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Episode 42: Summer Book Club Wrap Up
Episode 42 • 2nd September 2025 • Love my Museum • Amy Kehs
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In this episode, Amy wraps up the Love my Museum Summer Book Club series with a thoughtful recap of what was covered throughout the summer. She reflects on the progress museum professionals have made and answers frequently asked questions from listeners about how to keep moving forward. From clarifying your story to strengthening your media outreach, this final episode offers practical encouragement, clear next steps, and a reminder that the work museums are doing truly matters.

This is part of Amy’s Summer Book Club series based on her free ebook, “Getting Visitors Through Your Museum’s Doors: Building Connection in a Noisy World.”

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More Free Resources for Museums:

About the host: 

Amy Kehs is a brand strategist and communications expert for museums. She has owned Kehs Communications since 2000 and has worked for the most renowned and well-loved museums in Washington, D.C. Her goal is to ensure that museums thrive into the next century and she hopes people will come to love museums as much as she does. Her proven process sets up proactive communication habits for museums, cultivating relationships with visitors who will want to return and bring a friend. Want to talk more? Click this link to book a call.

Transcripts

Amy:

Today on the podcast, we're wrapping up the Love My Museum Summer book

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club series with the look back at what

we've learned, what you've built, and

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how to carry the momentum into fall.

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Let's get started.

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Hello and welcome to the

Love My Museum podcast.

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I'm your host, Amy Keys

and I love museums.

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I'm also a brand strategist and

communications expert for museums, and

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today on the podcast we are wrapping

up the summer book club series.

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If you've been following along all

summer, whether you listen to every

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episode, skimmed the emails or.

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Just downloaded the new ebook

that the series is based on.

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Thank you so much.

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I've.

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Loved hearing from some of you.

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And in addition to doing a quick recap

today, I'm also going to share the

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questions and the answers to those

questions that I received over the summer.

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I love questions and I also know that nine

times outta 10 if someone has a question,

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there are, are loads of others thinking

the same thing but just not saying it.

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So we'll dive into those in just a minute.

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So this summer has been about helping

you look at things in a new way.

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Teach you some strategies that maybe

are new to you, and really just giving

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you some ideas of small steps that

you can take that will over time help

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you get more visitors through your

doors and build a loyal following

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that will create a really sustainable.

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Fan base.

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I also hope that it just helped you feel

more supported in your work this summer.

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today.

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Like I said, we're going

to do a little reflection.

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Hopefully a little encouragement if

you're still feeling overwhelmed or stuck.

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And we will spend a little time forward

planning and like I said, I'll also be

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answering some FAQs because while this is

the end of the summer book club series,

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it can absolutely be the beginning.

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Of what's next for you and your

museum and a new way to work.

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So let's start with a quick recap of the

episodes that we covered this summer.

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Uh, if you're new and this is your

first episode that you're listening to

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the whole podcast series and also the

email series that went with it was.

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A way to take a deeper dive

into a new ebook that I wrote.

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And so in the first episode, we kind of

kicked off with why I wrote the ebook and

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what the summer book club was all about.

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All the episodes from the series will be

linked in the show notes, but also just

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so you know, the summer book club kickoff

where everything starts was episode 35.

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In the next episode, episode 36,

we talked about building visitor

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loyalty and not just getting people

through the door once, but getting

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them to come back and bring a friend.

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And that led into the next episode

where we talked about what it

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means to be a community museum.

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I gave you some tips and some

ideas, and also shared some stories

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of how to be a community museum.

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In the next episode, we worked on defining

your museum's unique story, how it differs

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from a mission statement and how to

create that story, but also some ideas

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of ways that you could use that story.

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we mapped out your visitor journey from

before they walk in to long after they

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leave, and we looked at that first step

of the visitor journey, which is your

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digital front door, so your website,

social media, your online presence, and

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the idea that this is actually the first

experience that people have with your

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museum, with your brand, and in the last

episode, we took some time to talk about

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building relationships with the media and

how it can help more people find you now.

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Again, if you missed an episode or

if one of these topics stands out

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as something you wanna revisit,

everything is still available.

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I've linked all of the previous

episodes in the show notes, and of

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course I've also linked the ebook.

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Sometimes we move so fast that we forget

to look back at how far we've come.

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So I want to take a couple

of minutes and just.

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Have you recognized what.

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You've done this summer, even if all you

did was listen to these short, mostly

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10, 15 minute episodes on the train or

in the car to work, even just doing that

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means that you carved out some time to

think strategically about your museum.

