Creating a Churches’ Trail Booklet
|
|
This is a list of what needs to be done - but not necessarily in this order. For instance, you will need to have a projected cost of printing the booklet to know what is a reasonable amount of sponsorship that you required from each source. I found it also helps to have a mock up of the pages (with suggested adverts) when approaching sponsors.
A. Project Overview
- Decide on churches to be included
- Seek agreement in principle from PCCs
- Produce rough draft of booklet which would require at least one complete page for one of the churches perhaps with an advert for a potential pub/cycle hire
- Approach all major sponsors for agreement in principle
- Obtain quote for printing the booklet
- Work out finances
- Flesh out the whole booklet
- Seek approval from all PCCs and sponsors and ask for individual PCC members if they would like to sponsor a thousand copies
- Test drive the booklet
- Seek approval from PCCs of final draft of booklet
- Send to printers
- Organise containers for booklets in all churches and consider placing of extra clues
- Distribute to churches
- Advertise in pubs; tourist information centres; local newsletters; campsite; hotels; B&Bs; etc
- Include booklet on the internet (with a bit of rearrangement I could include it in on churchestrail.uk) - the website also enables feedback to be published
B. Booklet Contents
1. Decide on which churches to include
- If you are in a benefice of a few churches it may be appropriate to join with an adjacent benefice to create a more substantial circuit. Seven churches would fit the format as a 12-page booklet; 11 churches as a 16-page booklet, for instance.
2. Find something special in each church
- Find something special or rare with help of churchwardens
- Bear in mind that the items you select will be on view in the booklet and, if you decide to give it wider exposure on the internet they will have a much wider audience. Care should be taken not to use an unusual and desirable object that could attack the wrong sort of visitor (thieves) - this is sad but worth bearing in mind
- Concentrating on just one item will probably give it wider appeal than attempting to be a visitors’ guide to the whole church - try and engage the punters and they will explore further perhaps using the visitors’ guides available in the churches
- Prepare about 50 words on each chosen item - do some research to find an interesting description
- Prepare a page of introduction
- Consider an appealing cover photo and photographs of each item
- If you would like to include sketches of the churches then find someone to do these - they may be able to do them from photos - the result is so small fine detail is not an issue
- Think of another object which could be used as part of the crossword
- Prepare a clue and two extra clues because participants can’t be expected to go back to the church once further letters in the crossword make it easier to determine the correct answer. Letters used in the answer (a third extra clue) are a final attempt to enable the right answer to be found before leaving each church
3. Road Test
- Road test both by car and cycle (if it is a cycle-friendly route) and carefully record the time for each leg the journey - do not include time for lunch breaks, etc
- Also check that the map works and that there are no ambiguities
- Check with the churchwardens with regard to opening hours of the churches so that this can be included in the booklet
C. Finance
- Hopefully, each PCC will be keen to support the venture and provide a contribution (churches in our benefice contributed £15 each)
- Approach pubs and cafes on the route (we received £200 in total)
- If the route is cycle friendly then approach cycle hire outlets (I thought of this rather late in the project but achieved £10)
- Ask parishioners to sponsor a thousand copies - typically, the first 1000 will cost, maybe, up to fours time the cost of each additional 1000 (we had four such offers enabling 5000 to be printed)
D. Prepare artwork and get a quote from a printer
I can highly recommend Page Bros (Norwich) Limited who did our 16-page booklet. Their price for 1000 copies was £350 (no VAT because it is a book) including delivery. The run-on price was £51 per 1000. Unit price for the 5000 we ordered was just a little less than 12p per copy.
What can I do to help?
I like doing B3 and D and would be prepared to do these for a consideration. It would be good if the other aspects were handled by someone else and would enable me to concentrate on the bits I enjoy.
Ian Summers (make contact with the feedback page if you require assistance)
Ian Summers (make contact with the feedback page if you require assistance)