Publicize your events at calendar, classified ad sites

By Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound

When publicizing your events, make sure you post your events at some of the many calendar and classified ad websites.

Some are fee-based. Some are free. All will give you valuable online exposure, and many will also let you link to your website, where visitors can find more information.

Before you get started

• The best way to find out which calendar site is best for your event is to visit the site and look around. You should be able to determine fairly quickly if your event belongs there.
  
• Proofread and double-check all information before posting. Some sites make it impossible for you to correct wrong information, so you don’t want to be stuck with a notice that includes a wrong phone number where people can call to buy tickets for an event.
  
• Bigger calendar sites will let you submit a photo of your event. That’s why taking photos of your annual events and saving them for next year’s promotion can prove valuable.

Where to post

There are hundreds and perhaps even thousands of event calendars. Here are about a dozen places where you can post your events. If you have your own favorites and don’t see them listed here, email them to me.

WomensCalendar.org
This is one of the more popular websites with massive amounts of traffic and many links between other organizations’ sites. Most events for non-profits can be added free. “For profit” events pay a fee.

FullCalendar.com
Full Calendar costs $19.95 per post, but they automatically post your information to newspapers, websites, radio stations, and email lists.

Craigslist.org
This wildly popular web portal requires that you post your event at only one city’s list and in only one category. The site, which started as just one list for San Francisco, has became so popular that it's turned into more than 190 separate lists for people in all 50 states in the United States and 35 other countries. The more than 80 discussion forums are devoted to a wide variety of topics. More than 10 million people use Craigslist each month. Most posts are live for only 30 days.  (See “How to Use Craigslist as a Global Publicity Tool.” 

Backpage.com
A giant city-by-city free classified ad site.  

Kijji
A free local classified ad site and an up-and-coming competitor to Craigslist. You’ll find separate lists for most states in the U.S. and 29 other countries.

AuthorsandExperts.com
This site lets authors, experts and guest speakers take advantage of their free listings, even if they don't join.

Eventful.com
Eventful listings are free, whether you have one listing or a million. Listings are searchable and alert-able. For every event, you get a complimentary set of iCalendar and RSS feeds that anyone can subscribe to. Create calendars and then publish them anywhere online using pre-built designs or your own styles.

EventCrazy.com
EventCrazy.com claims to have "the largest, most comprehensive database of events and attractions in North America. You will have unlimited access to a database that covers all 50 states and over 40 types of events."

Google Calendar
The Google Calendar is used more as a personal calendar, but it lets you email invitations, accept RSVPs and even lets guests comment about your event. Smart Publicity Hounds can think of all kinds of neat ways to use this to promote. 

Metromix.com
Metromix is a one-stop local entertainment guide on where to go and what to do, from the hottest restaurants and bars, to the latest in music, movies and entertainment. It has separate sections of the website for Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Baltimore, Hampton Roads (Virginia), Orlando, Connecticut, Lehigh Valley, Pa. and South Florida. Examples of the types of events you can list include concerts, plays, dance performances, museum or zoo exhibits, recreation events, dining events, singles events, and bar/DJ events. Many events are listed for free.


Going.com
For events in Chicago, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami. You can list nightlife parties, dining events, benefits, and anything dealing with culture, movies, museums, galleries, performances, sporting events, classes and workshops, special events and volunteering.

If you’re looking for publicity in the mainstream media beyond calendar listings, don't use services like these as substitutes for pitching a customized story idea. The media are bombarded with calendar listings. So shoot for a customized, compelling story pitch, preferably with a local angle.

Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound, has written more than 60 free articles on how to generate free publicity.  You can read them at her website. While you're there, sign up for "The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week," her free ezine on how to generate thousands of dollars in publicity. Joan blogs about publicity topics at PublicityHound.net.