I'd also toss in there that maintaining strong community connections (with local movements, events, nonprofits, etc.) is really great to continue to spread the word about your space. Both Jacob and I are very present in organizations that we care deeply about (BarCampSeattle, Sustainable Capitol Hill, etc.), and use our space as a way to deepen our interactions with those organizations. Creating a community within our space has been paramount for us, so bringing in communities of people that we already have strong volunteer ties with has been great.
This is win-win for all of us - it enables us to continue volunteering and contributing despite having less time on our hands (not that managing a space requires much time & energy...right??), and brings more people in the door who can then talk about our space with others they know. I'd echo Alex in that word-of-mouth marketing has been totally where it's at for us. S On Jun 20, 11:25 am, "Alex Hillman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Jerome hit a great point, throwing your own events or partnering with other > events is a great way to gain visibility, even before you have your own > space. > > This is not only a chance to create relationships with potential members, > but foster connections to other like-minded organizations. Those will be > VERY helpful in the long run. > > They don't need to be huge or elaborate. They can be huge or elaborate. > Totally depends on the style of who you are trying to attract and what you > are trying to accomplish! > > -- > ----- > -- > ----- > Alex Hillman > im always developing something > digital: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > visual:www.dangerouslyawesome.com > local:www.indyhall.org > > On Fri, Jun 20, 2008 at 2:21 PM, Jerome Chang <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > > We've been hosting events for those who've approached us and needed space. > > We've also hosted a bunch of smaller and larger events on our own via > > MeetUp, FaceBook, etc. Our big debut was a launch party for 300-400 people > > IN our space. CBS camped out their van for that night, so we got media > > coverage in conjunction. We were very happy. > > So, in short, I didn't network around pre-launch (although I should have, > > in hindsight). I got ourselves on search engines, hired PR, just spread the > > word after we had something to show. > > > Jerome > > ______________ > > BLANKSPACES > > "work wide open" > > > 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) > > Los Angeles, CA 90036 > > 323.330.9505 > > > On Jun 20, 2008, at 11:10 AM, Alex Hillman wrote: > > > The problem with ads is that they are not targeted (even when they are). > > > What we did was spend our resources on being as ever-present as possible. I > > was, along with a number of our initial co-catalysts, attending as many > > local events as humanly possible, sometimes several in one night. I made it > > a point to meet as many people as i could, and then LISTEN before I pitched. > > > At that point, it was no longer a pitch. I was asking questions like how > > they worked, what they liked, what they didnt like. We could then draw a > > "map" of what was going on and what was needed, and set out to help fill in > > those gaps. > > > Coworking fits differently in every city and every community. This is just > > what worked for us. > > > -Alex > > > -- > > ----- > > -- > > ----- > > Alex Hillman > > im always developing something > > digital: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > visual:www.dangerouslyawesome.com > > local:www.indyhall.org > > > On Fri, Jun 20, 2008 at 2:03 PM, BrianR <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > >> Sounds good Alex. We have a google group, I blog about it, tweet about > >> it, and tell people about what we're up to. Just wondering if we can > >> make the buzz even bigger by using traditional ads? I found that local > >> news stories about what we're doing brings folks to a google group > >> that wouldn't normally have know about us. (aka earned media) > >> Thoughts? > >> -Brian > > >> On Jun 20, 1:53 pm, "Alex Hillman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >> wrote: > >> > Brian, > >> > We've always used a combination of our own google group, our blog, and a > >> ton > >> > of word of mouth. Any time we do anything we think is cool, we talk > >> about it > >> > online and off. > > >> > If you're doing good things that people like, they'll talk about it. > >> It's > >> > really simple, very effective, and FAR less work for you! > > >> > -Alex > > >> > -- > >> > ----- > >> > -- > >> > ----- > >> > Alex Hillman > >> > im always developing something > >> > digital: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >> > visual:www.dangerouslyawesome.com > >> > local:www.indyhall.org > > >> > On Fri, Jun 20, 2008 at 1:37 PM, BrianR <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > >> > > I've read some discussion here and there on the list about promotion. > >> > > But would like to kick off a thread that puts the communities thoughts > >> > > in one place. > > >> > > How do you promote your coworking space? How do you get the word out > >> > > that you exist? Which methods result in people using your space? > > >> > > I'm interested in hearing from the folks who run community not for > >> > > profit spaces and for profit spaces. > > >> > > Cheers! > >> > > -BrianR > > >> > > carrborocoworking.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
