Chapter Newsletters — Your Greatest Advertisement

May 3, 2022 – Does your chapter produce a newsletter and is it distributed freely to an extended audience? It's one of your best advertisements for your chapter, and for those around you who could potentially become members. Newsletter production costs are minimal these days, and it’s very easy to circulate to more than just “full members.”

One of the ideas that I read a while ago was that every chapter should have a “greeter” whose sole job it is to look for new faces at a chapter meeting, welcome them, and find out about their interests. Your newsletter is your de facto greeter! It reaches out, says hello, and tells you things that might interest people who might then show up at your chapter meeting, especially if the tone of the announcement about the next event is welcoming to newcomers.

I receive several chapter newsletters and some are better than others at welcoming new faces. It's easy to slip into the mode of assuming you're addressing your existing membership, but if your editor is on his/her game they'll remind all of their authors that they have a wider audience to appeal to.

Thanks to all our contributors this month. We're all spending quality hangar time these days and hopefully getting some flying in. If you have anything you'd like to submit, make a note to yourself, right now, to get it to me in the next three weeks. Just a few paragraphs in an email and some excellent photos are all we need. Happy and safe flying.