Shownotes
Part 1 of the audio series based on the free ebook Getting Visitors Through Your Museum’s Doors: Building Connection in a Noisy World and is designed to help museums of all sizes attract and engage visitors.
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
Getting visitors through your museum's doors.
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:Building connection In a noisy
World by Amy Kehs, copyright:
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:Amy Kehs, all rights reserved.
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:No part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in a
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:retrieval system or transmitted
in any form or by any means.
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:Electronic mechanical photocopy recording
are otherized without the prior written
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:permission of the copyright holder.
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:Except for brief quotations used in
reviews, articles, or scholarly works.
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:This ebook is for informational
and educational purposes only.
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:While every effort has been made to ensure
accuracy, the publisher and author assume
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:no responsibility for errors or admission.
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:For permissions or inquiries,
contact info@lovemymuseum.com.
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:Love my museum, getting visitors
through your museum's doors,
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:building connection in a noisy world.
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:The question I know you're thinking about.
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:If you've picked up this book, chances
are you are wondering, how do I get
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:more visitors through my museum's doors?
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:It's a good question and a pressing
one because no matter how meaningful
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:your exhibits or how passionate
your team, your museum can't make
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:an impact if no one walks in.
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:Getting people in the door
has always been a challenge.
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:But today with increased competition
for attention, limited resources and
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:shifting community needs, it's not just
a challenge, it's an urgent priority.
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:But here's a better question.
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:I want you to start asking, how do I get
people to come back and bring a friend?
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:That's the difference between
surviving and thriving.
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:That's how you move from
chasing attendance numbers to
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:building lasting relationships.
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:That's the foundation of a
truly community centered museum.
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:Throughout this book, we'll explore
what it takes to become a museum
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:that's not just visited once,
but remembered, talked about, and
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:returned to a museum that's woven
into the fabric of your town or city.
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:A museum that people feel proud to support
and eager to share why this book matters.
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:If you're reading this book, it's
likely because you care deeply about
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:your museum and the people it serves.
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:You want more visitors, you want more
connection, and honestly, you want to feel
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:like your work is making a difference.
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:You're not alone.
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:Museums across the
country are facing real.
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:Layered challenges declining attendance,
increased competition from digital
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:entertainment, changing visitor
expectations, shrinking attention spans.
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:I.
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:The urgency around boosting
museum attendance is real.
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:In fact, a 2023 national survey by
the American Alliance of Museums found
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:that 70% of US museums reported their
visitor numbers in:
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:below pre pandemic levels, averaging
% of their:
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:S this lingering gap highlights
how important it is to find new
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:ways to connect with your community
and inspire people to walk through
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:your doors again and again.
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:None of this is because
museums aren't doing good work.
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:You are museum professionals are some
of the most passionate, creative,
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:and committed people I know.
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:You are doing a lot
with limited resources.
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:You're balancing exhibits, events,
donor relations, community partnerships,
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:school tours, and more often with a
small team in an even smaller budget.
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:But even with all of that effort.
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:It can still feel like a struggle
to get people in the door, let
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:alone turn them into loyal visitors
who come back again and again.
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:This book is here to help with that.
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:A practical guide to apply right away.
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:This isn't a theory heavy textbook
or a vague inspirational speech.
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:It's a guide designed to be used,
scribbled on and bookmarked.
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:It's full of practical strategies
to help you strengthen your
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:connection with your community.
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:Improve your visitor experience
from start to finish.
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:Build a repeatable relationship based
approach to outreach and engagement,
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:and ultimately get more visitors in
the door and keep them coming back.
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:Each section includes action steps.
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:Simple checklists and examples to help you
put these ideas into practice right away.
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:Even if your team is small and
your time is limited, you'll
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:find insights on everything.
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:From writing stronger welcome
scripts to improving your email
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:newsletter from making your
mission more visible to building
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:stronger ties with the local media.
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:No fluff.
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:Just tools that you can use right away.
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:A quick note about me.
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:Hi, I'm Amy Keith and I love museums.
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:My career began at the Smithsonian's
National Errand Space Museum, and
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:in 2000 I launched my own business
supporting public relations and
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:communications projects for some of the
most well-known museums in Washington DC.
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:For the first two decades, I was the
behind the scenes support, helping
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:museums get the word out, managing major
events, and making sure everything ran.
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:Smoothly.
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:I truly loved every minute of it.
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:Then the world changed.
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:When the 2020 pandemic forced
museums to close their doors,
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:I had to rethink how I worked.
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:So I dug in.
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:I took courses, studied new strategies,
and explored the world of online business
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:while supporting clients across different
industries and around the globe.
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:I kept learning and I quickly
realized how many of these
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:approaches could help museums too.
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:When museums reopened, I returned to
my work with a fresh perspective and I
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:started sharing everything I had learned.
