"Resuming excursions" needs to be qualified:
While it's unreasonable to expect anywhere near the almost 200 excursions that were featured until about 20 years ago, because there's now competition in the form of the Reading and Northern, now offering premium coaches, a big 4-8-4 and a destination that has no equivalent on Steamtown accessible lines,

Hello everyone! I'm Jonathan and I'm the Director of Sales and Marketing for the EBT Foundation. Thank you all for your continued support of the East Broad Top, and the Foundation, as we continue our effort to restore the EBT and operate it as a world-class heritage attraction. Having grown up volunteering/working in the tourist railroad industry... I am still pinching myself every time I walk into work and am very blessed to be a part of such an important project.

I just wanted to chime in and share a bit of what I've learned this year about what it will take to promote the EBT. I think any discussion about marketing in this industry is essential. At the end of the day, butts in seats keep the lights on and allow us to accomplish our primary goal of education and interpretation. There are plenty of folks on this forum who have marketed railroads, so I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir, but there were some things mentioned in this thread that I wanted to give my two cents on.

Having a healthy marketing mix is crucial to any strategy. This year, we've been focusing on the mediums that will attract "local" attention, either folks that live in the immediate area or are currently inside our immediate area. First, we needed to ensure that those within our county, and the surrounding counties, know that we are reopening. We did this by partnering with local media channels for special interest stories, using as many community event calendars as possible for special events, radio advertisements, sponsorships, and of course, social media. When looking at our ridership data, both payment zip code and survey questions confirm that this strategy worked. The majority of our ridership has come from within the areas that we targeted using those channels. There is still plenty of work to be done to ensure that our community knows that we are on the way back... but as our schedule becomes more consistent and as events return annually, this will happen naturally.

Someone earlier in this thread acknowledged the need for a complete and easy-to-navigate website… which is the most essential part of any marketing strategy to succeed. Facebook, and most other types of promotion, simply direct potential customers to your website… where the rest of the work begins to achieve a conversion. If any information is missing, hard to find, or purchasing is challenging to manage, you will lose their conversion. As our Google Analytics data rolled in, we've worked throughout the summer to address any significant issues and hopefully refine the booking process. For example, as it was originally developed, our website had little "responsive" work completed, meaning that it was challenging to navigate on a mobile device. Most of those issues were quickly rectified, and our mobile bounce rate continues to decline while our website traffic continues to climb. With every ticket purchase, we ask the "how did you hear about this event or ride" question and are constantly collecting internal data about what channels are working.

At the same time, we are beginning to develop a strategic marketing strategy that will allow us to begin promoting on a regional and national level. It has also been pointed out just how important market segmentation is, and we've been slowly learning more about our current demographics. I've generally identified three types of visitors. First, of course, are the railfans. Like me, these folks already know what the EBT is, why it is significant, and are invested in progress updates and want to know when any major events will occur. As with any market, there are still plenty within the enthusiast segement that still haven't heard about the EBT, or don't quite understand what all the fuss is about, so we will continue to explore the best ways to promote within that group. The second segment are the "leisure travelers", which itself must be further segmented into many, many categories (retiree, families, students, adventurer, etc.) These folks seek an authentic, fun, and memorable experience… and expect you to provide that. It is my experience that this segment usually makes up the majority of tourist railroad's ridership... when we say we want to interpret our heritage to new audiences... these are the riders we are talking about! The third segment that we are fortunate to have here at the EBT are what I'm calling the "nostalgic riders". These are the folks who were brought to the EBT as kids, who are returning to bring their kids… or the grandparents bringing two generations to enjoy the railroad. They are definitely predisposed to how amazing the EBT, they have great memories from long ago, and just need a gentle reminder that we were here. Public attention is easy to lose, especially after nearly a decade of being closed.

My final note is about Facebook, and social media in general. I would certainly not consider it a "lazy" way of promoting your product. Many don't realize that, depending on the circumstance, I usually spend between 20-45 minutes preparing each post. I often schedule our posts at least a week in advance so that I can focus on the following week, which requires at least a basic plan and timeline. More significant or involved posts take even longer to craft the right message. There are several types of content you can produce, depending on your goals with that post... and there are 365 days to fill with engaging content. Are you sharing information about a cool project? Are you announcing a new product or service? Are you trying to encourage website traffic, and therefore sales? Are you informing the public about newsworthy events? Are you soliciting donations? What type of photo best conveys what you are trying to say? Can you say what you want to in "short-form" without losing the reader's attention? Which of those is going to be the best candidate to create an advertisement from? Which are likely to gain traction and hopefully grow our audience in the form of followers or likes? Social Media is so much more than just posting a good picture, and is a key part of controlling your narrative and telling your story in any modern market while also being responsible for a large number of conversions within many different segments.

I've enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts and plan to update RYPN on the EBT's behalf when possible. I truly believe that this is one of the greatest comebacks in preservation, railroad or otherwise, and the best is yet to come!

“Saying "you disagree" usually involves disputing the original assertions. You simply made a declaration involving advertising, which is not an option. My contentions about maintaining and developing operating and mechanical crews, the superiority of R&N's offerings and the lack of a destination were unaddressed.”

I only disagreed with the part that I quoted, I thought that would be clear. .

It’s absolutely an option for me to offer my opinion on advertising and marketing. It’ something that many people do not seem to understand the basics of.

"I disagree... this is a reason to run MORE excursions and advertise them! "Only 2 hours from Reading PA, make sure to visit before or after your excursion behind the #2102"


This what you wrote. Clearly, your disagreement is based upon an ignorance of the NPS' prohibition on advertising, and you just failed to consider a limiting factor in an aging and departing crew base.



Well that's true, you've just demonstrated your lack of understanding, asserting a common mission where no common interests exist and urging a campaign that cannot exist due to legal prohibitions.

Steamtown has a website, social media, etc. - all forms of advertising. If you don’t know the definition of advertising you have much to learn about the subject.

Well... take a look at their social media. They are advertising their excursions and special events. I’m only suggesting that now is a time for them to be planning and operating when railfans are going to be in the area to ride the #2102. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

The explicit point of the "no advertising" rule is to not have a government-funded enterprise compete "unfairly" (using monies taken from taxpayers "by force") to compete with private-enterprise operations that don't get that advantage.

This is also a part of why operations such as food service and lodgings at national parks are contracted out to private enterprise. THEY can advertise--at least to some extent.

I'm late to the party on this, but looking back on some previous comments, it seems kind of soon for them to be ultra-sounding anything when 3713 is who-knows how far for completion, but I guess anything is possible. I'm surprised they'd pick the 3377 if they really were considering a third locomotive. I figured they'd for that 4-6-4T. Unless it's in poor condition, but I had heard when it was stored/taken out of service, mechanically it was pretty decent. Perhaps it wouldn't be suited for their needs?

Well... take a look at their social media. They are advertising their excursions and special events. I’m only suggesting that now is a time for them to be planning and operating when railfans are going to be in the area to ride the #2102. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

I realize that her drivers are larger than 2317's, but will 3713 be all that different operationally on this line than 2317 was? I remember reading that 2317 handled 10 cars fairly easily, which, at least right now, would be quite a bit longer a train than necessary, unless 3713 brings a substantial boost in ridership.

John