covertr@force.UUCP (Richard E. Covert) (11/29/89)
I am the new President of the Phoenix Atari ST Club here in Phoenix AZ. We have only about 25 active members in our club, and I would like ideas from other club members on how to recruit new members. Phoenix is part of a metropolitian area of about 2 million people. We have 2 or 3 stores which sell ST products, the best being Computer Works in Glendale AZ. Henry sells 2-5 STs each day, so there SHOULD be a lot of people who aren't members of our club but who have STs. Our Club only has a cash reserve of $800 so we can't buy paid advertisement on comeerical TV. So, how can we get the word out about our club?? Are there any other STers out there who belong to a club? What about you folks across the Big Pond. How do your ST Clubs work?? Right now we are in the process of splitting from the original 8bit Atari club. We are planning on using the Michigan AIM magazine as our newsletter as we are too small to do our own. AIM would be mailed to each of our paidup members. We would submit our Club minutes, which would appear in the AIM magazine. We have published our own small newsletter called PHASTE using PageStream and the SLM804 laser printer. That has gone well. One member suggested printing up ST CLub business cards which would be included with each ST sold by Computer Works. Henry Ahle (CW owner) would go along with this. Another idea is to include a free AIM magazine with each ST sold. We are also planning to mail a postcard to each paidup member a week before each meeting. But that doesn't get new members. Our ST Club sponsors a fulltime 2400 baud BBS called ST BASE in Phoenix. Club members can d/l PD files from ST BASE w/o charge. This encourages ST Club membership. But not all ST owners have 2400 baud modems. We could try advertising on the local access channel of the Phoenix cable TV system. But would that get new members? And finally, our ST Club meets in the large room of a Church. The room isn't air conditioned and has a large noisy refrigator. It is not a nice area to meet, especially during the summer when it gets over 115 degrees here in Phoenix. Where do other ST clubs meet?? When I was a member of the Chicago Area Computer Hobbyist Exchange (cache) we meet in a community (two year) college in Chicago. The college was locate on a bus route so folks could get there. Unfortunately, colleges want big bucks around here to use their rooms, and our club can't afford them. Any ideas about where to hold meetings?? As you can see I would really like to see more new members. I think that a strong local club is an asset for both novice and experienced computer owners. I have learned a lot just helping folks use their STs. And finally, is there ANYTHING that Atari can do to help us?? I don't know who to contact at Atari. I don't believe that our Club was ever registered with anyone at Atari. Maybe someone at Atari could give me ideas on how to attract new members. I would be open to any suggestion. Rich Covert P.S. I was drafted for this position, and didn't want it. But now that I am Club Prez I want to encourage folks to join, and really expand our little club. That way next time, someone else can have the thrill of saying that they are club pres! P.P.S. I was vice president of a Denver club back in 1986/1987 and we had the same problems there. But we meet in a Denver High School classroom. It was an 8bit club and I am not sure what has happened to it since I moved from Denver. rec
hedger@inmet.inmet.com (12/01/89)
Rich, I think the strongest thing you can do to get new members is to recruit through the local dealers. That's the place that you are going to reach new and existing ST users. I would print up cards, posters etc. and see if I could get them in all of the atari stores in town and in any neighboring towns. Make sure that your posters mention the BBS. After you get some members, I would talk to one of your local dealers and Atari about maybe having a guest lecturer come in and do a presentation. Maybe you could hold it at one of the stores. This is a fairly common practice in music stores. Anyway, if you can get some sort of presentation happening then Advertise that one event in the paper. Maybe throw a party and advertis in the science section of the paper for the party to recruit people. I don't belong to any users groups but these are just ideas that occurred to me. Hope this helps, ===================================================================== | | | Keith Hedger : {...!}uunet!inmet!hedger hedger@inmet.inmet.com | | 'It is a sad, but beautiful world..........' | =====================================================================
Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com (12/01/89)
Richard Covert asks about getting new members for Atari Users' Groups: You've probably hit on the best way to contact new ST owners, by getting in touch with the dealers who are selling them. If you post flyers in the stores too, you can make the club known to people who already own STs as well... One thing MACE has done (the Michigan Atari Computer Enthusiasts.. I'm the ST disk librarian this year, and I've been in various other offices in past years...), is to put together a disk of the "basic" few programs a new ST owner will need. Things like ST Writer, ARC, a simple terminal program, an easy to use database... things like that... with text files on how to use them, and an offer of help at the club meetings for new users. By having the dealer give a disk away with every ST sold, it gives the new owners a boost by supplying them with something to use their shiny new ST to run, and the dealers like to be able to give their customers something for free (especially when it doesn't cost them anything..!). Of course, the disk also has information on when and where the club meets, and phone numbers for more information. As far as meeting places, that's always a tough question. A few years ago, when MACE's membership stood at around 2000 members, we could fill a large civic center pavillion to capacity. Now we use a smaller room, and are looking for something smaller (and cheaper). One thing about the university meeting rooms to look into is whether the club could qualify as a school sponsored group if they have enough active students as members. The University of Michigan has a really good deal for their groups. As far as Atari, I guess I better not comment about the screwing over that MACE received from Atari when we put on the AtariFest that Atari asked us to do. Those who were involved in that are gone now, and there's a new person in charge who is really good. Call Bob Brodie, the new User Group Coordinator and talk to him about how to register your club. As long as the "Atari Revolving Door" doesn't snag him, Atari User Groups are going to be very well treated. BobR
coffey@ucselx.sdsu.edu (pat coffey) (12/02/89)
In article <471d2ea5.14a1f@force.UUCP> covertr@force.UUCP (Richard E. Covert) writes: >I am the new President of the Phoenix Atari ST Club here in >Phoenix AZ. We have only about 25 active members in our club, >and I would like ideas from other club members on how to recruit >new members. Sorry to clog the net with this -- I mailed a reply to covertr@force.UUCP and it bounced. Is there another address so I can mail my reply?? -- _ _ Ms. Pat Coffey |_) (_ San Diego State University | coffey@ucselx.sdsu.edu