Women Bike, Women Lead

DESIGN INSPIRATION FOR THE BRAND

Creating an eye-catching, consistent, branded identity for Women Bike, Women Lead is essential to promoting the events using electronic and printed material. It is critical to invest in a professional graphic designer who can interpret the spirit of your program, contribute a unique flair to the materials, and understand your need for connecting with a targeted audience.

 

Use Pinterest as a resource for design inspiration. Create a pin board with design examples, textures, colors, patterns, typefaces, and imagery that encompasses your vision for biking in your community. Steer clear of gender stereotypes and using only traditionally feminine aesthetics and colors. Look at examples of other promotional materials for biking and try something that stands out from the rest.

 

Allocate part of your budget to pay for a student or professional graphic designer and printing services. Women Bike, Women Lead worked with a graphic designer who was paid a stipend below her usual rate. If you find someone who is willing to donate their services, be considerate about their time, ask about their needs, communicate expectations clearly, recognize their work and give credit.

 

BIKE RIDE PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

Use a similar theme that ties back to your program’s branded identity. A graphic designer is part of making this process better. Communicate essential information and be clear about the details without putting too much text on the flyer. Elaborate on the details by creating a Facebook event page or blog post with more information.

 

• Ride name

• Date, time, and location

• Length of bike ride (miles and time)

• Ride pace

• Suggested items to bring (sunscreen, water, extra tube, snacks, money, etc.)

• Contact information, social media links, and short URLs

 

To make rides welcoming for beginner riders, include these basic details. Being transparent is part of encouraging new or beginner riders to participate. Describe the ride support available and expectations for addressing flat tires and malfunctions. If a ride is for women only, be prepared to answer questions about inclusivity. Include a policy about not turning anyone away and share your purpose for promoting a women only ride. Recognize partners and funders on the flyer to acknowledge their support.

 

COLLECTING E-MAILS AND PERSONALIZING INVITATIONS

Have sign-up and sign-in sheets at bike rides and events for people to fill out if they are interested in being notified about future events via e-mail and Facebook. Ask people to share their zip codes and e-mail addresses. Be transparent about how you plan to use this personal information.

 

When it comes time to inform people of your latest news, don’t let your messages get easily ignored. Personalize your messages, comments, and tweets to invite people to your event. Mass Facebook invitations and emails look like spam to most people. Address people by their name, tell them about your event, and ask them to help you tell others about it.

 

Use services such as Eventbrite for events that require registration for participation. Informal, large events such as a bike rides may not require strict RSVP requirements, but a summit or workshop with limited space should. A formal registration process will show who’s interested in your event and how to get in touch with them based on the information they’ve provided.

 

MARKETING LESSONS LEARNED

Here are some key tips and lessons learned from marketing:

• Create a press release for events to be promoted by bloggers, the media, and partners

• Use social media channels to promote the events consistently and frequently but make each post and status update unique and interesting

• Respond to inquiries about your events in a timely manner

• Post photos before, during, and after an event and tag people if possible

• Create a dedicated page for people to access current information with links to social media posts related to the events

 

Throughout your process, capture participant data and store this information in a secure, organized document. Valuable data includes how many people have attended events and who should be invited for future activities.