Just in case you were looking forward to Carson City's Railway Reflections "International Art Show," it's not going to happen this year.

This one-off event was run last year to raise money for Virginia and Truckee Reconstruction efforts. The Railway Reflections show was *supposedly* going to be as big as Hot August Nights.

Also the Carson City-based Nevada State Railroad Museum is going to a 4-day per week schedule starting next week. I think they will be closed Tues-Weds-Thurs, but you can call ahead at 687-6953.

(Sorry for a smidge of politics, the museum is seeing this cutback while the separate V&T Commission is seeing millions of dollars of stimulus funding. A *simple* $2 million would solve nearly all the Nevada museums shortfalls in the whole state.)

The private Virginia and Truckee Railroad in Virginia City, Nevada is still running full operations. Come see us here in Northern Nevada!

Glad I stopped there last Thursday!

I wonder if the Museum has considered raising admission prices? The adult rate was only $4.00, and seniors get in for $3.00.

In my ever-so-humble opinion (not!),

The museum would do a lot better if they adopted better publicity methods. Raising the ticket prices wouldn't do much, as the admission costs hardly cover the total costs of running the railroad museum.

I love that museum but it's not that big, so their prices are probably about right. What they need is to generate better stories in the media and hold more events that give the locals a reason to turn out.

It's not their fault, but it's amazing how there is no co-operation between the museum folks and the V&T Recon project. People sometimes assume the reconstructed railroad will terminate at the museum, but that's just a fantasy. The Re-con Commissioners like to go their own way.

The biggest challenge the NRSM faces is the freeway extension that's been on hold for some time now. Once 395 bypasses Carson City completely, they will lose a lot of drive-by traffic.

Jim

When the state Museum budget being cut, it is hard to justify spending money on promotion when staff is being cut.


The Bigger problem will be with the completion of the second phase of the bypass project which is scheduled for this summer. Traffic will be routed between the old 395 and the new I-580 using the east-west road (Fairview Rd.) that has a traffic signal at the Museum entrance. This could probably cause traffic flow problems into and out of the Museum site -- I hope not. I would be interesting to know how much visitorship is truly based upon the drive-by sighting of the Museum.

All of the Nevada State Museums and the state supported Nevada Historical Society are having their public hours cut to four days a week (Wednesday through Saturday). And as explained by Peter Barton, the acting head of the Museum system, the State Museum operation at East Ely has been threatened for complete closure as it does not have any admittance fee -- but the website indicates that this is also going to a four-day-a-week schedule.

I agree with most of what you said, except:

1) When there's a steam train out, the drive-by traffic is incredible.

2) With all due respect, I think most people mistakenly assume that publicity costs money. Certainly this is the mindset shown so far by the museum and the Friend's group.

(Peter Barton and I have been over this but he's a pretty busy guy working under a lot of institutional restrictions. I have great respect for Peter. Having said that...)

What they don't understand, what most people don't get, is that paid advertising is ineffective and expensive. When you advertise, the viewer sees that as a biased statement.

Almost every organization ignores free publicity to their peril. When you create a compelling story and get a newspaper to write a story, the public perceives this as objective (no matter how biased some media may be.) A well executed long term strategy can bring in ten times any advertising for one tenth the cost, or even for FREE.

This is an old argument I've had with the otherwise very respectable NSRM and Friend's group, and IMHO they just don't get it. A while back they appointed me as head of a publicity committee and then proved they were not willing to do what it takes to leverage free publicity. They couldn't get past the paid advertising mindset.

Mostly I think it had something to with the paid state PR person who would feel like their toes are being stepped on if someone else tried to garner attention for the museum. At the same time the state's PR office misses huge opportunities for publicity.

For example, here in Reno the state railroad museum is basically not on the media's radar screen.

THIS APPLIES TO ALL BUDGET STRAPPED OPERATIONS!

I only go into this detail because so many low-budget organizations could benefit from the free publicity approach, it's a shame they don't do it. The smaller your community, the more hungry the media is for stories.

Just a quick example, one time my mom was attending a senior exercise class at a very convenient time for her. The problem was that she was about the only person showing up and the Y was going to cancel the class. I was able to contact the Reno Gazette Journal and they wrote a story about the exercise class, which had an impact on attendance. IT COST NOTHING!