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You explored.

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Ways to connect more deeply with your

visitors and with your community.

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And you probably, at least I hope you

started or made at least one small

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change, even if it was just clarifying

your hours or your, uh, admission prices

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on your website, or rethinking the way

that you greet guests at the front desk.

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That's not small, that's momentum

and you can build on that and maybe.

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Even more importantly, I hope that

listening reminded you that your work

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matters and that your museum matters.

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That it deserves to be seen and visited

and talked about, even if you didn't

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take any action yet, I hope just

hearing me gave you some encouragement

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and some support and a bit of hope.

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As we are heading out of summer and into

a new season, here are a few reflection

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questions that I wanna leave you with.

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If you have some time, think about

these or maybe write about them.

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The first thing is, what

small change made the biggest

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difference for you this summer?

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And again, like we just talked

about, it could have just been a

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different way to think about things.

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What kind of feedback did

you hear from your visitors?

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Another thing that I'm hoping, even if

it was just your mindset shifting, but

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I am hoping that you're thinking about

each visitor and their experience with

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your museum a little bit differently now.

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If you have been doing the action items,

what felt easier than you expected

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and where do you still feel stuck?

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What do you want your museum

to be known for in the next

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season, in the next 90 days?

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Like I said, you can journal on these.

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You could use them with your team.

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You could bring them to

your next board meeting.

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They're meant to help you just pause

My business coach has me answer similar

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questions And so now taking this time

to reflect and just gain some awareness

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about where I've been and where I

wanna go in my business, I can use

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that to make some positive changes.

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It's made such a big impact on

my career and my my life really.

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It's also something that I do and

that I teach my consulting clients to

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work into their systems and processes.

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Okay, so before we wrap up, I want to

answer a few of the questions that have

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come up throughout the summer book club.

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Also, if you.

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Have questions, please let me know.

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I'd really love to hear from you.

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It can be specific or general, and thanks

again for everyone that sent me questions.

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I, of course, have already emailed

those people back, but they gave

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me permission to share here,

and so I picked out 10 to share.

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Number one, I downloaded the

ebook but didn't get through

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all of the emails or episodes.

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Can I still catch up?

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Absolutely.

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The podcast episodes will stay live

forever and the emails broke things down

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a bit, but everything is in the ebook.

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Take your time and go

through at your own pace.

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You don't need to do everything at

once for it to make a difference.

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Schedule some time on your calendar

to listen to an episode, first thing

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in the morning, maybe once a week.

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that was another reason why I made these

episodes short, so that if you got behind

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or this summer, or if it was something

you wanted to do in a different season,

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it would be easy to get through them.

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Question two.

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I want to work on these ideas,

but my team is stretched thin.

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Where should I start?

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I love this question.

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I would suggest starting

with your visitor journey, I.

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Or your museum's unique story.

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Those two areas have the biggest

ripple effect and they can

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motivate you and they can also help

guide the rest of your planning.

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Those two episodes are great ones to

revisit if you are feeling whelmed.

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Question three, can I share the

ebook with my staff or board?

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Yes, please do this resource, like all

of my resources are created to help as

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many museum professionals as possible.

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The more people on the same page,

the more effective the methods are.

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You can forward the link to the

ebook to anyone you'd like and

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share a podcast episode too.

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I also got a few more detailed questions

about specifics, and I thought that these.

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Would be important to answer here as well.

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Question four, we defined

our museum's unique story.

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How do we actually use it now?

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Great question.

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Once you've clarified your

story, start using it.

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In your decision making process, the

idea is that you are repeating the story

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so much that your visitors can tell the

story when you're not even in the room.

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You can use it as a filter for decisions.

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So you can ask, does this new exhibit idea

align with the story that we wanna tell?

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You can also start weaving it, into

your website donor materials, and even

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how your front desk greets visitors.

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A short, consistent

message goes a long way.

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People have to hear a message

seven times before it sticks

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and before they act on it.

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I hope that was helpful.

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Question five, how do I get my board

on board with some of these changes?

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I get this question a lot, especially

from smaller museums, I would start by

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sharing the ebook or a podcast episode

that really resonated with you or

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resonated with some of the challenges

that your museum is having right now.

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Then ask your board members

what do we want visitors saying

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about us after they leave?

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That opens the door for those deeper

discussions around messaging priorities,

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public relations, and your mission.

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If you'd like me to come speak

at a board meeting in person or

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virtual, that may be helpful as

well, and it is something that I do.

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Question six.

