When focusing on recruitment, the most important question is "who is the target audience?" Once this question is answered, marketing efforts can turn to effectively reaching pre-determined groups with specific recruiting materials.

How to Reach Students

There are several ways to reach a target audience. In Adult and Community Education programs, this audience is most often potential and current students. Most methods utilized by ACE programs don't require a large budget, but can produce significant results.

Newspaper Insert

This is an effective way to reach a wide segment of the community.

• Inquire about a local newspaper's costs and procedures for placing an insert about an ACE program or initiative in the paper.
• Confirm the newspaper's limitations – each paper's rules are different. An insert can be a flyer or a newsletter.

Student Letters

• Send letters to former ACE students who did not complete the program.
• Send letters to current students about upcoming classes or new programs.
• Distribute congratulatory letters to newly registered students and/or program graduates.
• Identify students who are continually absent from ACE programs. Send a letter saying the program has missed them and ask if the organization can help get them back on track. Include a contact number.

Flyers

• Design a flyer with tear-off contact numbers. Interested parties can take the information with them and call for details at their convenience.
• Include a flyer or brochure in the electric or phone company's monthly statement. Depending on the size of the city or town, it may be necessary to produce several hundreds or thousands of copies.
• Place flyers in grocery stores, libraries, beauty parlors, barber shops, laundromats, convenience stores and other local businesses.
• Contact local discount and/or grocery stores to inquire about putting flyers in grocery bags for a specified amount of time.
• Place flyers or signs in city buses (with prior permission) to reach potential students, as well as increase awareness about the organization throughout the community.