Marketing without much money: you don't need big bucks to get the word out. Here are a few ideas

Information Outlook, Oct, 2004 by Judith Siess

Everyone likes to pick up things to take home. Make sure you have enough "takeaways" for everyone. With a little thought you can come up with something a bit more memorable than the usual pens and notepads. Make sure the library's name, address, phone and fax numbers, e-mail address, and URL appear on all takeaways. Use the color scheme, mascot or slogan you've chosen to unify your products.

For one open house I gave everyone a sticker saying, "I visited my library today." When the customers returned to their desks, others nearby could see the sticker and were reminded of the open house. This proved to be one of my most successful publicity tools.

Place a guest book or register near the entrance of the library. Leave room for attendees to put their names, departments, and any comments they may have. This will give you a record of who attended so you can follow up after the event.

And here's an idea that costs nothing: Get out of the office! Whenever you can, deliver items to customers in person rather than by interoffice mail or post. This gives you the chance to ask the customer, "Is this what you wanted? Is there anything else I can do for you?" Visit a department you haven't been to in a while, you know little about, or in which you have few customers.

Also free are personal recommendations, testimonials, or word of mouth. These are very powerful. Make sure the library is included in new employee orientation or at least in the materials given to new employees. At a minimum, each new employee should have the library's URL, location, hours, phone number, and e-mail address. Get a list of new employees and send them a welcome e-mail or information packet. You could even include a coupon for a candy bar or cookie, redeemable when the employee takes a library orientation tour. For your customers in remote locations, create a virtual library tour on the company intranet so they will feel a part of the organization.

"But above all, marketing is doing things. You can read all the books in the world, but if you don't put the advice into practice, nothing will happen." (Coote and Batchelor 1997, 1) You are limited only by your imagination and have nothing to lose except your job--if you don't market. So, get to it!

References

1. Leerburger, Benedict A. 1989. Promoting and marketing the library. Rev. ed. Boston: Hall. (Out of print.)

2. Coote, Helen, and Bridget Batchelor. 1997. How to market your library service effectively. 2d ed. An Aslib Know How Guide. London: Aslib.

Judith Siess is the editor and publisher of The One-Person Library: A Newsletter for Librarians and Management and the author of four books. The most recent, The Visible Librarian: Asserting Your Value through Marketing and Advocacy (ALA Books, 2003), has even more marketing ideas.