Russ Finney & Earl McGehee at "The Next Twenty Years"
Our Mission: Get Email Addresses for our Database!
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Community Building Through the Internet
Community Building Through the Internet
Hello Everyone,
This is the continuation of a series of emails I am sending as a prelude to our national meeting.
In this email I am going to ask you to carefully consider putting the power of the Internet to use for your chapter. I am firmly convinced of this idea based on the results we are seeing here in Austin.
But before I tackle those concepts, let me share a thought from Microsoft's Bill Gates. In a recent interview, Mr. Gates was asked how he felt about the huge amount of piracy which occurs in many countries outside of the United States. In China alone it is estimated that 95% of the software in use is from pirated copies. Gates said that he was indeed concerned, but "that if they continue to pirate software in the future, I am going to do everything in my power to insure that they continue to pirate Microsoft's products rather than another company's products."
Why?
Because Gates has the foresight to understand that his longer term job is to convert these believers into Microsoft license holders. Everyone wins, the benefits are greater, and the cost is much less to all, when we all contribute our part. Some situations take longer than others, but you should never give up your hard won believers.
I feel the same about guests at AITP meetings.
Given the choice between someone being a continuous visitor or not attending at all - I'll take the visitor every time! If we are a community, and not a club, we should expect a high percentage of visitors. They should always feel welcome no matter how often they attend. I know this concept may bother some of you - but let me address it when I discuss AITP first impressions, delivering on the promise, and getting commitment in my next email. For now, you must realize that you can not squander these hard won visitors!
Now let's discuss getting these visitors to attend in the first place:
I have now changed my mind regarding "getting the word out about AITP." Simply getting the word out is no longer enough. Your goal should be to build a "sustained and growing AITP community."
Assumption # 1: All IT professional's have email.
Maybe not - but in Austin, Texas - if they don't have email, they don't get our announcement. Our entire focus here is building our announcement database with email addresses from qualified IT professional's (who have asked to be included in our file - this is important).
We have collected about 600 addresses in eight months. We capture these email addresses from everywhere!
When our guests sign in they leave us their email address. Visitors to our website can subscribe to the announcement. Our board members ask vendors, customers, and co-workers if they would like to receive an AITP meeting announcement. These and many other sources contribute addresses to our fast growing database.
Just last night, Earl McGehee and I went to a local ZDnet IT gathering and stood at a table for about an hour and got forty qualified addresses for the database. Follow-up is simple - just put them in the system. This provides some significant time leverage for all of us.
Remember the ONE to TEN rule? It works even better using email - especially since a reservation can be made by simply hitting "reply" on the spot. Our meeting size continues to grow in line with our database size. I can't rave enough about how effective this has been. Tired of being a twenty person chapter? Give this a try.
Here we are getting Business Cards & Email Addresses
at the Austin "ITEC Expo" (now in 38 cities)
Our Backdrop was Digital Photos from our Meetings!
What about newspaper ads?
Now we include our "subscribe" address with the speaker information in all ads or meeting listings.
Watch out. Here comes that second lightning bolt.
Even if someone is interested but can't attend - he or she can now TAKE ACTION ANYWAY by subscribing to our announcement - and then we got'em! A future guest is in the making.
You should put this "subscribe" information everywhere. Especially in your announcements, which often get forwarded to individuals, or even whole departments. Put it on community or civic websites. Once again, the sky is the limit.
My ranking of "subscribe request" sources:
- AITP meeting sign-in sheets.
- Chapter website.
- Forwarded announcements.
- Newspaper ads.
- Board member referrals.
This method is effective and DIRECT. I have been amazed by the steady stream of subscribe requests we are getting now that the momentum has started.
One other bit of important advice: you must provide an "unsubscribe" method as well. People move, change jobs, etc. "Unsubscribe" requests should be honored promptly! Otherwise, you run the risk of "spamming" someone during your next announcement broadcast.
If you are a small chapter and on a limited budget, you should consider using Pegasus Mail to send your announcement. You can find it here:
You will have to install it and configure it for your internet email provider. Once this is working, use to "distribution list" feature to create a new list. Use this to collect your growing email database of IT professional's for your city. Limit yourself to only ONE broadcast per month. You are doing this to provide a reminder and communication service, not to "spam" these folks. Done correctly - everyone will appreciate this welcome convenience.
One last word from me:
Your chapter MUST have a website! Your site will become both a promotion tool, and the home base for your on-line community activity.
The best case is that a local ISP will donate space to your site in exchange for a link on their city's IT community homepage. This is Win/Win. Another alternative is for you to get space on a free service like GeoCities:
http://www.geocities.com/
A third alternative is for our national association to provide space for each chapter on their hosting service some day. Our URLs could look like this: http://www.aitp.org/austin/
http://www.aitp.org/tulsa/
http://www.aitp.org/denver/rather than:
http://www.someone-else's-url.net/donated-space/
Are you listening ABoD?
Here are the elements you should include on your page:
- Next meeting details.
- Email address for inquiries.
- Instructions (or a form) for joining.
- Subscribe instructions for your announcement.
- A link to the national site.
Optional things which add credibility:
- List of officers / email addresses.
- Calendar of upcoming meetings.
- Links to the companies and vendors with members in your organization.
Your page should be registered at all of your local city websites under "professional organizations". It should also be registered with Yahoo's local directory, as well as specialized directories like CitySearch, Sidewalk, and others for your area.
The "Java generation" will not find your chapter in the paper - they will find it through the web! Your listing MUST be right in there with all of the other organizational opportunities in your area.
Websites are a must for AITP chapters to make it. We represent the technology leadership in our respective cities - you have no excuse for waiting. If you already have one - keep it up-to-date. Period. A website with information from six months ago will stop a member prospect cold.
My next email will examine meeting formats, speakers, and value for the membership.
More to come...
