Comments on NASNA Member Blog: Three questions from Street Speech in Columbus

Thanks for the suggestions all. We really appreci...

2008-03-25T09:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the suggestions all. We really appreciate it.
Brandon

Street Roots uses our wiki pages to communicate wi...

2008-03-20T09:32:00.000-07:00

Street Roots uses our wiki pages to communicate with businesses and non-profits throughout the community for gain advertising.

Advertising

We've had the most success recruiting non-profits and businesses with operating budgets that can advertise - county health departments, public education campaigns, progressive businesses, etc.

Come to the INSP conference in Scotland- we promis...

2008-03-20T03:16:00.000-07:00

Come to the INSP conference in Scotland- we promise to introduce you to loads of different street paper colleagues working in these areas. You'll learn a lot and make great contacts. We'd love to see you here.

The best advice from the Whats Up/Spare Change suc...

2008-03-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

The best advice from the Whats Up/Spare Change successes that I can give is regarding volunteer recruitment and retention. If there are colleges (high schools too of course) in your area contact writing and journalism department heads, visit some classes and talk about students getting clips by writing for the paper. Every time we post to Craigslist for writers we get new people. And we have a weekly meeting open to new writers and volunteers where we brainstorm story ideas and make a social space (food always helps with this - you can offer free ads to places that donate food.. also helps a bit w/ ads because other advertisers will jump on the bandwagon once they know they aren't the first -- they don't know the other ads were trades, shhh). Don't forget to have parties too! You can get pizza and beer donated, do it at your HQ, or approach local bands/djs and clubs to donate space and time (doubles as a mini-fundraiser). People are much more likely to continue writing for free if they feel part of a fun community - that's what they're getting back. Hope that was helpful - be in touch any time: scnews@homelessempowerment.org, 617-497-1595.

Selling advertising is hard. Selling advertising ...

2008-03-19T10:02:00.000-07:00

Selling advertising is hard. Selling advertising in a street paper is harder, because most people assume its a charity buy that no one actually reads. Selling advertising in a brand new street paper is nearly impossible, beyond a fairly immediate circle of supporters. There are easier and more cost-effective ways to raise money.

That said, price your ad space attractively, list out your selling points and get comfortable with them, make a list of non-profit and business allies, and go to them first. Your enthusiasm for the paper and their desire to publicly support something good in the community is where your conversation begins. Selling is about relationships, so don't begin with the ask. Begin by asking questions and helping them to understand what your paper is about and why they look good when they support you.

Later, as the paper evolves, you can sell based on visibility and circulation and ROI, but that won't be credible at first.

And always: It's about quality. That's where the vendor dignity begins and it's how you build readership and help vendors succeed. Get honest feedback about your paper and don't just ask your supporters.

Vendor recruitment with a new paper depends on you getting out there and talking to people. Fliers won't cut it. Too passive. Think about incentives to attract new vendors. Be creative. A typical practice is to credit the recruiting vendor with free papers. Be careful how you do this, or you'll spend a lot of time doing bogus orientations and giving papers away that do nothing to actually increase your vendors. We've arrived at a system where we give 50 free papers to the recruiting vendor once their recruit buys 50. This doesn't entirely block people from working the system, but it raises the bar and takes enough additional effort that most won't bother. We'll occasionally review the recruit history to look for vendors who routinely bring in people who buy 50 up front and then never return, and then we cut them off.

The good news is that once you've reached critical mass of active vendors (maybe 25), your vendors will become your most effective recruiters and you can turn your attention to other things. Until then, it's on you. Approach recruitment like an organizer, put in the time, and the vendors will come.

Quality volunteer writers will come with success, but in the meanwhile, don't just wait for people to come to you. Accelerate the process by identifying people you'd like to see in the paper and asking for their help. Some will say yes. They'll all appreciate being asked.