One Singular Sensation Not everyone is interested in seeing your multicultural vegan a capella group perform. But one person will be. Your mission: find that one person in the crowd who shows some actual interest. Your method: target fucking everyone. “For the fast times, I just hold out the flier and try to get as many people as possible. I might try a new technique and stand in the middle and hold my hands out. The 'block ’em' technique.” Peter Yin, Class of 2015, West Philly Swingers “I try to make eye contact.” Rachel Glade, Class of 2014, Penn Jazz
Give Them The Old Razzle Dazzle Surprise! Just extending your hand into a person’s face will not get them to take your flyer (unless, of course, you literally stick it in their face — remember, aim for the eyes). Try to appeal to all of your target’s senses — from sight to sound. Also, free food always helps. But you should know that by now. “Sometimes we bring instruments out — we play the piano. One kid makes up songs and sings them.” Rachel Glade, Penn Jazz “Be aggressive, play music and have a really good banner.” Kiara Davis, Class of 2014, Penn Hype
R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Find Out What It Means Remember, no one likes flyering. Not the flyerers, not the flyerees and most certainly not the EcoReps. So bear in mind that, although being loud will get their attention, being super obnoxious will get you nowhere. Sometimes just doing quiet invites on Facebook is a lot more effective. “The instinct is to be an obnoxious prick about it, and you will give out flyers that way, but you won’t get people to come to your show.” Zach Zarrow, Class of 2012, Penn Jazz “Getting flyers is annoying unless I’m interested. I like the banners better because you can see what it is without being bombarded.” Kiara Davis, Penn Hype
Friendship is Magic Everything is better when you have someone to bitch with. Flyering is no different. Having your BFF screaming by your side not only quells your inevitable self–loathing, but gives you extra leverage when targeting people. Remember: real friends take your flyers, no matter what. “It’s better to be in groups. The three of us being here together alleviated the pain of flyering.” Tiffany Jordan, Class of 2015, Scout Banana “Be really loud when you find a friend. That’s a guaranteed sell.” Sarah Appeadu, Class of 2015, Penn Hype
It's Not You, It's Me Like auditioning for a movie or searching for a professor to write you a letter of recommendation, you’re going to get hit with a lot of rejection. Thick skin is necessary, even if it’s aesthetically not pleasing. “People are going to ignore you, so just deal with that.” Patel Kartavya, Grad Student, PenNaatak “Don’t take it personally when people don’t take a flyer: it’s not you, it’s the stress of going to class.” Ivi Etomi, Class of 2014, Scout Banana
I Think We've All Learned A Lesson Here Today No one likes flyering. No one. “People suck! It’s interesting to watch people avert our flyer. It’s like, ‘Well I don’t like you anyway!’” Nanette Nunu, Class of 2014, Penn Hype “You sign up for an hour shift and it just takes forever. People hate being ignored. It gets depressing after a while. And then you think, ‘Is this even effective?’” Becky Bailey, Class of 2015, Scout Banana
