Ghost of Midnight

… about neighbors, community and Front Porch Forum

Rule of Seven?

Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 by No comments yet

It never ceases to amaze me how many times people who like the concept need to hear about Front Porch Forum before they actually sign up… probably seven repetitions on average. These are folks who are interested and eligible.

Another person just told me today that he had heard about it for 5-6 months, read about it in the paper, heard from a neighbor, etc… just hadn’t got around to it. A sign on a library bulletin board finally pushed him over the edge, and he went home and registered. Human nature? Herre’s a couple quotes… similar stories:

1. I have been meaning to join for months now… this forum seems to be such a great tool for neighborhood communication. I am anxious to find out about what I’ve been missing! -The Orchards Neighborhood Forum

2. I learned about this this forum some time ago from a flyer hand delivered to my home. After being reminded about this group by one of school commissioners at last Thursday’s NPA meeting, I decided to join. -ONE East Neighborhood Forum

I have friends in the marketing world who confirm that seven is a find of magic number for hammering messages into people. Well, if Front Porch Forum was spreading with conventional marketing then we’d just need to buy enough compelling exposure to reach our target audience’s saturation point… wear ’em down, baby.

But that’s not the path we’re on. We depending solely on word of mouth, and the occasional media coverage. So, a typical neighbor who is excited about this new community-building service will tell the people around him… once! Or, sometimes, not at all… “well, I don’t want to bother the neighbors… they probably saw the same blurb in the newspaper that I did.”

Well, even if they did see it, on average they’ll need to get the message another six times before they sign up! So, to all Front Porch Forum members wondering how to get more neighbors on board… “tell ’em once, tell ’em twice, tell ’em again and keep it nice.” Okay, so that’s my first and last attempt at writing a cheer.

Point is… don’t be shy about telling and reminding friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. to check it out.  Send them FrontPorchForum.com.

Posted in: Burlington, Community Building, Front Porch Forum, Stories, Vermont


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