For sometime now I’ve been involved with a publication called Footprints  which is a Christian Womens Magazine in Australia.  I’ve been looking after their website and participate in committee discussions and prayer. If you haven’t heard of Footprints then you need to visit their website.   Read what their Editor/Founder has to say.

Spreading the Word – how have you promoted Footprints?

Over the years I’ve tried just about every free or low-cost type of PR that you can think of. I’ve borrowed marketing books from the library and pored over them for hours, seeking inspiration!

Right from our earliest days, I’ve sent press releases and photographs to the media on occasions such as our first birthday, or when a Footprints team member is presenting at a conference. As a result, stories about Footprints have appeared in our local newspapers, the Salvation Army Warcry magazine, the Australian Evangel, websites such as Sight (www.sightmagazine.com), and we have been interviewed on radio stations such as Brisbane’s 96.5FM, Toowoomba’s 92.9 Voice FM, and the Gold Coast’s Rhema FM, to name just a few.

We have held a couple of competitions over the years – they’re great for creating “news” for media releases. We held a writing competition around the them of “God Answered My Prayer” (one of our regular columns) a few years ago; more recently we held a cover competition for our 50^th issue.

Along the same lines, I’ve also written articles for numerous Christian publications and websites, and as a thank you, received a bit of a plug with my by-line or perhaps a free ad. Footprints hasn’t taken out much paid advertising in other Christian publications; we’ve never really had the budget!

Speaking engagements are another great way to spread the word about Footprints. In the early years I experimented with sending a few introductory packs to churches, with some sample copies, flyers and a reference from my pastor.  However, it didn’t seem to generate much interest. When I phoned to find out the general reaction to the packs I had sent, they seemed to think I was “selling something” so weren’t interested. Sadly, they didn’t catch the “Footprints” vision and how it could benefit them and their flock.

However, I tried a different tactic a couple of years ago by sending out a pack along with a letter offering our “speaker services”, and that was much more successful! Although I personally don’t do much speaking these days due to time constraints (I also work four days per week), a couple of the other girls on the Footprints Team also do some and so spread the word about Footprints.

Getting involved at community events has also been part our promotional strategy. Back in 2000 the churches in my area put on an Easter festival, and Footprints organised the Mum’s Sanity Corner tent – playdough for the kids, and free tea/coffee for the parents. It was a quiet spot for young families to unwind, and parents could feed and change their babies. We had a Footprints display, as well as some copies and lots of flyers available.

Sometimes we host a display stand at conferences or Christian events, and often donate vouchers for a free magazine to churches to put in their goody bags when they hold an event. Ideally we’d love to send them free magazines to put in the goody bags, but have never had the finances to be able to do that. At least by having a voucher, we know that if somebody takes the time to request their “freebie”, they are more likely to sign up rather than sowing our seed (magazines) willy-nilly.

The internet offers a world of opportunities for promotion! As the internet can be a scary place, and we realise that Footprints is an “unknown quantity” to many people, we offer a free copy of the magazine to Aussie visitors to our website. Our presence on the net has now expanded to include a blog, Facebook fan page, and a free monthly FOCUS ezine. FOCUS in particular is a great way to keep getting our name in front of interested Christians. I try to make it good value with a quality devotion in each issue (to help readers FOCUS on God in the midst of their busy lives), as well as all the latest in the world of Footprints. Marketing experts say that you have to keep getting your name in front of prospective clients, and the FOCUS ezine, and regular updates to our blog and Facebook page, are a couple of the ways we try to achieve that.

This blog tour is hopefully going to generate lots of interest in Footprints too! When I first came across the idea, I thought it was ideal for Footprints – people who read Aussie Christian blogs by women are highly likely to be interested in our magazine – they obviously like reading; and many of them have a blog themselves and enjoy writing. So as well as being potential new subscribers, we will also be introduced to possible new contributors. Gotta be happy with that!

And who’s on the team?

Right from the moment I first told them of my “brainwave” to launch a Christian women’s magazine, I had several friends who pledged their support. A couple of them are still on board over 12 years later! Melanie was my best friend in high school; her sister Nicola is also on the Footprints Team. It is amazing to think that God was putting the pieces together for Footprints all those years ago, long before we ever thought of it! Vivian is another of the original Team members, we became friends when we were attending the same church.

Sonia has been our prayer warrior for several years now; and Jenny came on board about 5 years ago. Both girls knew of Footprints through their friendship with other girls on the Team, and gradually became involved.

Some of our Team members I first “met” through email – including you Kathie (our wonderful web editor); Victoria, the lady who provides our cover photography; Narelle, our WA rep; and Cate. We have also had a couple of readers, like Margaret, Kylie, Annie and Pauline, who have loved Footprints so much that they sought out a greater involvement.

The girls each have their own gifts and talents which they contribute to Footprints. We have you Kathie as web editor, and Victoria as our cover photographer. Vivian is a psychologist and Nicola has qualifications in counselling, expertise which I often rely on when writing or compiling articles. Melanie and Nicola do some official Footprints speaking engagements, and are prolific writers. Narelle, Cate and Kylie write a lot of our articles. Pauline, Margaret and Annie are fantastic helpers when it’s time to package up the magazines ready for mail out. Jenny is an accountant and helps us keep our finances on track! Vivian, Annie, Jenny and Kathie all have experience in being on the management committee of other not-for-profit organisations, which has been invaluable since we incorporated earlier this year! And all of us pray!

All of these lovely ladies donate their time and talents to Footprints. I often and joke and tell that although the pay is non-existent, the rewards are out of this world! I’d still love to have a graphic designer, and a PR person join our team, so this is one of our key prayer points at the moment. The more Footprints grows, the more helpers are needed and the more I am learning that I really CAN’T do it all and I am gradually learning the art of delegation!

Follow these links for the rest of the tour:

•Tuesday 29/6 – Back up to the southside of Brisbane for a chat with Lil from http://motheringmisadventures.blogspot.com/

•Wednesday 30/6 – Head on over to Brisbane’s northern outskirts for Corallie’s feature on Footprints at http://buchanan-beeline.blogspot.com/

•Thursday 1/7 – Joni from the Blue Mountains in NSW plays host to the Footprints blog tour today at http://every1matters.wordpress.com/

•Friday 2/7 – Go west dear reader, as we chat with Narelle from Perth at http://www.momentsformum.com/ (Narelle is also our WA state rep).

•Saturday 3/7 – Back to the Brissie girls, with the popular http://www.squigglemum.com/ for an interview with Cath.

•Sunday 4/7 – Still in Brisbane , with Paula at http://paulassharingspot.blogspot.com/

•Monday 5/7 – Heading west – but not quite so far this time! Stopping in with Kelly in Toowoomba at http://beafunmum.com/

•Tuesday 6/7 – And finally, an interview practically in our own backyard with Tabitha in the Redlands at http://tabithabird.blogspot.com/