Publicity Hound Lynette Norris Wilkinson writes:
“For the past 5 years I have been raising funds for #Katrina survivors from the New Orleans Lower 9th Ward through the sales of my book, ‘UNTOLD: The New Orleans 9th Ward You Never Knew.’
“I’d like to make some donations during the 10th Anniversary and need ideas on maximizing publicity before, during and after the donations. The donations will be in the form of checks or items, probably to the primary K-12 school in the area, the first full-service grocery store since Katrina, and an organization focused on rebuilding.”
About the Book:
Some of the first images you saw of New Orleans under water during Hurricane Katrina were the mangled houses and cars, and drowned bodies of the people from the Lower 9th Ward. Before Hurricane Katrina, few had even heard of this close-knit, predominately African American community nestled less than five miles from world-famous Bourbon Street.
“I watched it all unfold on TV from my home near Dallas that morning. As the flood waters rose, my heart sank. This was my home, my neighborhood, my people. How could I not use my gifts to tell their story?”
The Publicity Hound says:
Share your ideas for Lynette in the Comments below. Lynette will choose the best idea, and the person who suggested it wins a $50 coupon good for products in my store.
Having been through a tornado in 2011 but not having read the book, I would try to find ways to tie donations to direct instances in the book that reflect the lingering impact (mental and physical) on the people of the Ward. Because it is 10 years from Katrina, school children of that time are now high schoolers. PTSD lingers in addition to deprivation, I would imagine, and counselors deal with that all the time for youth and adults. Your gifts, as you say, include storytelling I’m sure. Hitting on salient points for news media in introducing these vignettes from the book in tandem with donations that address what they show would bring attention both to your book and the ongoing needs. But definitely have the tie between what you have written and each donation you promote.
I look forward to visiting NO for the first time in October, on a quick road trip that, frankly, was planned around music. I know gawkers were not the most welcome in my town after the tornado hit but I suppose curiosity will pull me in, and perhaps the 9th Ward is the place to check.
Thanks for your idea, Bob. It reminded me that offering the media opportunities to interview people within the book are a valuable “plus” that enhances a pitch.
Hi Lynette,
Regardless of how you choose to promote your cause, (Facebook, Twitter, email, etc) you might want to consider setting up a campaign at gofundme.com. It adds “legitimacy” and convenience for potential donors, as well as being a place where you can tell your story in full once your potential donors have landed there. They have a mechanism for tracking offline donations (i.e. checks) in addition to online payment.
I believe they charge 5% for your campaign and the credit card processor, WePay, gets 2.9% plus $.30 per donation, so you are talking roughly an 8% overhead that should of course be factored into your decision.
(Note that no fees are taken from offline donations.)
For the record, I have no affiliation with them whatsoever, and I have never personally set up a campaign. I have donated to gofundme campaigns, however, and from my experience it seemed like your cause might be a good fit, hence my response.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
–Howie Rosenshine
Howie, this is a fabulous idea that can generate money long after the 10th anniversary is past. Thanks for suggesting it.
I gave Lynette’s situation some thought… The first thing I’d recommend would be to select a specific ‘Katrina’ group or two to support, and clearly state who it is and why they’re great. I’m personally hesitant to give $ if there’s vagueness about who’s receiving it. Also, in not naming a specific charity, it implies Lynette hasn’t started selling books yet, and we want to believe she’s already involved in her cause. Once Lynette does choose her group(s), members of those groups are probably going to help promote the book also.
Assuming Lynette doesn’t expect to make much money herself, leaving a margin for retailers to make something (as well as the portion being donated), then I’d suggest approaching New Orleans tour companies and hotel gift shops. Visitors to the city, from the world over, are surely interested in viewing the 9th Ward, the levies, and in learning more about the tragedy and what has happened since. If they saw the book in their hotel gift shop, or were told about it by a tour guide on a bus (and offered the chance to buy a copy there and then), I think they’d be very likely to want to read it and even to help. Tourists do a lot of reading, and they love reading material pertinent to their travel destination.
The problem might be in keeping those tour companies and stores stocked with books. (Retailers don’t generally re-order unless it’s super easy—that’s why you see the Budweiser and Coke guys stocking their own shelves in the grocery stores.) If Lynette is set up to send POD books and accept credit card payments, probably she could just phone them and then re-stock them from Texas, and just visit occasionally.
Good luck, Lynette!!
Wendy, thanks for the well-thought-out suggestions. I really like contacting tour companies and hotel gift shops.