Ruritan Club and District Officers' Handbook

Ideas for Promoting Your Ruritan Club with Flyers and Handouts

1) Maintain a supply of fliers, handouts, and brochures. Call Ruritan National for copies of “This is Ruritan” and other brochures. 2) Set up information booths at shopping centers, county fairs, and most importantly at your club’s projects. People who enjoy your fundraising events and community service projects will like Ruritan. Tell them about Ruritan. This is not only a good way to publicize your club but an excellent way to get new members. 3) Write a brochure or flyer about your club. Give some information about Ruritan and about your club and its projects. Be sure to include the name, address, and phone number of a member to contact. 4) As an alternative you may want to develop an insert to include in the “This is Ruritan” bro ‑ chure giving your club’s meeting place; date and time; the name, address and phone number of a contact person in the club; and a place for anyone interested in more information to write their name, address, and phone number. One successful brochure published by a Ruritan club listed all volunteer organizations in the county, including scouts, fire department, rescue squad, Lions, Sertoma, and of course the Ruritan clubs. It included a contact’s name and address for each organization and has been used for sev ‑ eral years. Section 7: Print Media Print Media: Getting Your Ruritan News Published

3) Always provide the name, telephone number, and address of a contact person who can provide additional details. The reporter will want someone to contact if more information is needed about your event. 4) Take the time to look professional, and it will be time well-spent. Never handwrite a news release. Use a computer and correct your mistakes. Re-type any samples in this book on club stationery and use club stationery for any correspondence with the media. Newspaper and television news are written in basically the same style, and this style is called the “inverted pyramid style.” This style is intended to get the most important information to the audience first. Remember, the more you make your news release look (and read) like someone on the newspaper staff wrote it, the greater your chance of getting your news published. When writing the first paragraph of your news release, try this formula: Who (your Ruritan club) did What (held a fundraiser or other club project) When (day and date of the event) Where (location of the event) and Why (who will benefit from the event). For example, your first paragraph should read something like this:

News releases are an important tool for getting your message to the public. The more professional image your club presents to the press, the more respectable your club (and club projects) will appear to the public. Sample news releases are provided in this handbook for your Ruritan club to use. It is very important that you do not simply “fill in the blanks.” For the most professional appearance, re-type any sample in this booklet on your Ruritan club’s stationery. Use an envelope printed with your Ruritan Club’s name and address (if appropriate) to mai (or e-mail)l the news release to the media. You may even want to hand deliver the news release to the media. Many times the personal touch pays off when the editor or news producer can match a person with a particular news release. How to Write a Press Release Sample news releases are included in this handbook to generate ideas. Here are some basic rules you can use to make your own news releases concise while providing the information a reporter or editor needs. 1) Keep it simple. Use short sentences and avoid descriptive language. 2) Keep it short. Your news release should not be more than one page in length.

92

Revised 8/2024