Promoting Adult Education Programs

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Promoting Adult Education Programs
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Promoting Your Program

• Many programs fail for lack of notice
• Remember the voluntary attendance rule
• Adults vote with their feet
• Adults must be informed about programs
• Promotional efforts are essential
• Plan promotion in advance

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Purposes of Promotion

• To encourage enrollment participation
• Protects cost-recovery basis
• AE programs are more scrutinized for income and
  expenses than other programs
• Promotion must have benefits of participation
• Participants are tuned into WII-FM
• Whats in it for me

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Promotional Steps

• Set an enrollment goal
• Define the target audience
• Plan the promotion strategy
• Prepare and distribute promotional materials
• Evaluate the results

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Going Beyond Birkenholz

• Marketing is
• Creating awareness
• A planned strategy
• Goal to establish a positive image and
  relationship with current and future customers in
  your adult education program
• Promotion is a subset of marketing
• Goal to generate registrations and program income

Adapted from Joni Tanner, NCSU Extension
Associate
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The Promotion Plan

• Direct mail
• Electronic mail
• Flyers
• Newsletter calendars
• PSAs
• Newspaper advertisements
• Personal contact
• Radio

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Direct Mail

• Effective delivery system for rural areas
• Time-based
• Database
• Mailing lists
• Mailing lists before brochures
• Addresses at the ready

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Brochure Truths

• Reading the fine print
• Trash time in three seconds
• Always apply the 3-30-3 principle
• Three seconds to grab attention
• Thirty seconds to intrigue the reader
• Three minutes to make the sale

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AIDA Principle

• A attract attention
• I generate interest
• D develop desire
• A call for action

• Cover
• Purpose, photos, testimonials, top benefits
• Agenda, bios
• Easy registration

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Steps in Developing a Brochure

• Preliminary planning
• Writing the copy
• Planning the layout
• Illustrations and type styles
• Printing

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Preliminary Planning

• Determine the audience
• Establish your objective
• Develop a theme
• Outline content
• Get an estimated cost figure
• Discuss plans with supervisor(s)

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Writing the Copy

• Write in ABC style
• Select every word with care
• Triple-check for errors

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Planning the Layout

• Rough sketch first
• Illustrations
• Dont forget the folds
• Graphic artists
• Computer time

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Layout Guidelines

• Simplistic
• White space
• Color for emphasis
• Paper
• Light-colored
• High-quality
• Heavy

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Illustrations and Type Styles

• Graphic artists
• Rules for good photos
• Clip art
• Different typestyles and fonts
• Text enhancement

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Printing

• Offset printing
• Camera-ready copy
• Dont fold them yourself

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Evaluating Brochures

• What does it portray?
• Does it pass the 3-30-3 test?
• Was the AIDA principle used?
• What audience is it trying to reach?
• What is the brochure's objective?

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Evaluating Brochures

• What is the brochure's theme?
• What is the writing style?
• Was the layout effective?
• Does it have illustrations and different type
  styles?
• How was the quality?

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Top Ten Brochure Tips

• 3-30-3 and AIDA
• Professional typesetter
• Active voice
• Interesting introduction
• Contact information

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Top Ten Brochure Tips

• Highlight color
• Captions on photos
• Registration form
• Direct the reader
• Post Office Mailpiece Design Analyst

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Promotion Summary

• Promotion should be directed towards individual
  needs
• Program promotion is a continual process
• Establish an enrollment goal
• Define the clientele
• Plan the promotional strategy
• Develop materials
• Evaluate the results

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Funding Adult Education Programs
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Show Me the Money!

• State/federal tax revenues are limited for
• ABE - Adult Basic Education
• GED - General Education Development
• ESL - English as a Second Language
• JTPA - Job Training Partnership Association

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Show Me the Money!

• The primary source is participants fees and/or
  sponsorships
• Responsibility of adult educator
• Cash cows are used to fund other educational
  programs
• Always use a program budget

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Developing a Budget

• Basic guidelines and factors for the AE program
  budget
• Estimate your AE program revenues
• Estimate your AE program expenditures
• Simplistic view
• Program revenue (income)
• - Program costs (expenses)
• Profit (loss)

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Expense Budgeting

• Five major expenses
• Promotion and advertising
• Faculty
• Instructional support
• Travel
• Overhead or indirect

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Revenue Budgeting

• Participants fees are (frequently) sole sources
• Divide all AE program expenses equally
• Estimate the threshold number of participants

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Other Support

• Free support from sponsorships, government, etc
• Problems in promoting quality/value of free
  programs
• Charge a nominal fee to promote inherent value
• Business and industry support
• May provide partial or total AE program support

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Additional Budgeting Matters

• Set yourself up to succeed by
• Setting realistic goals for funding
• Setting realistic goals for participation
• Always include ALL program expenses
• ACCEPT your math

Adapted from Joni Tanner, NCSU Extension
Associate
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What It Takes to Succeed

• Think plan new programs
• What are ideal budget item percentages?
• How do I improve my operating margin?
• New courses need a couple of runs
• Put your dog courses to sleep

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Ideal Percentages
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Controlling Your Future

• Deliver a quality program
• Ensure high repeat participation
• Vary teaching style
• Vary the educational setting
• Diversify your program offerings

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The Price Is Right

• Pricing
• Bottom line, raise your prices
• Price is a perception of value
• Customers will pay more for the perceived value
  of a good (AE program)
• Nothing that has worth is offered for free

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The Price Is Right

• Price breaks
• When does the customer say the price is too high
• Different audiences have different price
  thresholds
• Target your audience by setting their price break

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Pricing Schemes

• Listing the price
• Use 5s and 9s in the quoted price
• Avoid decimal points (99.00)
• Make the price (and price breaks) easy to find
• Increasing the price
• 0-14, dont worry about it, just raise it
• 15-24, test the water Think about worth
• 25-49, new program features will be required
• 50 or more, a whole new program will be needed

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Funding Summary

• Develop your program budget as a best guess
• Estimate high expenses and low revenue
• Carefully document all revenue and expense
  records for future use and for fiscal
  responsibility

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Selecting Adult Educators
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A Critical First Step

• Success depends on the educators efforts
• Educators should be knowledgeable of
• Learners
• Subject matter
• Teaching and learning processes

Subject
Learners
Teaching Learning Process
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Personal Qualities

• Adult educators must embrace their role as
  change agents for adult learning
• Based on the perspectives
• Not a transmitter of content knowledge
• Facilitator of KSA utilization in real life
  situations

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Other Qualities

• Organized
• Flexible
• Enthusiastic
• Dedicated/committed
• Perceptive/empathetic
• Effective facilitator

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Skill Development

• Most educators are part-time
• Part-timers need assistance in
• Planning educational activities
• Conducting training programs
• Modeling effective teaching techniques
• Dispels notion that anyone can teach

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Resource Persons

• Guest speakers or panel members
• Particularly useful for
• Updating information
• Technological matters
• Practical applications

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Other Staffing Needs

• You dont have to be the 400-pound gorilla.
• Use your local staff and expertise wisely.
• Hire someone from your inside loop.
• Contract outside help when all else fails.
• Concentrate on programs, not logistics.
• Become an expert in delegating authority, using
  division of labor, and teamwork.

Adapted from Joni Tanner, NCSU Extension
Associate
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Adult Educator Summary

• Adult educators should
• be recognized experts in their content area
• possess knowledge of teaching and learning
  principles
• develop awareness of unique characteristics of
  adult learners
• Adult educators should be encouraged to
  participate in professional development activities