Promoting an Event for a Non-Profit Org - Need Advice!

LunaTEKKE

Madness Reigns
Mar 23, 2006
1,220
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I have a question for all you PR/Marketing types out there. I am planning an Arizona event for the Graves’ Disease Foundation. (Next step: find someone who will PAY me to do this stuff.) Based on demographic data, I estimate that there are around 70,000 Graves’ patients in the Greater Phoenix area. That’s practically a small city – but I need to figure out how to reach them all!

In addition to traditional press releases, I’ve sent mailings to some of the largest employers in the metro Phoenix area, local medical associations, and other trade groups that might have an interest. (Particularly women’s groups – Graves’, like most autoimmune conditions, strikes women much more frequently than men). I’m posting a blog on the web site for the local newspapers, and I’ve been leaving comments on other relevant news stories. I’m also on several message boards related to Graves’ Disease, plus Twitter, Facebook, CraigsList, and MeetUp. Yes, I’m being dragged kicking and screaming into the information age!

This is a new venture for me, so if you have any other suggestions on creating a grass-roots PR campaign on a shoestring budget (actually, “shoestring” would be seriously overstating our financial capabilities), I would love the feedback!