Re: Moving, affordability, outreach
From: Diana Carroll (dianaecarrollgmail.com)
Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2013 08:10:08 -0700 (PDT)
What sharon said.  And also, the further along you are in the process, the
more people will come and stay.  Getting involved early involves a ton of
energy, money, time and faith, and not everyone is cut out for that.

We have actually had terrific luck with articles in local publications.
 Not as advertising for us, per se, but as a way for people to learn about
the concept of cohousing.  If it resonates for them, they look us up and
come find us.

But, as sharon said, our single biggest marketing resource was plain old
individual networking -- a friend of a parent of a schoolmate of your
kid....the hairdresser's cousin's electrician...etc.

Also make  yourself really really easy to find.  Make sure you are the very
first Google hit for "cohousing your-state".  Make sure you have a website
with current information, and an easy way to contact you.  And make sure
all your friends and associates know what you are up to, even those who
themselves would never been interested in cohousing.

D


On Thu, Aug 8, 2013 at 11:01 AM, Sharon Villines
<sharon [at] sharonvillines.com>wrote:

>
>
> On Aug 7, 2013, at 7:50 AM, johnrichmond50 <johnrichmond50 [at] hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > On a related note, how does one attract people to a forming community?
> We're getting good people with our outreach efforts,  but not enough of
> them.
>
> It's been over 10 years since I worked on forming a community but I doubt
> that that this has changed -- Flyers. Flyers everywhere but especially in
> coops, chiropractor's offices, Unitarian churches, college campuses. We
> just rented a unit because someone walking their dog saw a flyer on our
> kiosk and sent the info to a friend.
>
> Ads in any form of media don't work. Typically, you get lots of responses
> but no takers. Articles in local press may or may not work.
>
> Largely its the person to person contact that sparks the interest and the
> trust to "try this." It seems to work like endorsements on the back of a
> book. Flyers seem to be more personal and one-to-one than ads anywhere.
>
> Focus on moving forward, not waiting until you have enough people.
> Determine your basic strategy and stick to it. Infill, low cost, small
> houses in the wilderness, rehab office building or closed public school.
> Adjust when it seems advisable but waffling about what your heart wants
> will deplete your energy and split the group you have 20 different ways.
>
> People will always approach you saying if you do this or that, I'll join.
> Figure out what it is you want to work for and make the commitment. People
> will be attracted to that too.
>
> Flyers, flyers, flyers.
>
> Sharon
> ----
> Sharon Villines
> Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
> http://www.takomavillage.org
>
>
>
>
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