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RCAC Self-Help Builder News December 2011 Volume 4, Issue 4 >
Self-help housing marketing successes
In the Spring 2011 issue of the Self Help Builder, RCAC staff, Angela Sisco, outlined various marketing strategies for recruiting builders especially the very low-income. In this issue, we would like to feature stories that show what is working in the region. We encourage you to share your successes with your peers by sending us a note on what has worked for you.
Kay Kissinger from Peninsula Housing Authority in Washington State
Here is a list of some marketing approaches we use. However, what we have found, and what I think we all agree on, is that the personal touch and outreach produces the best results. Our main focus in the past 60-90 days has been speaking to every available gathering in the community where we have not previously been present, such as the chamber, Elks, Rotary, Lions, Soroptimist, Realtor’s Association, Port Angeles Business Association, art gallery meetings, etc. We think the lack of community recognition in what our program offers, results in lack of referrals.
Our group worker/loan packager is a local, home town person who is very active in the community and volunteers for just about any and everything. She is well known for her volunteerism so people like her and trust her. Her background includes the mortgage and real estate industry, so she is extremely comfortable doing public presentations as well as one-on-one presentations to everyone she knows. She recently was the focus of a radio interview about the program after her presentation to the Port Angeles Business Association. The direct results of hearing Deb’s name in the interview were numerous phone calls on her personal phone asking questions about the program. We have developed a fantastic YouTube video and PowerPoint presentation for use in speaking engagements. While these tools help tell the story, I still say the personal connections and outreach are what is working now, for us, in our community. The other efforts we have tried are:
- One year contract with the Peninsula Daily News (PDN) for a banner advertisement in its online addition. The ad rotates with approximately 20 other local businesses. Monthly, we receive data on the number of ad views on the PDN site and the number that click through to our website. This data assists us in timing our ad re-design to provide a new look and updated information.
- We have an “over the street” wide banner placed on a quarterly basis for one week on First or Front Streets in Port Angeles.
- Outreach letters to all residents of our family housing and Wildwood Terrace Apartments. Flyers to our Section 8 clients via the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program.
- Individual follow-up letters and visits to residents with acceptable credit scores.
- Follow-up letters to all persons that have previously expressed an interest in the self-help program.
- Participate in the Shelter Providers Network – meetings, outreach, general information presentations and updates, networking.
- Participate in the Homelessness Taskforce – meetings, outreach, general information presentations and updates.
- Flyers hung on apartment doors. (Trudy helped on this one!)
- Presentations and flyers provided to business groups, service groups and realtor associations – this is an ongoing effort, based on when Deb can get on a club’s agenda. Deb has created a PowerPoint presentation and an updated flyer for this purpose.
- YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/user/PHAMSHHA?feature=mhee.
- Direct outreach to the tribal communities.
- Flyers and presentations to individuals and small groups via previous participant referrals.
Shandele Kestie, Self-Help Administrator from South Central Community Action Partnership in Twin Falls, Idaho
I recently found recruiting success by hand delivering a letter to all previous mutual self-help housing participants in our service area. The key points in the letter were that the self-help homeowners would be the best people to know possible interested participants. The group was likely to fill-up quickly, there was an end date to the recruiting and, the $250 incentive for any closed loan they referred (out of other funding sources, of course) didn’t hurt either! After months of difficulty, we filled our group in less than two weeks and previous participants will have a little extra holiday money.
Juanita Burnham from Lower Columbia CAP in Washington State
There really is no “tip” per se. We were lucky enough to purchase land that was low in cost but apprised high, which allowed the door to open up for very-low income families to purchase.
I work one-on-one with clients about their credit and how debt-to-income can affect their ability to own a home. I have them go through Money Smart classes that are offered here at CAP (I’m on the board) and encourage them to save. I have a very high success rate in our Individual Development Accounts (IDA) money match program, although sadly it will sunset due to the lack of state funds. I found this to be a very useful tool in money management. I’m such a firm believer in educating clients about homeownership and the values of knowing how to make your money work for you.
Not all techniques will work in every area. Our effort is to try to get the ideas out there and then for you to see what works well for the program in your communities. Do not forget to document your marketing steps for your Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing plans!
Send a note to ASisco@rcac.org and let us know what works for your program. We’ll share it in a future issue of Self-Help Builder.