If a senior Y class can make the news, so can your railroad. Now if you don't believe me, that's fine. If anyone out there is interested, please check out Bill Stoller's excellent website, http://www.publicityinsider.com/.

I have no relationship with Bill Stoller, it's just that he's a genius and simply by reading the free parts of his site you can learn a lot about how to publicize your organization without spending one dollar on advertising.

Sorry for the novel above but publicity is a specialty of mine -- when people say they don't have money to get the word out I just sigh and say, "your loss, not mine, I tried."

Jim Lohse

From http://www.publicityinsider.com/freesecret.asp

Here are some "etiquette" secrets that can help you effectively work with journalists in generating bushels of free press.....

1. Don't call to "see if they got your release." Journalists hate this. Folks send out mass mailings and then call to see if the release made it there. If you really want to get a story in the Post, call first to pitch your story and then follow up with your release, photos, etc.

2. Plan your call around their deadlines. Most papers are morning editions. Thus, journalists' deadlines range from 2 p.m. local time and on. Don't call during this time! The best time to reach a newspaper journalist: 10 a.m. to noon local time.

3. Don't start pitching right away! If you get Joan Smith on the phone, don't just dive into your pitch. This is rude, as Joan may be on the other line, working on a story, entertaining guests or who knows what else. Start by saying something like, "Hi Ms. Smith, my name's Bill Jones and I have a story suggestion you might find interesting. Is this a good time for you?" Joan will reply "yes"--which is a green light to start your pitch, or "no"-- to which you reply, "When would be a good time to call you back?" Your courtesy will be greatly appreciated by the journalist...which can only help your chances.

4. Pitch to the voice mail. It's fine to pitch your story to the reporter's voice mail. Keep it very short and end the message with your phone number. If you don't hear back, try again until you get the actual reporter or editor on the phone.

5. Don't read from a script! The bane of many journalists' existences are 22-year-olds sitting in cubicles in big PR firms reading pitches off a sheet of paper. If you've ever been called by a telemarketer doing the same thing, you know how annoying it can be. Practice your pitch so that it seems natural and spontaneous.

6. Give them a story, not an advertisement. Newspapers do not exist to give you publicity. They exist to provide readers with interesting stories. Your job is to give the journalist what he or she wants, while getting the free exposure. Make your pitch newsy, exciting and relevant. How about: "Ms. Smith, as you probably know, obesity among children is growing at an alarming rate. Because of the ridicule they face from other children, millions of overweight young people are being marked with lifetime scars that can seriously damage their self-esteem. I host a unique website, were overweight kids can anonymously express their feelings and discuss this issue. I think I've learned some important things about a very serious subject." That's a whole lot more interesting to an editor than: "Ms. Smith, I have a website where overweight kids post messages. Would you like to do a story about me?"

7. Follow up immediately. If she's interested, Joan Smith will ask for more information. Be sure you have a press kit (including news release and photo) ready to send . Send it out via priority mail, and write "Requested Information" below the address.

8. Call again. Now it's appropriate to call to see if Joan's received your stuff...after all, unlike a mass-mailed release, she asked for it! Ask if she's had a chance to look through it, and what she thinks. If she likes what she sees, you're about to get some very valuable free publicity!

(copyright Bill Stoller)

As a working reporter, I can add little to the preceding post. I would note, in addition, that it's a good idea to call some days before your event, as newspapers these days are short-handed and have to schedule photographers and reporters ahead of time to cover anything that isn't hot news. I had a woman call me at 4 p.m. on a Tuesday to attend a 6 p.m. event that was a planning meeting for the actual event. She was insulted when I told her I was already scheduled to cover another meeting -- as if I could or would ditch the already-scheduled event for hers.

When you call, ask for the reporter who covers your area. We're all very stretched for time and don't have any spare time to round up story ideas from our beats, and we're grateful to people who offer us a story that doesn't require a lot of digging on our part.

Oh, yeah, there are some of us who know a bit about railroads and can write a coherent story about a steam locomotive or a trolley car.

Many good responses. This is what many of us look for at this forum.

The comments about advertisements and stories can be illustrated by the results Orange Empire had to a write-up in the magazine of the Automobile Club of Southern California (AAA affiliate). This write-up about its "Run One" engineer-for-an-hour program brought a great response. Much better than any of the paid advertisements.

