Moishe House Outreach

How do you reach people, and particularly new people, with MH programming?

Below is a top 5 list I've developed from my experience in MH Portland.

1. Run excellent programs. Like a quality product, good programming markets itself. If you consistently churn out good events, than people will keep coming back and they will tell their friends and family about it as well. There is no better marketing tool than a quality product or service.

2. Repeat your message. People are bombarded by dozens or in many cases hundreds of messages a day. For yours to get through, they must be repeated regularly.

3. Diversify your channels. Different people like to receive communications in different ways, and by mixing up your communication channels you can both hit people multiple times without them feeling overwhelmed or annoyed. You can also create a feeling of energy and momentum by being "everywhere." At MH Portland we use an email list, a website and facebook. We haven't made use of twitter yet though we should, and there are probably many other channels that we haven't explored. We'd love advice.

4. Never interact with a young Jewish person without getting their contact information. MH is providing a great service to the community. Don't be shy about building up your list. Its critical.

5. Ask regulars to recruit new people. The best messenger is always a close friend. If you want new people to come, have those closest to them make the invite.

Obviously there are lots of ways to pursue an outreach strategy, but these are some basic lessons that we have learned and try to employ at MH Portland.