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We want to improve our visitor journey,

but we don't have a lot of time.

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What should we focus on first?

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Even if you have time to map it out and

acknowledge those touch points so that

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you and staff are aware of them will

make a huge difference to get started.

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Where do you have the chance to

strengthen that visitor relationship?

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Small changes could be better signage

a person there to, to greet visitors.

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Yeah.

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All of these things can really

transform their experience.

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Question seven, I'm not sure

our social media and website

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reflects how great our museum is.

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We don't have a lot of time to

make changes, but I'm sure it's

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impacting how people see us.

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You are not alone, and

this is totally fixable.

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Start by identifying one or two

places where you can improve

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clarity or friendliness.

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A short what to expect blurb on your

homepage or a photo carousel of your

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exhibits that have people in them on

Instagram can help bridge that gap faster.

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If you need an outside perspective

or you want a bit of a deeper dive.

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That's exactly what the museum

digital assessment is for.

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There's a discount code.

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In the ebook, Number eight, we

want to pitch to the media, but we

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don't put up new exhibits often.

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What else can we offer?

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This is a great question and One

of the biggest mistakes I see

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museums and other organizations

for that matter make, is not being

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consistent with their media outreach.

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You really don't need something

flashy like a new exhibit.

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You just.

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Need consistency.

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Journalists love behind the scenes,

access, interesting people stories that

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tie to current events or local culture.

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Think about anniversaries.

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Maybe an overlooked collection.

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Longtime volunteers.

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Community partnerships, you likely

have a media worthy story already.

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You just need to frame it right, and

again, it's more about developing

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that consistent relationship.

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That's what's going to make

your media relations a success.

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Question nine, do you offer

consulting or project-based support?

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not only was it the question I got

most asked this summer, but it is also

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the question I get asked the most.

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So I do feel like it's

time to answer it here.

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My goal is always to make

this podcast a resource.

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I don't want to take up time with

what sounds like a sales pitch, but

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I get this question all the time and

I realize that I don't answer it.

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So let's discuss very briefly.

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Love My museum is a suite of free

and affordable resources for museum

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professionals from museums of all sizes.

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My company Keys Communications

does implementation work.

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I take on a small number of projects

where I come in and do media relations

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for a specific exhibit or event.

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I realized.

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That this implementation work isn't

for all museums and all museum budgets,

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and so that's why I created this

Love My Museum suite of services.

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Right now on my website, you can

download several resources for free.

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There's a planning calendar, a museum

metrics template, the new ebook that

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we've been talking about this summer.

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And of course this podcast,

I'm always adding more.

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So if you are on my email list,

which is also a great resource.

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As well.

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you'll get those free

resources as they come out.

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In the affordable category, I have the

Museum digital assessment, which we've

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talked about a lot on the podcast,

especially this summer and the spring.

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It's a new service, and I take a look at

your digital presence, so that first step

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of the visitor experience, and I give

the suggestions on how to improve that

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experience for your potential visitors.

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I'm.

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Also a museum consultant.

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My consulting package is a six month

package, although some people may

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choose to make it shorter or longer.

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All of the packages are customizable.

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You can also hire me

to speak to your group.

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I also do media training for staff.

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Oh, and you may also find me speaking

at a museum conference near you.

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I'll be participating in a panel

discussion at the New England Museum

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Association Conference in November.

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If you have questions or you just wanna

chat and tell me about your museum, and we

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can talk about options for how I can help

email me or schedule a call at any time.

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Those links are always in the show notes.

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If this summer gave you clarity,

but now you want help talking about

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how to implement it, I'm here.

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question 10, and this

is our last question.

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It said, I really liked this.

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Will you be doing this again next summer?

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I am so glad that you liked it.

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I'm glad the Summer book Club was a hit.

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This is the fourth year that I've done a

special summer series, and while I can't

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promise that it will be a book club again

next year, I'm already thinking about

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what the next themed series could be.

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If there's a topic that you'd love

to hear more about, just let me know.

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Okay, that wraps up the FAQs.

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So what's next?

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Well, first, this podcast

isn't going anywhere.

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I'll be back with the

next episode in two weeks.

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and if you haven't downloaded

the ebook yet, no worries.

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You are not late to the party at all.

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It is linked in the show notes, and if you

already have downloaded the ebook, forward

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it to a colleague who might need it to.

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That's it for today.

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Thank you so much for being part

of my summer book club series.

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I really hope you enjoyed it.

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Again, if you have a question

that I didn't answer today,

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send me an email anytime.

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I'll talk to you soon.

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