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:The response was immediate Years later,
those museum clients still tell me that
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:the new ideas and strategies I shared.
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:Helped them grow and that they're
still seeing the results today.
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:That's why I do what I do now.
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:Museums deserve communications and
marketing strategies that actually
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:work, and someone who truly understands
what it is like to be in their shoes.
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:Thanks so much for reading my first
book from first visit to Lifelong Fan.
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:Building relationships.
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:If you've ever felt frustrated
that a visitor came once, seemed
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:to enjoy their time and then never
came back, you are not alone.
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:Maybe they even left a nice comment
in your guest book or told your front
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:desk staff how much they loved it.
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:But six months later, their name
never popped up again on a membership
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:form, newsletter sign up or event
registration list, it's easy to
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:chalk that up to busy lives or assume
it's just the nature of museum work.
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:But here's the thing, yes, you need to
get people through your doors for your
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:museum to survive, but to thrive, you
need them to come back and bring a friend.
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:I.
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:Focusing on building relationships
with visitors isn't just good practice.
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:It's backed by research.
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:Studies show that even a small increase
in visitor retention can have a
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:dramatic impact in the business world.
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:A 5% increase in customer retention
can boost profits by 25 to 95%.
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:While museums aren't selling products,
you are asking people to spend their most
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:precious commodity with you, their time.
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:The principle is the same.
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:Loyal repeat visitors are the foundation
for long-term success and sustainability.
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:Museums often focus a lot of time
and energy on attracting first time
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:visitors, and that's important.
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:But what if you put just as
much effort into turning those
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:first timers into lifelong fans,
rethinking the visitor lifecycle.
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:Instead of seeing your museum as a
one-time transaction, what if you thought
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:of it as the start of a relationship?
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:Think about your favorite local
restaurant or small business.
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:You probably go there, not just
because the food is great or the
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:products are useful, but because
you feel known, you feel welcomed,
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:you feel like part of something.
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:When my kids were little, every Saturday
we'd go to the same restaurant for dinner.
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:We'd sit in our favorite waitresses
section, her name is Tabitha.
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:My kids would place their order,
practice their good manners,
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:and we'd talk about our week.
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:Tabitha would bring them crayons
and we do the puzzles together
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:that were on the paper menus.
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:Sometimes when we arrived, Tabitha would
already have our drinks at the table.
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:The kids thought that
was so cool and exciting.
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:It was a place where everyone knew their
name and they felt a sense of belonging.
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:They loved bringing family to
dinner with us and having them
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:experience our VIP treatment.
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:That's exactly the feeling we
want your museum visitors to have.
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:When people feel seen, heard
and connected, they come back.
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:They become advocates.
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:They bring their friends.
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:They start thinking of your
museum as their museum.
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:That's what this book will help you do.
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:Every strategy in the pages ahead is
designed to help you build these kinds
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:of relationships, to create welcoming
spaces that feel warm and engaging.
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:To make it easier for people to stay
connected after their visit, to give
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:your community more reasons to return
and more ways to feel involved.
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:Because ultimately, your museum isn't just
a building or a collection, it's a living.
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:Breathing space where stories
are shared, conversations
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:happen, and relationships grow.
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:So as you move through each chapter, I
invite you to keep this question in mind.
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:What can I do today to help a first
time visitor feel like a lifelong fan?
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:That small shift in mindset can
unlock big changes in how you
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:design your visitor experience.
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:Connect with your community
and grow your museum's impact.
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:Let's get started Becoming
a community museum.
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:It was September, 2019 and I was meeting
with the new director of an old client.
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:The conversation she and I had
that day was life changing for me.
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:It changed the way I think about
museums and how I see their future.
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:One of the things that she told me.
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:Was that every museum
is a community museum.
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:We talked about how museums,
especially small museums, really
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:needed to start thinking of themselves
that way to secure their future.
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:You don't need a blockbuster exhibit
or a million dollar renovation to
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:become the kind of museum people love.
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:Coming back to what you
do need is a connection.
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:You need to create a sense of belonging
and also help the visitors feel seen.
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:This sense of belonging is powerful.
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:According to a 2023 culture track report,
visitors who feel like they truly belong
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:are three times more likely to return to
a museum and to recommend it to others.
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:Cultivating this feeling isn't
about expensive renovations.
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:It's about making people
feel welcome, included, and
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:valued every time they visit.
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:Do you still need to take care
of the artifacts in your museum?
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:Of course.
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:But the stories you tell about the
objects and how they connect to the
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:people who are there to see it on
display are more important than ever now.
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:Because here's the truth,
my friend is exactly right.
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:Every museum can be a community museum.
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:Yes.
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:Even yours, whether you're in a big city
or a small town focused on art history,
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:science, culture, or something wonderfully
niche, you have the power to be a central
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:part of your community's everyday life.