How to Get Free Stuff for Your Neighborhood Pool Posted on May 30, 2018February 20, 2019 by Justin at PoolDues [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Have something of value to return in exchange… [/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Most neighborhood pools get some income from Swim Team sponsorships, which is either a monetary donation or product donation (which the pool sells, like pizza at a swim meet). But once those Swim Team t-shirts are printed and poolside banners hung, it’s usually game over for fund-raising. But that doesn’t need to be the case. Your pool probably averages 100-150 families, so including spouses, that’s around 250-300 people in the community. Local companies are looking for exactly those people to advertise to, and many of those same companies offer services your pool could tap into for events. So why not work out a trade? You first need to figure out a Social Media package for potential advertisers. Think about what you already have… 1. The Pool Mailing List. You have quality email subscribers that aren’t going to run to the unsubscribe button if you help a local business advertise. You could offer a one-time mailing specifically about a particular company or include their logo in the footer of every email for a certain amount of time (probably 1 year). [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”2/3″ el_position=”first”] 2. Facebook. Your pool should already have a thriving Facebook Group, (not a Page, a Group) where your pool posts frequently and so do members. You can offer to advertise for companies there, in a kind of “shout out” format. For example, see the image to the right. We trade bug spraying services with a local company and in return give them what we would for a Swim Team Sponsor. Creating a group Event on Facebook is also another great promotional tool. So if a local company has an event coming up, for example, a car dealership might have some special weekend promotion, you could create an event in your group for them. Events are especially useful promos because members will usually get some kind of notification on their phone that the event is coming up (usually the day before). You can suggest to members that they like a local business’s Facebook Page or join a Group that the business runs. [/spb_text_block] [spb_image image=”794″ image_size=”full” frame=”noframe” caption_pos=”hover” remove_rounded=”yes” fullwidth=”no” overflow_mode=”none” link_target=”_self” lightbox=”no” intro_animation=”none” animation_delay=”200″ width=”1/3″ el_position=”last”][/spb_image] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] 3. In-App Advertising. If you are a Pool Dues-powered pool, you can put local businesses into your Member Check In app. So, the more you encourage members to check in via the app, the more opportunities those members have to visit your local sponsors. Plus just showing potential sponsors that you have an app looks pretty darn slick. We successfully reached out to an inflatable company for a free bounce house recently, with this email (and attached the image below)… [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”52″ margin_vertical=”59″ custom_css=”margin-top: 59px;margin-bottom: 59px;padding-left: 52px;padding-right: 52px;background-color:#e6dfdf;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” back_color_global=”#e6dfdf” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Subject: Advertising at Pool in Exchange for Wet Slide Rental this Friday Body: Hi! I’m Social Director at [fill in your pool / website]. We’re looking for a large wet slide this Friday night, and we’d love to do an in-kind trade here. We could add a large banner poolside for your company and add you to our Social Media Advertising package, which includes a top advertising spot in our Member Check In app. We require members to check in from their phones now, and when they do so, they end up on a page of Pool Sponsors (example image attached). This has been a big hit with local advertisers, so we think there’s quite a lot of value in it. And obviously a [fill in city name] pool full of parents is exactly who you want to advertise to. As we’re looking to do this Friday night, we would need to know soon if you are interested. We’re coming to you first because we’ve seen you support community groups like ours. We would consider your company a Gold Sponsor (normally a $550 value) in exchange for the free wet slide. Here’s more info about what you’ll receive… [link to details on your site / Pool Dues Portal] Thanks, [your name] Attach this Image: [/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] That’s an easy email to fire off, and if the company is interested it’s win-win for everyone. Or worst case, they just ignore it, and you move onto the next business. [/spb_text_block]