Library Marketing Made Easy

If you need to promote your library but you never studied marketing—and you don’t want to start now—this course is for you. These quick and clear classes will clue you in on the key concepts that make promotion work, without getting too deep. It’s the perfect bite-sized course for “accidental marketers” who want to be effective but can’t devote all their time to marketing.

Lesson 1: Overview of the Four Phases of a Marketing Effort

• Focusing and Learning
• Setting Specific Goals
• Planning Your Communications
• Taking Action and Tracking Reactions

Lesson 2: Focusing and Learning

• Define the group of people you want to send promotions to
• Gather info about them, esp. where / how they get info and what they need / value
• Keep a brief profile doc on each group you research

Lesson 3: Setting Specific Goals

• Choose the product, service, or event to market
• Check your competition
• Choose SMART goals

Lesson 4: Planning Your Communications

• Write a mini-marketing plan that details how you’ll reach your goals
• Include Goals, Tactics, Messages, and Timing
• Exactly what will your message be, and where will you put it? And when?

Lesson 5: Taking Action and Tracking Reactions

• Carry out the promotions you’ve planned
• Note attendance/usage; ask how people heard about it
• Evaluate the results against your goals: what worked & what didn’t?
• Document the lessons learned so you can implement them next time around