In most areas that I am familiar with I have found local publications that readily accept stories-of-interest. Depending upon the publication, the story can be more scientific, alchemical, or spiritual. Unless you have particular writing skills, I would encourage you to utilize the vast information on the subtleenergies site and weave some main points together. I am a decent writer and would be happy to help you with this.

Getting a story published is the best way to reach a lot of people for no cost. The more publications you can identify as small-businesses, the better will be your chances at getting something included in a timely manner. For large publications you can try to submit a story, but they are sometimes less likely to accept it and it is more difficult to know when they will run it. Ideally, getting more than one story published within 1-2 months of Barry's scheduled arrival would be enough to generate some interest.

If you have enough funds you can get presentation information into local event calendars, though many are free. It is helpful to be able to refer the reader of your story to the calendar of events section of the publication. If you don't have the funds, or the publications don't have event calendars, your by-line must include some information like your name, phone, email, lecture dates, and 'for more information check out http://www.subtleenergies.com/ormus/whatisit.htm.

Along these lines, think of the networking/support groups you belong to or know of. If any have a newsletter ask if you can submit an article and find out how many words you have to work with. Some newsletters sell ads for $10-15. Paying for an ad on an esoteric topic is like making a donation to the publication unless you have an article published.

Libraries are good places to post information. They will allow anything as long as it is free to the public. You can also schedule a short FREE presentation at libraries to use as your "loss leader". These can be scheduled for Thursday and/or Friday evening and last no more than 1 hour. This is where Barry gives the feel-good information, as well as his personal story of how he got involved.

If Barry has a promotional video available you could show the video instead, as well as showing it to networking/support groups. If you don't have a video, and you aren't too shy, many group functions will allow you to make a short announcement.

Another thought about video promotions - I don't know all the ins & outs of local access stations, but they often air a video sent to them if it meets certain criteria. This is an area of promotions that might be useful one day, but it is probably a moot issue now. In case there IS a video, I believe that when we send a video to a local access station that we can request it be aired within a certain month. Then the local access station will let you know (by request) what days/times they will air it, and this information can be included in promotional material.

When doing flyers, hand-to-hand contact is the most successful way to get people interested. They will want to talk with you about it. Sign them up for one of the presentations if you can, or take their name and email/phone number so you can get more information to them.

Colorful flyers are a must for posting. Informational flyers (directions and details) can be dull, but I prefer to keep things colorful and interesting. You can post flyers at some grocery stores, bookstores, new age stores, co-ops, health food stores. Start hunting for them everywhere you go.

Email is another way to reach a lot of people expediently. Begin collecting email addresses of everyone you know. I once went through a local New Age magazine and sent an email to every business who had an email address listed in their ad. These people are often curious and are more likely to respond. Be aware that this may be considered by some to be 'unsolicited' email, but that seems unlikely to me since these email addresses are placed in their ads for people to respond to.

For your friends and associates: send them as many as three emails. The first one just mentioning ORMUS, and how excited you are in finding something with so many benefits that is virtually free to everyone. Then let them know you will be sending them more information later.

In the second email tell them about the article that will be coming out in such-and-such magazine, or the subtleenergies website, and how Barry has agreed to come out personally to show people how to harness the wonderful healing properties which are freely available in nature, and that you hope the timing is good for them because you doubt he will be making this trip again anytime soon.

The third email is a reminder (about 7-10 days prior), sending them directions and itinerary, and asking them to contact you if they need a ride or have questions. Anyone who writes or calls you goes on your personal contact list and you will want to contact these people in the last week by phone (even if their original contact to you was by email, get their phone number and talk with them just before the event). The more they feel they have made a commitment, the more likely they are to show up.

Remember though, there is a delicate balance between being perceived as a salesperson and a caring person. If you don't get those two positions confused inside your mind, you are less likely to convey pushiness to others. Don't get discouraged when people misunderstand what you are telling them. Only people who are able to think outside of the box will get this. For those people who get it, ask them if they know anyone who they think might be interested. You can offer to call them because the person you have just told will likely be unable to answer their friend's questions.

Doing all this is a lot of work and one person is only going to be able to do so much. Try to recruit others to help with a few small tasks. Many hands make light work. There may be other related groups that you can coordinate with.