You CAN do it!

[DrRichP]

Only 1 spot left in Piqua for June 18-19, 2016. You can do it!

What is going on in Ohio? Is the Buckeye team leveling a scorched earth campaign for the rest of the Great Lakes Region?

Let's look at where we are:
Piqua for June 18-19, 2016     1 spot left
Wilmington, OH July 16-17, 2016     2 spots left
Marion, OH July 30-31, 2016     2 spots left
Vienna, OH August 6-7, 2016     8 spots left
Wilmington, OH October 29-30, 2016      8 spots left

Great job team!   Thank you and keep up the great work!

[DrRichP]

And you did do it.

Only 1 spot left in Piqua for June 18-19, 2016. You can do it!

What is going on in Ohio? Is the Buckeye team leveling a scorched earth campaign for the rest of the Great Lakes Region?

Let's look at where we are:
•  Piqua for June 18-19, 2016 SOLD OUT
•  Wilmington, OH July 16-17, 2016 SOLD OUT
•  Vienna August 6-7, 2016 (17/25), only 8 spots left
•  Gibsonburg, OH October 22-23, 2016 (10/30) 1/3^rd sold out already.
•  Wilmington October 29-30, 2016 (15/22), only 8 spots left

Team Ohio can is on pace to rack up an astonishing 8 sell outs this year.

You go Buckeye's!

[FiremanBob]

Outstanding marketing performance! What methods are you guys using to reach the public and get such good turnout?

[Guntuckian]

Combination of techniques, depending on locale.  First, finding underserved locations, with pent-up demand, and scheduling new shoots.  That has helped greatly.  Also, using social media on Facebook on our Appleseed pages.  For example check out http://www.facebook.com/KentuckyRifleman .  Traffic there has gone from nearly zero a year ago to a reach of about 2,600 and an engagement of about 600 folks continuously now.  This is due to daily content M-F, with higher quality, too.  Also, pushing Groupon through social media, too, although that may be about to change.  Also, going to double relays.  At Knob Creek, our old capacity was 24 shooters.  We started selling out, and so we switched to double relays and now have 36 signed up with a double relay capacity of 44, with a double sellout looking likely for July and about 1.5x sellout for September, already, with a double sellout likely for September, too.  I work the main N-S corridor in KY about every 2-3 months, visiting gun stores, building long term recognition, too.  They now know me, and I work it like a traveling salesman every trip.  Also, pushing KD content, too, and stressing getting ready for our KD for October at Park City, KY, helps, in the in-person visits, too.

A key point is that what works in each state is different.  For example, FB content that works well in KY and IN failed in MI.  So we broke out the content on FB to be different across the Great Lakes Region, to account for cultural differences.  This turned out to be crucial.  Ultimately, FB has proven to be local, local, local, for what works, much like politics.

We also have built team spirit at the IBC in Lansing, MI amongst the leadership.  I think we had 57 attendees at the IBC back at the end of February.  That was important, too.

We also took advantage of the NRA Annual Meeting.  For example, I worked the air gun range there using NRA Certified Pistol and Rifle Instructor Credentials, wearing Appleseed gear, for 4 hours, then worked the Appleseed booth.  Having done IMC on my PCP rifles, such that attendees could hit 1-inch targets at 25 yards, and mentioning why the rifles I had could hit little targets because of IMC, whereas the other rifles were not sighted in well, I built interest.  Lots of air gun shooters then came by the Appleseed booth and signed up, in order to learn IMC at an Appleseed!

Bottom line, it is not just one thing, but many things being done right in order to build buzz and build attendance.

- Gary