Publicity
Publicity for AFN programs & DeWitty Center labs
- Fliers
We have several fliers created in 2003 on Adobe Pagemaker 6 and exported into PDF for print distribution. Thse are located in the "2k3VISTA" folder on the desktop of the VISTA computer at Austin Free-Net's 2 Commadore office. We have the following kinds of fliers:
- DeWitty lab publicity (English & Spanish)
- Volunteer recruitment (English)
- Spanish newspaper ad (2 column)
We also have older fliers that comprise the "Leave-behind Folder." The "Leave-behind Folder" is meant to give potential donors/sponors an overview of our programs. The folder is periodically updated. You can find these fliers at the 2 Comm office. - Public Service Announcements
We have often run PSAs on the Austin Cable Access Channel. Most recently (Spring 2003), we ran an announcement for our volunteer program. A PSA on ACAC consists of an MS PowerPoint slide that features the AFN logo and short sentence w/ contact info.
Before issuing a PSA, make sure the appropriate infrastructure is already in place to handle increased phone calls, inqueries, visit to website, etc. - Press Releases
- Letters to the Editor/Guest columns
AFN aims to issue at least 4 press releases a year. In the past year, we have released news about
- adding weekend hours at the DeWitty
- adding MS Office classes in Spanish
- winning a grant from IBM
- coverage of Community Tech Day
- launch of Fix-Net program
Press releases follow a set format that includes the AFN logo, organization's contact info, an individual staff member's contact info, release date, headline, body text, and the closing marks "###". We distribute press releases to a large number of new outlets, most of which are listed in the media contacts database on EMILY.
To compose a press release:
- find an old press release in the "2k3VISTA" folder on the VISTA computer in the 2 Comm office
- begin altering some text and then click on "save as" to save the altered document as a new press release without losing the original document
- create a first draft that concentrates on the news item itself and the immediate need for coverage or contact with the organization
- send the draft to other staff members asking for additional input
- all further drafts must have the Executive Director's approval
To distribute a press release:
- find the media contacts database, preferably a printed out copy, and select a handful of news outlets most likely to cover the story
- you may also want to work from the short list provided by Greenlights for Nonprofit Success
