All-Star Any Advertising Gurus Out Here ?

[Lisa M]

What are some great places to advertise? Either online or newspaper etc...

Thanks!!

 

[cheerheart4life]

I suggest making a Facebook page and twitter! Social media is a huge way to advertise!

 

[Lisa M]

I have those. I'm not getting anywhere with that ugh...wonder if I'm missing something or doing something off

 

[cupieqt]

We find newspaper ads to be an ok return on investment. The most action I've gotten from advertising is from bookmarks. Beautiful and cheap from gotprint.com
We delivered about 300-500 to school libraries all over our parish advertising our tryouts. I had kids posting on our Facebook about them left and right. What's even better was how excited the librarians were to get them. I knew they were getting passed out to the kids and I didn't just waste $150. I had more people tell me they'd gotten a bookmark combined over people saying they'd seen our ad, saw us on Facebook, or received a flyer.

Our gym owner also participated in a Val-Pak coupon deal last year. I'm not sure of the details of this one because it was for birthday parties at our gym but I know we had a lot birthday parties booked off of those.

 

[CGAcheer]

Haven't tried it yet, but it seems like it should work.

Trick or Treat Themed Referral cards. Offer a Free week or Free Registration or something to the New person on the card and a $5 or $10 referral fee to the person who passed them out for each new sign up.

So about $150 for 3000 cards
Kids are just walking up to your existing customers doors, and the referral fee gives them incentive to throw the card in with the candy.

 

[cupieqt]

Haven't tried it yet, but it seems like it should work.

Trick or Treat Themed Referral cards. Offer a Free week or Free Registration or something to the New person on the card and a $5 or $10 referral fee to the person who passed them out for each new sign up.

So about $150 for 3000 cards
Kids are just walking up to your existing customers doors, and the referral fee gives them incentive to throw the card in with the candy.

Love this!!

 

[L5cheermom]

Dear Lord, what haven't we done along the way. Our first gym was what I call a "starter gym". The owner had been around for years but was just such a miserable business person that she couldn't keep athletes for long. Most would get so frustrated with the disorganization and other irritations that they would move on to other gyms. BUT in order to survive she had become a MASTER at recruiting. There was nothing she wouldn't do to get her name out there. She participated in every public event she could find: parades, festivals, sporting events, county fairs, hospital family events, health fairs, store openings, etc. She volunteered the cheerleaders to greet visitors, hand out brochures, provide entertainment -always in uniform of course.

She would do fundraisers for the area PTA. She would offer a Saturday cheer clinic for say $25 and would rebate the PTA $15 for each child that attended. They would promote the event because it was making them money. I believe she got a fair number of athletes this way.

We would do open gym nights and any athlete who brought a friend would get in free. We spent many a Friday night staffing those things. We would regularly pick up athletes this way too. Her family volunteered to coach the rec league teams and would recruit from there.

That's all I can remember off the top of my head. Of course you would not be gaining any skilled athletes this way, but it was enough for her to survive the last 20 years.

 

[12stepCheermom]

Dear Lord, what haven't we done along the way. Our first gym was what I call a "starter gym". The owner had been around for years but was just such a miserable business person that she couldn't keep athletes for long. Most would get so frustrated with the disorganization and other irritations that they would move on to other gyms. BUT in order to survive she had become a MASTER at recruiting. There was nothing she wouldn't do to get her name out there. She participated in every public event she could find: parades, festivals, sporting events, county fairs, hospital family events, health fairs, store openings, etc. She volunteered the cheerleaders to greet visitors, hand out brochures, provide entertainment -always in uniform of course.

She would do fundraisers for the area PTA. She would offer a Saturday cheer clinic for say $25 and would rebate the PTA $15 for each child that attended. They would promote the event because it was making them money. I believe she got a fair number of athletes this way.

We would do open gym nights and any athlete who brought a friend would get in free. We spent many a Friday night staffing those things. We would regularly pick up athletes this way too. Her family volunteered to coach the rec league teams and would recruit from there.

That's all I can remember off the top of my head. Of course you would not be gaining any skilled athletes this way, but it was enough for her to survive the last 20 years.

You're right, you won't get level 5s to walk in the door that way (recruiting incentives for your current level 5s work better for that) but you may get some lower level kids you can grow into level five.

The question is what do you do to keep them after you get them? If you can keep them, you can grow them in to your own elite athletes....provided you have the resources in place to do that. If you don't, work to get those or you'll lose them as fast as you gain them :(

 

[yojaehs]

Advertising USING facebook is a great tool. Marketing specific

 

[HitPullCheer]

Print flyers and put them in your local elementary schools "Friday folders" (or whatever your area calls them.) put the flyers on advertising bulletin boards in local grocery stores, gyms, YMCA, libraries, etc.

Go to your local middle schools/high schools with a small, little, announcement written up and ask them if they can announce it while doing the daily bulletin for a couple weeks (might cost) (most also will put it on their website the following day)

Ask your cities local news (along with cities within maybe an 30 minute range) website to put your tryouts on their website (which will also go on their Facebook page)

Ask all your athletes to announce the tryouts or a cheer clinic on Facebook.

Have the coaches use a digital flyer as their Facebook profile picture

Write the website in car markers on the back of your car windows (is that illegal?)

On Fridays (or whatever day) have your athletes wear their cheer shirts from the gym. (maybe offer a free open gym if they have a picture to prove it, keychain bow, or $2 off open gym or if they do it 3 weeks in a row they get a free open gym

Go to the farmers market/those local fair things where it is just booths, and have a booth, have the girls stunt

Go to parades and perform in the parades, handing out flyers to people interested