Flyering College Campuses 101
As Campus Organizer of the SSA I do quite a bit of flyering. Throughout my flyering adventures I have learned from trial and error.
Choosing a School to Flyer
- Find a school that is in close proximity to you--this will encourage more effective collaboration.
- The best response rates typically come from large, public institutions
- Avoid flyering:
- Community Colleges
- Extremely religious schools. You can usually determine if a school is very religious by listening to word-of-mouth and by visiting their web site.
- Schools that have less than 1,000 students
Deciding When to Flyer
Fall is the best time of year to flyer. However, the beginning of spring semester is also good.
Do not flyer around finals week
The best days of the week to flyer are Sunday evenings or Monday afternoons. Fridays are bad because the janitorial staff usually cleans over the weekend and may take down signs or carousers may rip them down. Also, many students leave on weekends.
Before You Flyer:
- Contact the SSA to make sure there is not a student group at that school already.
- Request a flyering packet by filling out the form located at: http://www.secularstudents.org (Allow 2 weeks for delivery).
- Visit the school’s web site to:
- Determine if students are on a break of any kind
- Find out where you can park
- Read up on the school’s posting policy
- Print out a campus map
- Put together a flyering kit including:
- A backpack or bag
- A staplegun
- A roll of tape
- Business cards (optional)
Flyering Strategies
- Aim for high-traffic areas
- Instead of hanging one flyer, hang four. People are much more likely to notice a lot of flyers than one
- If a bulletin board states that you should only hang one then do it. Otherwise they will all be ripped down.
- Concentrate flyers in one area rather than spreading 100 flyers all over campus.
- Fill up an entire kiosk with flyers. Students may cover them up in no time but they will garner a lot of attention while they are there.
- Aim for eye-level when hanging flyers
- If there is little room on the bulletin board aim for up high or over to the side. Let the flyers hang off the board a bit…they’ll stick out like a sore thumb and people will be more likely to notice them.
- Aim for high traffic areas.
- The more staples you use the harder it is to tear your flyer down.
Use A Roll of Tape To Get:
- Doors of buildings-this method is very “in-your-face.” Everyone has to use the door to get in and they can’t miss your flyer if it is staring right at them.
- Stairwells and Elevators
- Over Drinking Fountains
- Bathroom stalls and over bathroom sinks
- Over copying machines
- Snack machines
- Doors of lecture halls-they are usually large for a reason
- Outdoor benches
- Lamp posts
Flyering Hints:
- Short on time? Just flyer the first floors of buildings
- Most of the students who contact us are majoring in the arts or sciences. Try flyering the science building, and the performing arts centers, and foregoing the recreation center and the education building.
- Do not flyer something that does not look like it has been flyered before. You do not want to be the first to break a rule. The best rule of thumb is to post your flyers where other individuals have posted theirs.
- If there are remnants of tape on the front door of a building go ahead and flyer it.
- Do not stick tape, staples, or thumbtacks on nice walls. Also do not use tape on paint, it will sometimes rip it right off.
- Do not put your flyers close to trash cans
- Unless the church/chapel is non-denominational do not flyer it.
- Do not put your flyers over other flyers unless the event has already passed.
- Classrooms are great because students are trapped there indefinitely and are usually bored out of their wits.
- Put flyers on the tables, end tables, and coffee tables in lounges, unions and cafeterias. Take it one step further and make table-tents.