One thing I have noticed about Missouri. We have some great places to shoot, and we have some of the best instructors in the country, but for the most part we stink at promotions. Our biggest problem these days is that we aren't filling the lines. This is an Appleseed-wide problem, not just Missouri's, but we need to work on our home turf first.
Please note that I am not blaming anyone in particular. I know some of you live and breathe Appleseed, and talk to everyone you meet about it. Others of you spend time and gun shows and conferences, radio shows and women's meetings. I am the first to admit that I stink at promotions.
Most of you know I am a numbers guy. So for all of the work that we have done so far, here are the prereg results for our upcoming shoots (in order):
Osage Beach, MO RBC 10/17-24 17/300
Osage Beach, MO 4/100
Washburn, MO 2/25
Humansville, MO 0/40
Humansville, MO 1/40
What are the targets telling us?
Obviously, the dates that are farther off will have lower numbers, but the 2 shoots in July should have higher numbers than this. Washburn sold out in April, why not now? The Ladies Only shoot in Humansville can hold 39 more women. Oct 2-3 is going to be a huge weekend for us. Two shoots on the same weekend, and both have the potential for large turnouts, being near KC and STL. It could be the biggest weekend ever for MO so far, but only if we get people to the lines. We will need all instructors on deck. The last Bates City shoot pushed us to the limits.
We've been doing so well for a couple of years, that it is easy to get complacent and assume someone else will do promotions. I know it has happened to me. I am so busy running shoots and doing "regional stuff" that I haven't been promoting shoots as well as I should. I think many of us have experienced this, but we need to get back on task and work on promotions. If we can find a way to get our fellow Missourians off the couch, we will have come a long way towards saving this country.
The new national flyers are pretty flashy, and hopefully Greybeard will have some in hand soon. Get those shoot flyers printed out and hand them out anywhere you can! Print out some of the flyers with the MO schedule on them and ask your local gun shop to put one in the box with every rifle they sell. Worst they can say is No. See if you can get just one or two people to attend these upcoming shoots. If each one of us can do that, we will come pretty close to selling them out.
See you on the lines...
Greg
Greg,
I think you're on to something with "ask your local gun shop to put one in the box with every rifle they sell."
I haven't seen the new national flyer yet but, I have a box on the way. A couple of days ago I spoke with the folks at Bass Pro Shops, Shreveport ... gav'em another fifty of our Texas, LA, OK, NM, AR flyers. Since I NEED ;) another excuse to go back I'll tell Mrs. POP about your idea.
Thanks.
POP
:~ :~ :~ ^:)^
i have fliers out at every gun shop i can hit. i just kid the Home educators confrence with thursday and Jungle george. sent 120 Humansville fliers to my Dad who lives down that way. i am doing what i can do.
the biggest hurdle with gun shop customers is most of them think they are already good shots. that and talking gun guys is like preaching to the chior. we need to hit other places besides gun shops and shooting ranges. i post fliers on any public bulletin board i can find. this gets to all folks not just shooters. we need to hit every avenue. we are also seeing great exposure through Backwoods Home. the articles by Dugin and Mas Ayoob have really caught folks attention. His article in Guns magazine was the first of it's kind in a well know national publication. we need to keep pushing these types of things. MUCH of our line last Osage shoot heard of AS from Backwoods home.
Many paths, one destination.
Another good place to leave some fliers is your barbershop. They are usually pretty good about allowing that type of thing.
Hector
I now have the national tri-fold fliers (YEAH). Anyone who wants them, just let me know.
I'm thinking about buying some 3"x1" labels and printing something for a particular shoot to stick on the back of the flier.
I would like a few flyers. You can bring them to the shoot the end of the month but could you MAIL me one now please
Quote from: greybeard on July 12, 2010, 11:01:45 AM
I now have the national tri-fold fliers (YEAH). Anyone who wants them, just let me know.
I'm thinking about buying some 3"x1" labels and printing something for a particular shoot to stick on the back of the flier.
Numbers updated. Definite improvements. Long way to go.
Greg
Updated.
This past weekend we ended up with 35 people at Humansville. Huge improvement from the 5 we had the first time. Promotions work! But we have to get out and do them.
Weatherby is sitting at zero and is only a couple weeks away. We need to get on it folks!
Greg
Updated. Women's shoot is looking better.
Weatherby is sitting at 1 and is in less than 2 weeks.
According to National we need to add 4 more shoots this year as well. ~~:) I'm thinking maybe a November and December Osage shoot, but we still need 2 more elsewhere!
Greg
I have a GREAT promotion for you! WMSA is having their movie night again this year. On September 29th at 1930 or 7:30 PM at the Glenwood Arts Movie Theater 9575 Metcalf Overland Park Ks. we will be showing.............yep, you guessed it Sybil Ludington (though I've read she preferred the Sebal spelling). It really is a movie for our time, tickets are $8. Everyone is welcome to come, it's not just for WMSA, and it is a movie produced by a Christian movie company, so it's very family friendly. I can be QUITE certain that appleseed will be mentioned in a brief speech after the movie. So, if I could get some good appleseed fliers to give out, that would be just dandy. Since Sybil Ludington and her horse Star's story is set around the burning of Danbury, I think appleseeders might really like this movie. Good to spend time with Patriots past & present too.....
Contact greybeard about the flyers. He is our state coordinator. There are several instructors in your area.
Sybil: you have fliers for this event, right? I just handed you a stack of the new national tri-folds. Should be fine for this application. In any case, I plan to make the movie.
If anyone else is free that night, it'll be a great show!
Updated.
