As a non-profit theater based in a small town, print and direct mail are often our best tools for spreading the word about our upcoming productions.

We budget for at least two major mailings to our audiences every year - a season announcement in the fall and a donation ask in the spring. Our season announcement brochure contains all of the information about the shows coming up in our next summer season as well as an order form for our subscription sales. We can always tell when our season announcement brochures have hit mailboxes, because our subscriptions begin to roll in, either by mail or by phone. By holding our season announcement in their hands, our audiences know it's time to renew. In addition, we use print mail to ask for donations in the spring. We always come up with a creative way to remind them of the fantastic work we do for the community. Again, something about holding our spring donation mailing in their hands makes them more likely to give us a call or send in a check to continue their support. As we move into the spring, we are once again looking to send out a donation mailing.

While our season announcement and spring donation mailing are geared toward returning audience members, every summer we try to attract new customers through various forms of print marketing. We distribute eye-catching posters to high-traffic areas in local businesses for each of our shows. We also print season rack cards that are distributed to wineries, breweries, hotels, campgrounds, and restaurants in the surrounding areas. These rack cards have a special promo code that allows us to drive new business and track where it's coming from. Our rack cards are already designed and printed for this summer and will be dropped off to the various locations in the coming weeks. By utilizing our partnerships with local businesses, we aim to spread the word to new customers in our region.

One of our biggest print marketing projects is our summer Program Book, which contains all of the information about our summer productions, artists, and sponsors. This is a massive undertaking, but our audiences love to have a printed playbill when they walk into the theater. It's our chance to sell them on who we are, what we do, and how we do it. But not only is it our chance to tell our story, it's also a reminder of our work when they leave the theater. Each and every one of our patrons receives this program book, so each and every one of our patrons have a physical, printed reminder of our organization.

Our marketing is all about reminders. We remind them of the work we do through photos, logos, and the like. That way when we tell them about the exciting shows we have coming up or we ask them to support us by donating, they know the kind of work we're producing. We're reminding them of their connection to us. Connections keep us coming back year after year.