Publicity can't do it all. You may have a good story which editors like, but the next time around editorial interest may have shifted to another cause or group. Your museum therefore must allocate funds for targeted outreach so the organization is constantly building brand name awareness. Paid notices may be appropriate, and possibly direct mail too. Posters and signs can economically promote favorable visibility as well.

It costs money to effectively communicate to a customer/patron base.

Sloan
(Retired from a 35 year career in marketing communications)

Congrats to the Orange Empire for getting in the AAA travel mag, that is the brass ring of tourism media. AAA members trust AAA to steer them in the right direction, and according to the "buzz" theory the magazine readers are the "network hubs" who will get the word out. Word of mouth is important, a guy named Emmanuel Rosen has written some worthwhile book on Buzz, available on Amazon.

TIMING YOUR MEDIA CONTACTS

I think the idea mentioned above that you should contact a media org days (or weeks) ahead of time is a great one. Different types of media have different deadlines. A magazine may need to be contacted months ahead of time, while a TV news org or a newspaper has a much tighter deadline, meaning they can pick up a story and get it out much more quickly.

CHECKING IN SATURDAY MORNING

I have found, as well, in some cases, that the weekday assignment editor doesn't work on the weekends. If you have a Saturday event, no matter how much legwork you do ahead of time, it's important to check in with the news org on the day of the event. Do it in context that you're just checking in to see if they need more info, but the point is to make sure your event gets on the weekend crew's radar screen.

If you depend on a Monday-Friday public information person, some kind of handoff is needed to allow a volunteer to be calling the news orgs Saturday morning.

GETTING THE RIGHT REPORTER

As noted above, getting the right reporter is critical. The person who does food reviews doesn't care about your railroad event. I find there are two approaches to this. Certainly reviewing past coverage to determine who the right reporter is works well. At the same time, you can just call and ask for the assignment editor, explain to them that you have a railroad event and they will often be happy to point you in the right direction. Just have your pitch ready and don't waste their time.

Critical, as noted above, is calling the right person BEFORE you send your press release. Then they will be expecting it. The press is deluged with pitches and press releases, so unsoliticed material often is deleted.

DON'T GET MAD IF THEY CANCEL LAST MINUTE

Several times at events I have promoted, I get a call at the last minute saying, "there's a fire/shooting/accident we have to go cover. We can't make your event." If the press doesn't show up, don't be discouraged, try try again. They will dump your event for a shooting, "If it bleeds it leads."

TIE IN WITH HOLIDAYS, etc.

Just an example, if you do an event on May 10 to celebrate the Transcontinental Railroad, look around to see what else is happening on May 10. In the past May 10 has been the day Amtrak holds national railroad passenger day, so a tie in with that is appropriate. Contact Amtrak, get some brochures, ask for a speaker, and then you can use that tie-in in your promotions. ALWAYS check the holiday calendar to see what kind of tie-in might work.

DON'T COMPETE WITH OTHER LOCAL EVENTS

Critical is checking your local event calendar. Trying to hold an event the same day as the local river festival or watermelon festival might be a bad idea. Try to time your event on a slow weekend where you won't have to compete for attendees.

THE VALUE OF TRADITIONAL MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

I don't disagree with the post above that (if you have a budget) that traditional marcomm approaches are worth the money. Certainly a sign where people can see it, flyers, posters, etc can pay back. In my humble opinion people are tired of direct mail (aka junk mail) and the payback is low. The goal is to reach critical people and get them talking to other people about your organization.

Now, I am a 41-year old who has worked with computers for thirty years. In computer terms I am a dinosaur. I was an IT person who never understood why people look to computers for fun. To me they are a tool.

I don't have a facebook page, I think Twitter is for twits, and I just don't understand how people waste so much time watching videos on YouTube.

HOW DO WE ENGAGE YOUNGER AUDIENCES?

Having said that, and to close out this post, I think the top challenge is recruiting and attracting younger people to be railfans. Many of the traditional methods that are time-tested just don't work with younger people.

I think any organization needs to tap it's younger members to create and manage a Facebook page, post videos on Youtube and (god forbid) Tweet on Twitter.

Remember, Twitter starts with Twit and Blog starts with Blah. At the same time, these are today's tools for getting the word out. Ignore them at your peril.