One 1 prereg for Weatherby, and it's NEXT WEEK! This shoot has drawn 35+ shooters in the past. What aren't we doing? We need to get out an push this. I know there is at least one gun show in Cameron, do we have flyers out there?
Hopefully the Fox News coverage will get us a few shooters, but we need to do something to improve these numbers.
The LadySeed is looking pretty good, but I think we would all love to see MO set the record for Ladyseed attendance. If you have a female friend or relative who needs to learn to shoot (and who doesn't?) make sure you tell them about this shoot. I invited my sister from MN! Who did you tell about this shoot? Robin and Paulette have a ton of cool stuff planned for this weekend. The ladies are going to have a blast!
Remember we still have a big weekend looming on Oct 2-3. We will need every instructor to be on the line, so get signed up! Desoto numbers are looking better, but we still need to work on Bates City.
I know we have all been busy working shoots lately, but we have still got to work on our promotions. Not much point in having 30 shoots a year if we can't get anyone to show up.
Greg
I will try to keep my schedule open for Oct 2-3, and keep a watchful eye on pre-regs. Just PM me during the week before, and I will head to whichever one you need me at the most.
Jason
Numbers updated.
Weatherby and Princeton are not looking good.
The Ladyseed is looking good, but let's see if we can sell it out!
Desoto is currently beating the pants off Bates City... Hmmm. Guess that side of the state is hungrier for Appleseed than over here in the west?
Keep pushing folks!
Greg
George and I will do what we can at Belleville gun show.
Quote from: mikaldulee on August 26, 2010, 01:53:02 PM
George and I will do what we can at Belleville gun show.
Just curious, when you all go to a gun show do you just set fliers on a table for people to pick them up or do you pass them out? And what flier you you use? Thanks, Ian
Quote from: CelticMind on August 28, 2010, 11:57:18 PM
Quote from: mikaldulee on August 26, 2010, 01:53:02 PM
George and I will do what we can at Belleville gun show.
Just curious, when you all go to a gun show do you just set fliers on a table for people to pick them up or do you pass them out? And what flier you you use? Thanks, Ian
This was my first gunshow for Appleseed. The host E.C.A. donated a table(last minute). Missouri Brigade had a portable display (PVC), Demo rifle, LTR and Garand, flags and a big box of various flyers. I had a few that I had printed out. A lot of interest in the DeSoto shoot.
We talked and distributed flyers, very few slow moments. The Illinois boys have it together.
Updated.
Ladyseed is up to 28! Could Missouri host the largest all women's Appleseed to date? Heck yeah!
Princeton needs help. Only a couple weeks away and 0 preregs. :-[
There are gun shows at Independence Center this weekend (9/4-5) and at KCI the next (9/11-12). These would be a good opportunity to plug the Bates City and Princeton shoots, which could use the help.
Greg
Join internet groups on preparedness and survival, then talk about it. I do that on several groups. Also Facebook, My Space, Twitter, etc, are great avenues of advertising.
CelticMind
I do post something about Appleseed everyday on Facebook. I am also going to be putting the flyers in my Avon orders and books I hand out, lol. I mean hey...just because I'm a Rifleman doesn't mean I don't want to look gooood, lol. @) Other than that me and Nemo are on it!
Witchy
We gave out fliers for the Humansville shoots at a Homeschooler get together in Eldoroda Springs. And had good respons even looks like one fellow will come to OSB this week end. An should see some folks in Humansville.
Quote from: mikaldulee on August 29, 2010, 06:17:14 PM
Quote from: CelticMind on August 28, 2010, 11:57:18 PM
Quote from: mikaldulee on August 26, 2010, 01:53:02 PM
George and I will do what we can at Belleville gun show.
Just curious, when you all go to a gun show do you just set fliers on a table for people to pick them up or do you pass them out? And what flier you you use? Thanks, Ian
This was my first gunshow for Appleseed. The host E.C.A. donated a table(last minute). Missouri Brigade had a portable display (PVC), Demo rifle, LTR and Garand, flags and a big box of various flyers. I had a few that I had printed out. A lot of interest in the DeSoto shoot.
We talked and distributed flyers, very few slow moments. The Illinois boys have it together.
That sounds great! Has anyone talked to RK shows to see if they would be willing to donate tables to Appleseed?
Quote from: CelticMind on September 13, 2010, 11:52:53 PM
...Has anyone talked to RK shows to see if they would be willing to donate tables to Appleseed?
Western Missouri Shooters Alliance (WMSA) has a table at every KC area RK show, and they are more than happy to give us table space. I generally work a shift in the booth (if I'm not at a 'seed!), and talk up Appleseed from there. Since they have a booth already, and several of the board of directors and members have been to shoots, it seemed a good solution for getting us a presence at gun shows without a large investment of time.
I'd love to have a bigger presence at MO gun shows... but I have had very little luck getting others interested in assisting, and I don't have the time to drive such a program myself. I'd be very interested in appointing a MO Appleseed Gun Show Coordinator :)
Greybeard
Updated numbers. Looks like it will be a good RBC, hopefully we will get some much needed instructors out of it.
Bates City says we can have a couple more shoot yet this year, and if we have another shoot at Osage we will hit our Project 1000 goals!
And now we need to start thinking about 2011... Going to be even more work than this year was!
Greg
Nov 13-21 is a no go for Osage Beach. There will be deer hunters in the area. This raises safety issues if someone is tracking a wounded animal or is out right trespassing. Plus the gunfire would probably make for upset hunters and possible vandalism for being inconsiderate. Remember, deer season down here is how a good majority of people fill their freezers for the winter.
Thanksgiving weekend I will be in Tulsa. The range is available that weekend, but I won't be there.
Jason