
4) FOUR CLUB FEATURES KEEP THE CLUB HEALTHY and members coming back for more. CLUB MEETINGS: 1) We present an interesting, high-quality program related to shells, shell craft or related subjects at each club meeting. 2) We hold a mini-market one-half hour before each meeting begins for members to sell their shells and shell-related items. 3) Our raffle table creates a great deal of excitement as a meeting finale. 4) We plan regular FIELD TRIPS and activities throughout the year: a spring Bar-B Q, a visit to the Sanibel Show, shelling trips, Lunch and a Movie, museum visits, etc. Our annual auction, a major funding source, will be held on Wednesday, March 8th and features many beautiful shells and shell related items. We cordially invite you to attend and we take outside bids if you cannot make it. An auction list can be downloaded on our website. www.browardshellclub.org or on our Broward Shell Club Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/BrowardShellClub/
We have a great deal of fun together! We even hosted the 2015 COA!!! Please email me directly and I will be happy to share examples of our publicity items with you or information about the March 8th auction. [log in to unmask]
Nancy Galdo, publicity chairperson, Broward Shell Club
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