Speed dating is an increasingly popular option for today's singles. You won't have trouble convincing people to come as long as you create an effective marketing campaign, catered to your target crowd and put before them in a few different ways.
Instructions
1. Publish the event in your organization's newsletter. This should ideally occur between one month and two weeks before the event, allowing your readers long enough to plan for it but not long enough to forget about it.
2. Announce the event on your listserv. Announcing the event electronically is (generally speaking) free and very efficient, making a large group of people aware of it at a keystroke. Also, many people prefer to receive electronic correspondence instead of paper mail: It's better for the environment and it doesn't take up space.
3. Create and post fliers. If possible they should be printed on bright paper (but one that doesn't cause eye strain or make your text difficult to read). Include a picture, possibly of a happy couple. Have vibrant text, but limit it to two fonts, as more than this tends to create visual chaos. Post your fliers, or, if you can spare the manpower, hand them out yourselves.
4. Create Facebook and MySpace events. These can alert everyone on your friends' list at just a glance that you have an upcoming event. (You should encourage others in your organization to do likewise). You can also create an appropriate listing on Craigslist and post to any other social networking websites you belong to.
5. Post ads in local newspapers and circulars. These are widely read and advertising in them is cheap (and sometimes free).
6. Make sure that all your advertising materials explicitly state that this is a speed dating event, when and where it is to take place, and what the crowd will be like (Jewish singles, senior citizens). Also be sure to mention any fringe benefits (food or snacks, gift bags, literature).
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