Seed for Success to Promote Your Launch

• By Jenny Parker
• August 20, 2008

Critical mass. It’s the existence of sufficient participation in something (an event, for example, or a campaign) for it to become self-sustaining. Political campaigns, new technologies, and product launches all depend on it to help build momentum and fuel growth. So why should museums with visitor-contributed projects think about critical mass?

Well, because people are more likely to contribute if others have already done so. Here are two ideas to help you “seed for success” to create critical mass by launch date:

• An online call for entry: Create a competition and feature a call-for-entries on your website. This will create a base of early contributions ready to feature on your launch (not to mention an audience of early contributors.)
• Early Publicity: The launch of your visitor-contributed project should be your second round of publicity efforts – not your first. Announce your call for entry, your competition, or just that you are undertaking this project. Unique projects and high-profile museums can win press coverage … so can creating unique partnerships with area organizations. Be sure to include both online outlets along with more traditional print outlets such as newspapers. By launch, it’s time for round two.

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