The Giveaway Giveaway

First off:  Many congratulations to Holly in Alaska for correctly guessing that the Angerman poem mentioned in my previous rant was in fact from the novel (not the movie) Logan's Run. A copy of the infamous issue #3 is winging its way to her as we speak. (Okay, it's Sunday. These are symbolic wings.)

Now, on to bigger and badder issues.

I've had more than one business consultant-type person approach me with offers of help regarding publicity for SHM. The problem is that if I could afford a publicity consultant, I probably wouldn't need one.

I love my job, I love my love mail, I even love the kind of hate mail that makes it clear I pricked someone who needed pricking; but in terms of filthy moolah, I've made no secret of the fact that I'm doing just a little better than paying expenses. I doubt I could pay what a consultant would ask, even if I were willing to go from a little profit to none at all.

A few very good publicity suggestions have been made to me:

More Internet presence, including either MySpace or Facebook pages (sorry, they all sound alike to me) for both me and the magazine.

A Secular Homeschooling Magazine-award contest for best secular homeschooling sites -- blogs, products, that kind of thing.

More presence at homeschooling conferences.

I'll be taking the woman who mentioned that first one up on her very kind offer of helping me, the techno-doofus. I'm also puzzling out the logistics of those last two. Travel is almost impossible for me for both health and money reasons, but there must be other ways of doing it.

I'm soliciting other ideas for publicity, including giveaway ideas that are somewhat less lame (and less contingent on readers being exactly the kind of nerd I am) than my recent one.

Giveaways for subscriptions would be good; giveaways for back issues, either individual ones or the "special" #1 - #4 bundle (still going pretty strong, thanks everybody) would be even better, since I'd love for my living room to someday look like a room where people, rather than boxes, live.

Just to help you out a bit with ideas: I have more merchandise up my sleeve than I've let on.

Because of the response to "The Bitter Homeschooler's Wish List," I wrote up what isn't exactly a shortened version, but is very like it in tone, content, and point. It's called "Ten Things You Should Know About Homeschoolers," and it's printed up on a business card.

I don't know how much mass appeal it's going to have, since Thing #1 is "We're not all religious," and Thing #7 is "We're normal people" (followed immediately by Thing #8, "Kind of").

I like this card, because I'm easily pleased. But I'm not sure what to do with it.

I'd like to sell it, but how many for how much?

I'd also like to do some kind of publicity thing with it, because it does have the magazine's web site address printed on the back.

I was thinking of some kind of challenge where people could get a few free cards mailed to them, but they have to send me their stories (or even pictures) of what they did with them. Handed one to some idiot who started in on the whole "but what about socialiZAtion?" thing. Left a few in a waiting room, at the library, or on a shelf at a grocery store, and then lurked around pretending to have an appointment/look for books/wonder which detergent really makes those whites whiter, all the while watching for reactions from passing strangers. Handed them out randomly to the customers at a favorite coffee shop. Had the entire text of the card tattooed on your back. Something.

Let me know what you think, either here or (if you're feeling secretive) directly to me:

deborah @ 2ds dot org

If I use your idea, I'd love to give you something for your time and trouble. Although money is probably not the kind of printed matter I'll be moving in your direction, just let me know what I've got that you'd like to see.

It's entirely possible that the giver of the very very best idea could find a package of my insanely divine three-chocolate brownies in her or his mailbox, as long as this cold weather holds out.