Session 3 — Marketing and Communications

I’m glad so many of you could make it to our session this morning (@jmm49 included!). :smiley: It was great to hear all of your updates — many of you seem to be getting closer to a clearer project definition/direction, which is fantastic. And for those that are speeding on ahead, way to go!

As usual, take a look at the session’s chat transcript to see what questions and discussion took place. I’ve compiled a list of links shared:

I also wanted to include a list of the tactics that I had mentioned at the end of our lesson today, in very brief point form:

  • Public listing: the project homepage is going to be the space that you’re likely to share with people, so they can see the progress being made, any content, Calls For Participation (CFPs), and the team.
  • Project contact/mailing list: beginning with the team block on the project homepage (this can help capture interest in a concrete way, so you can share updates and more. Of course, give people an option to opt-in)
  • Blog posts: with links to other content like homepage, call for participation, etc. You can post on your personal blog, your institution’s marketing site, or on the project homepage.
  • Milestone announcement (with next steps)
  • Social media (via dedicated account or team members’ personal accounts): post on Twitter or Facebook, or wherever you know your discipline’s network is the most active. Tap into these communities
  • Email signatures (keeps the project front of mind with all email interactions)
  • Community calls (practical and builds bonds)
  • Conferences (present and be challenged about things on the project)
  • Around the release stage:
    • Repositories, updated project metadata - all about discoverability, so people can easily find the content on your project
    • Physical or electronic promo items, sometimes called swag: slide decks, blurbs, pamphlets (quick, easy to share)
    • Print copies of the book: nice to have, magic of print, bunch of different uses especially for those readers who require a physical copy

Feel free to add to this list as you think about marketing and communications work on your projects!

All the examples I screen-shared during the session are included in the handout linked earlier in this thread.