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Networking & other marketing opportunities

All the below listed Chamber events are advertised to members via weekly or monthly updates, newsletters, local media and events calendar on the Chamber website.

Chamber Luncheons

Great opportunity to network with other members and learn more about community issues. Luncheons and Presentations are held once per month between September and May. Members are allowed to make short announcements at the end of each luncheon. A wide variety of speakers present on topics relevant to the community Time at end of presentation for question/answers with speaker. Lunch is available for a fee; open to the public. No reservations are needed.

Chamber Mixers

Opportunity to learn more about other member businesses and network with members and the public. Mixers are hosted by Primary Business & Associate Business Chamber members. Several members can host a mixer together. See Chamber Mixers to learn more about becoming a Mixer host.

Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

SBDC provides counseling, seminars, and resources to members and the community via their office at the Chamber of Commerce. A representative from SBDC is available to meet with members at Homer Chamber
or in Soldotna via appointment. Businesses can also use the Chamber SBDC office when it is available. Call SBDC directly to make an appointment for either Homer or Soldotna or to reserve the Chamber SBDC office:
907-262-7497. Click here to learn more about the SBDC.

Sponsorship & Committee Networking

An excellent marketing tool is to associate your business with a non-profit organization or event. The Chamber provides many fundraising and community events to promote your business through sponsorship and donations such as Clean Up Day, Scholarship Fund, Shorebird Festival, and more. As a sponsor or donor, your business will receive benefits such as advertising on event flyers and website pages. Volunteering on Chamber and community event committees also offers opportunities to network with other members and help support and improve events that benefit our community.

Chamber Mailing List

Primary Business Chamber members can purchase mailing labels or an electronic mailing list of over 560 members. See Mailing Lists to learn more.

Newsletter Inserts

Primary Business Chamber members can place inserts in the Chamber's monthly newsletter which is mailed and e-mailed to over 560 members. See Newsletter Inserts to learn more.

Member Networking in the Chamber Newsletter

Members can network for free in the Chamber's monthly newsletter: Familiarization trips, Buy/Sell/Trade, Announcements, New Services, and other general networking. Just email a short description (6 lines or less) to the Executive Assistant by newsletter deadline.

Familiarization Trips & Services: Media, other members,  & Visitor information center volunteers & Staff

A great way to promote your business is through providing Familiarization Trips & Services for visiting travel writers, TV Show crews from around the world, and other media hosts. Contact the Chamber to be included on our FAM Listing if you are interested in providing these promotional services. Once the Chamber has verified the media person's credentials, your contact information and FAM Services will be shared with them. The media person will contact you directly to check availability and coordinate services. FAM trips for other Chamber members can also great great networking and referrals. The Chamber is honored to have an exceptional crew of Volunteers and Staff who provide information about your business at the Visitor Information Center and at Halibut Derby Headquarters. Providing a FAM Trip/Service is a great way to show them firsthand what your business offers. Trips & Services can be provided for groups or individuals based on your availability. Coupons for free or discounted services are also appreciated. Contact the Visitor Center Manager to coordinate.

Low cost marketing

Here are just a few ways to promote your upcoming event or increase public awareness for little or no cost.

Public Service Announcements (PSA): one page announcement about your event or business news. Includes basics: who, what, when, where, how, why: who and how to call for more information. Length should be short enough to read in 30-60 seconds. Remember, PSAs are free so there is no guarantee the media will air or print yours. PSAs for general business news (i.e., new owners, new location, business open house, new product or service offered, etc.) are often placed in the business section of newspapers. Non profit events, community events, and fund raising activities are often placed in community calendar areas. Check each media's guidelines for how to submit your PSAs. For a larger listing of Alaska radio stations, publications, newspapers and TV stations to send PSAs to, stop by the Chamber to look at our Alaska Media Directory.

Radio Announcements:

• KBBI/KDLL: For event, complete the Community Calendar form www.kbbi.org/events.html and return to KBBI (contact information on the form). They will announce during the community calendar. For other news related PSAs, send to newsdir@kbbi.org. Job Notices should be sent to dorle@kbbi.org. Contact Dorle at 235-7721
• KWAVE: Send PSAs to Tim White at kwavefm@xyz.net

Radio Shows:

• KBBI-Slack Tide: Friday mornings at approximately 9:30 am. Non profits are allowed to talk about upcoming events for about 5 to 10 minutes on radio show. To schedule, contact Dorle at 235-7721 or dorle@kbbi.org
• KBBI-Coffee Table: Wednesday mornings 9 am to 10 am. Radio show discusses community and statewide issues. Audience calls in to ask questions. To schedule, contact Dorle at 235-7721 or dorle@kbbi.org
• KWAVE-Straight Talk: Tuesday mornings 9 am to 10 am. Community members are allowed to come discuss upcoming events for approximately 15+ minutes. To schedule, contact Tim White at kwavefm@xyz.net

Newspapers: Depending on topic of your PSA, newspaper may decide to do a larger announcement or story about your event or issue.

