Planning and publicizing Beth El events

IN THE MEMBERS SECTION: Organization Forms Guides Miscellaneous Email listserv signups

Key links:

• Event Submission Form for Publicity
• Publicity for Beth El Events & Stories, which includes:
  • Steps for event organizers and others to follow
  • A customizable spreadsheet you can use to assign and track tasks for specific projects and events
  • External media list
• Canva (for creating graphics)

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Planning, publicizing, and holding an event at Beth El requires a coordinated effort by many different people. You need people to come up with ideas, people to volunteer to help with various tasks at various times, and people to actually run the event. But the most compelling event in the world won’t bring anyone in unless you let people know about it well in advance. Effective communications and publicity to reaching prospective members as well as congregants is key.

The most important thing for event organizers to keep in mind is: It’s never too early to start planning your event and spreading the word. You may not have all the details about your event finalized yet, but consult this Event Planning Checklist and call the temple office as soon as you have an idea of what you want do.

As an event organizer, here’s what you need to do:

Step 1 for Organizers

Call the Beth El office as soon as you have your idea. Before you do, please have…

• Some specific dates and times to request (rather than “what Sundays do you have free?”)
• Your expected audience:
  • The approximate number and ages of attendees expected — this determines room size and staffing needs, such as greeters or a security guard
  • The type of people expected — primarily Beth El folks? The local Jewish community? A wider audience requiring an external marketing and promotion campaign?
• The speaker:
  • If the speaker is to be paid an honorarium, specify the address to which a check should be sent. Note that our bookkeeper is at Beth El only on Thursdays, and checks must be requested at least one week in advance.
• Food and beverage needs — Who will provide this? Who will set up and clean up? 

Step 2 for Organizers

Fill out the Event Submission Form as soon as the office has given you an attendee registration link (if applicable) and a Zoom link. This gets the ball rolling in terms of publicity work that needs to be done by various people — emails, the Beth El website, Mah Chadash, etc. (see the full process below).

Remember, it’s never too early to start planning and publicizing your event, even if you don’t have all the details nailed down yet. This is especially important for events intended to attract potential members and other non-Beth El folks.

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Event publicity checklist for staff and others

Here’s everything that has to happen for getting the word out and making sure your event draws as many people as possible.

• “Actors” who have to do things are in bold type. Things that the actors produce are in red type (“Communicators” are website managers Alice Waugh and Sheila Goldberg, and Communications Director Bridget Hodder).
• If you like, you can track publicity progress for a specific event using “Internal Publicity” tab on the Publicity for Beth El Events & Stories spreadsheet. If you don’t have permission to access that spreadsheet, please contact Alice.

Step 1

Organizer calls the Office to confirm the date, arrange logistics, and get an attendee registration link and Zoom link if appropriate — see Step 1 for Organizers above.

Step 2

QUESTION 3a: Do attendees have to register in advance?

YES: Office creates an Attendee Registration Form with the title of the event, date, time, images and other information.

NO: Proceed to Question 3b.

QUESTION 3b: Does the event require a Zoom link?

YES: Office creates a unique Zoom link.

NO: Proceed to Step 4.

Step 3

Organizer fills out the Event Submission Form on the member area of the Beth El website (this information goes to the Office and the Communicators).

Step 4

Office sends the Attendee Registration Form link and/or Zoom link (if applicable) to the Communicators.

Step 5

Webbies (or Organizer if they wish) create a graphic for social media using Canva that includes the event title, date, time, images and other information. If Organizer created the graphic, they email it to Office and Communicators.

Step 6

Communicators…

• • Post the event text and image on the Beth El website
  • Post the graphic on social media
  • Post a short description and a link to the Beth El website event on JewishBoston.com
  • Arrange for wider publicity if appropriate

Step 7

Office…

• • Sends out emails to congregants via Constant Contact referencing the link on the Beth El website
  • Puts a one-line text notice in the next Mah Chadash newsletter with a link to the Beth El website event
  • Puts the event into the Beth El Google calendar with a link to the Beth El website event for more information
  • Inserts the graphic into the lobby monitor rotation