Whether you’re planning a course, a technical dinner, or launching a new sponsorship program, one factor determines its success more than anything else: how well it’s promoted.

Strong marketing isn’t just about making things look nice—it directly impacts attendance, sponsor value, and ultimately, chapter revenue. In fact, the difference between a fully registered event and a half-empty room often comes down to how—and when—you spread the word.

Here’s how to approach promotion with clarity and confidence, even if your chapter doesn’t have a dedicated marketing volunteer.

Why Marketing Matters to Your Bottom Line

Every opportunity to generate revenue—whether from ticket sales, sponsorships, or course participation—relies on getting people to take action. That only happens if they:

• Know about the opportunity
• Understand why it matters
• See the value in showing up or contributing

Without consistent, well-timed communication, even the best events can underperform. That’s why every chapter needs a simple, repeatable approach to marketing.

Key Channels Chapters Should Use

You don’t need to be everywhere. But you do need to be consistent in the places where your members are already paying attention.

Top Channels for Chapter Promotion:

1. Email (your chapter roster is your most valuable asset)
2. Social Media (especially LinkedIn, Facebook, and AMPP’s Community platform)
3. Chapter Meetings (mention upcoming events at every gathering)
4. Flyers and Word-of-Mouth (especially effective when chapter members share in their networks)

Example: You can haveyour committee commit to personally emailing 3-5 industry contacts about an upcoming course. That word-of-mouth could fill 12 extra seats in the final week.

Promotion Timeline: What to Send and When

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time. Follow this simplified marketing timeline for events, based on best practices:

Tip: Save your emails and social posts in a shared folder so future chapter leaders can reuse them with minor updates.

What to Include in Your Promotions

Focus on value. People need to know what they’ll get out of attending or sponsoring.

Every post or email should include:

• Event/course name and topic
• Date, time, location (or virtual link)
• What they’ll learn or why it’s relevant
• If PDHs or CEUs are available
• Registration or RSVP link
• Cost (if applicable) and what’s included
• Sponsor logos or mentions (when applicable)
• A clear call-to-action (Register now, Save your seat, etc.)

Example: A chapter could post photos of a past event with the caption “We had 45 attendees, 2 incredible speakers, and a full room of great conversations. Don’t miss the next one—details here [link]!” This could boosted their next event’s attendance by 20%.

Easy Wins That Boost Visibility

• Tag speakers and sponsors in your posts—they’ll likely reshare to their networks
• Use Canva templates for clean, professional flyers
• Use consistent branding—same logo, fonts, and tone across platforms
• Highlight member benefits—“Earn CEUs” or “Get face time with industry leaders” always performs better than “Join us for lunch”
• Ask your instructor, speaker, or sponsor to promote—they usually have large LinkedIn followings

Example: An instructor can share a chapter’s upcoming course to his LinkedIn followers, possibly resulting in multiple new registrations in one day.

You Don't Need a Marketing Expert--Just a Plan

Many chapters worry they don’t have the skillset or time to do “marketing.” But this isn’t about fancy tools. It’s about clarity, consistency, and lead time.

Even if your committee is small:

• Assign one person as your “promotions point of contact”
• Use shared calendars to plan email and social posts
• Reuse successful past flyers and formats
• Keep it simple, and build muscle over time

AMPP is also working on new marketing templates and plug-and-play content to support chapters—so stay tuned for additional tools you can use right out of the box.

Read other blogs in this series:

The Power of Chapter Revenue: How Funding Fuels Growth and Impact

Sponsorships as Strategy: A Reliable Revenue Stream for Chapter Growth

Event-Driven Revenue: Turning Chapter Meetings Into Growth Opportunities

Teach and Thrive: How Hosting AMPP Courses Can Strengthen Your Chapter

Have question or need help getting started? Reach out to chapters@ampp.org. We are here to help!

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