• Homer Tribune: Weekly newspaper comes out on Wednesdays. Free listing in Weekender section and community events section. Weekender is distributed at various locations from Homer to Anchorage. Business news and other PSAs will be placed in most appropriate section depending on space available. Meetings schedules and other announcements listed in Weekender/Announcements/Meeting section. Send PSA to info@homertribune.com
• Homer News: Weekly newspaper comes out on Thursdays. Free event listing in events calendar. Business news and other PSAs will be placed n Business in Brief or most appropriate section depending on space available. Often will do in-depth articles on business news (new business, new employees, new services, etc.) in Business section. Meetings schedules and other announcements listed in Town Crier section. Send PSA to news@homernews.com
• Peninsula Clarion: Monday-Friday newspaper mainly for the Soldotna/Kenai area but also distributed throughout the Kenai Peninsula. Send PSA to news@peninsulaclarion.com or call 907-283-7551
• Anchorage Daily News: Daily newspaper for entire state. Send PSA to newsroom@adn.com or to specific area of newspaper (i.e., sports, outdoors, etc.) check website for contacts: www.adn.com or call 800-478-4200. NOTE: the Anchorage Daily News does many special publications at various times throughout the year that may be relevant to your business, such as the Summer Camp listing, Gift Guides, etc. Sometimes inclusion in these publications is free. Check their website for specifics on these deadlines and who to contact.

Cooperative Advertising:

Magazines & Directories: On occasion, the Chamber will be offered special rates for full page advertising in directories or magazines that are focusing on Alaska, the Kenai Peninsula, and/or Homer. When offered, the Chamber then provides Primary Business and Multiple Primary Business members the opportunities to purchase small ads that will be located on this full page spread. Cost and timing vary. Members are notified about opportunities with as much notice as possible. Examples of past cooperative advertising include the Fishing issue of Alaska Magazine, Fish Alaska Magazine and RV & Camping Directory. Information on upcoming opportunities will be shared with members via email updates and newsletters.

KPTMC and ATIA: Tourism businesses can research the cooperative advertising opportunities offered through the Kenai Peninsula Tourism and Marketing Council (KPTMC) and the Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA) that are provided with membership in these organizations. KPTMC - www.kenaipeninsula.org  ATIA - http://www.alasktia.org

Check Local - Buy Local: In response to requests from many of our retail members, the Homer Chamber is developing a "Check Local - Buy Local" program to encourage locals to check with local businesses first before shopping. The campaign will regularly advertise in local media, educating the community about the program and specials. Promotional materials and website special listings will be provided for participating Primary Business and Multiple Primary Business members. For more information, contact Jenny at 235-7740 or jenny@homeralaska.org.

Community Presentations - Present your event, community issue and fundraising idea to the local community and community organizations.

Open House or Presentation: Host your own presentation or open house at your business. If you need a larger location, depending on your topic, you can often reserve free or discounted meeting space at the public schools (through Community Schools), churches, the Homer Public Library, Islands & Ocean Visitor Center, City Council chambers, and the Homer Chamber.

Rotary: Rotary members invite community members to present to their clubs on a regular basis. You must be invited by a member to make a presentation. Come prepared with specific duties and projects if seeking volunteers and/or donations for your project or event. Contact Kachemak Bay Rotary at 235-7330 and the Homer Downtown Rotary at 235-0550 or do a search on www.rotaryclubmembers.com.

Homer Chamber Support: Chamber members can seek support of the Chamber for various events and issues by making a presentation to the Chamber Board of Directors. Members must request an "agenda item" for their presentation to be included on the Board agenda. Board meetings are the third Thursday of the month from 12 noon to 2 pm at the Chamber; meetings are open to the public. Contact Jenny or Paul at 235-7740 or alyssa@homeralaska.org.

Local Businesses: If your event or issue relates to a specific business/industry area (i.e., health, retail, etc.) call other Chamber members and local businesses to ask if you could do a short presentation at their staff meetings, board meetings or with selected staff.

Get On Line: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and many other internet sites offer a free way to advertise your business to a new market. No money for your own website? Create a free "blog" to advertise your event or business through such places as gmail.com.

Fundraising Suggestions for Non Profits:

Cooperative Advertising: Offer sponsors/donors group advertising opportunities. For example, one big banner that has five business sponsors on it versus one business sponsor, split the sponsorship between five businesses to make it affordable.

Level or Sponsorship & Benefits: There are many small businesses out there that would love to support your event! Offer various levels of sponsorship with corresponding benefits to accommodate businesses with smaller budgets. Be creative in your sponsorship benefits: logos/names on banners, brochures, websites, products distributed; sponsor contact information sent out to participants; provide sponsor hotlinks on your website; thank you letters to the editor and/or newspaper ads; etc. Sponsor a specific item at your event, i.e., this table is sponsored by XX business.

Seek out all Businesses: Think about all the various businesses that will benefit from your event or organization and approach them about sponsorship or donations. Is you event bringing in visitors? Does it allow members to go back to work or school? Will you be purchasing supplies or other services locally? Suggestions include: lodging, dining, retail, education, supplies, utilities, etc. Check out the Chamber website or membership directory for contact information.

Economic Importance of your Event: Collect your data! How much money does your event or organization bring into the community? Do a survey with participants and visitors finding out on average how much they spent on lodging, restaurants, shopping, etc. How much does your organization provide to the community in the form of local jobs, money you and your employees spend in the community for operating expenses and supplies, support provided to community members so they can go back to school, find jobs, or maintain employment, etc. Track this information and use it when seeking grants, sponsorship and support from other organizations.

Direct Ask Mailings: Often a good way to fundraise is to just ask! Mail or contact all current, former and potential participants of your organization and their friends and family. Order a Chamber member mailing list. Do a direct mailing to the local area, post office boxes or peninsula (can coordinate through bulk mail house such as Print Works 235-8500).

Donation Cans: Many businesses are open to having a small donation can near their cash register to collect money for your organization or event. Be prepared to supply the can and collect donations in a timely manner.

$1/Ticket or Percent of Sales: Many businesses are willing to donate to your event or organization by giving you $1 from every ticket they sell at their business (such as fishing charter, concert or movie ticket, lodging reservation, etc.) or a percentage of proceeds from the day's sales. Connecting their business to your community-minded cause can increase their sales.