How about a social at the club early in December. Meet the new players and re-signings, launch of new 2012 shirt and hopefully sell bucket-loads, Cougar merchandise and of course sell season tickets?

Good idea!
...what about showing the grand final on the big screen?
( I still haven't seen it on tv yet!)

The last 2 seasons we've had a kit launch night in the run up until christmas.

I seem to remember buying my season ticket at one of them.

Maybe adults into bar free but sell tickets for any kids who would then get a present from Santa, who may look a lot like Freddie Cougar! Rach would wrap all the presents up as she has nowt else to do!

I like the ideas above.
I remember reading this season just gone the plan of getting a shop in the town centre somewhere again. Has anyone heard more on this?
My thoughts if that didn't happen would be to have a couple of one-off stalls in town somewhere selling tickets and merchandise. Either in the indoor market or the Airedale centre? It would need one or two people on a Saturday with a box of merchandise and order forms.

They could also then sell tickets to a club night to watch the game again!

With all of the work that the Cougars are doing with the schools in the area, how about having it on an afternoon (Saturday or Sunday) with a (or several) junior rl competition(s) running at the same time?

This would also get parents (and schools) involved (hopefully). Evenings are difficult for me and, from other comments, it would appear to be difficult for others also.

Looking to the future; start a £10 monthly Standing Order scheme in January (obviously towards the end of the month) so that fans can start saving for next season's Season Ticket. There would (hopefully) be a surplus by November [depending on the price of next season's Season Tickets, which could then be offered as a raffle prize (or prizes) for the participants as an additional incentive.

In the Saturdays running up to Christmas can't we have a stand in the shopping centre or town centre supermarkets handing out leaflets for season tickets and Squadbuilder applications? Perhaps some of the players can do an hour's stint occasionally. Lets get out there and get in people's faces. I have a couple of mates who are "thinking of buying a season ticket" who haven't been down to the club for many years.

Hi most of these have been tried before sorry. We need to get the young people interested again. Still think that staggered payments for a season ticket is the way to go . Not sure that the promotion that is n at the moment has hit the mark but well done for trying.xx

I realise that it isn’t £10 per week, and I apologise for being a pedant, but isn’t paying £60 now and £60 later staggering payments?

I think we should take advantage of social media. Set up a public event on Facebook for each match in our fixture list. Hopefully these will keep being shared by fans and they'll crop up on other friends' walls, or more directly by attendees inviting more and more people. It's managing the diaries of the people that practically live in facebook.
Any comments?

As I have said before £60 is too much for me and many others to pay in one go. However had the payments started in september i would have gladly paid £30 per month on standing order, regardless of the offer. In this climate I am not sure there is a market for new business (fans) which is a shame as many fans including myself that I stand with have heart and passion for the game. The most powerful pull is being a winning team this year, and hopefully JD will provide us with one. x

With all due respect goosey why can't people take it upon themselves to save that money over the same period of time and then pay for the ticket? Why complicate things by setting up a standing order system and then have folk in effect owing the club money?

Hopefully I have persuaded 3 or 4 people to come down to Cougar Park next season. I very much doubt they will be at every game, but at least they are a few people extra that haven't been down before (or not for a few years at least).

I agree with Stealth Comic on the standing order front, but I closely manage all my personal cash flows so that I can plan ahead for any large payments. If there is a demand for something like a standing order, it's too late perhaps to do anything for 2012 season, but I wonder if the club could set up a holding account for 2013 Season tickets? £10 a month throughout 2012 in readiness for 2013 season.

I noticed as well that Keighley, excluding Dewsbury, are pretty much the cheapest season tickets in the Championship (that's before any savings below £120). Show's how good the deal is. However most revenue will come through individual match tickets methinks. So although the drive for season tickets is important up to the end of the year to give the club the best budget for players, after that it's all about growing the fan base again and persuading the casual supporters to come down to more games in the season.

Not in the last couple of years that I am aware of. I really feel we are on the crest a wave at the moment and anything to get the Cougars out there should be embraced. Lawkholme Len's idea is an cracking one. The players were even at the Keighley show this year. Sometimes you need to get in people's faces rather than relying on them to contact the club. If this tactic didn't work you wouldn't see some many pro-active initiatives from large retailers/Company's in shopping all over. Yes, I agree we need to attract some younger supporters, but not exclusively.

Did a stand in the Airedale centre myself with Dean and Tom one saturday morning. The cougars put up huge posters, in the poster zone regularly. I wrote to over 50 companies myself and enclosed free tickets to get people down. Not sure what the answer is to be honest. Just hope that we do see new people next season.

Stealth some people have less excess income than others.

I understand that, but how is it different somebody using their initiative and putting £30 a month in a biscuit tin for 4 months and then paying cash as opposed to setting up standing orders for £30 over 4 months with the club which costs the club money and resource to process?

Stealth, I know where Goosey's coming from on this one - life just gets in the way of trying to save money up!
You've got sixty quid saved, then your kid needs new clothes, or unforeseen car repairs and it's into the biscuit tin. Result? Back to square on on the savings front!
Been there, done that...

A couple of my friends from college once had a good idea for saving cash. One was trustworthy with cash, the other wanted to save up for something (can't remember what it was now) but they knew they'd always want to blow it on a friday night on beer or the fruit machine. So he just gave his friend a few quid every week to hold onto from his pay packet. Eventually he saved enough and got his money back off his friend and bought what he was after.

It worked for my friends, it could work for other people too. Between those friends there was always still the option to get the cash back for any overriding priority too, just in case, but they agreed those circumstances between them.

The thing is what would you do if one of those unforeseen circumstances cropped up when you had a standing order out for Cougars? Any one with any common sense would renege on the standing order, losing what they'd put in, damaging their credit rating in the process and the club losing money that they may well have budgeted for.

I hate to say it but, the sad reality is that there will always be people who can't afford to come to Cougars. I've been there myself, being put on short time at work reduced me to living on about £15 a week to feed myself and ended up having to move back in with my parents, a situation I only just coming around to rectifying.

I'd love it everybody who wants to get and watch the club was able to, but the club has to be run as a viable business and both aren't possible.

The money in the tin is THERE, right now. The sanding order money isn't, so it's easier to leave that alone.

OK so I want to either get a season ticket or join Squadbuilder. When and how can I do it?
Go down to the club during the day – can’t as I am working all week.
Call on my way home – can’t as the club is shut.
Call at the weekend – can’t as the club is shut.
Now if I had a leaflet, handed to me while shopping, I may then take it home, admittedly shove it on the side and probably forget about it. But if one out of every ten or twenty leaflets handed out produced a result then surely it must be worthwhile?
As has been stated in another string Cougars is not well situated as they are near nothing else in the town - except the council tip - and we have no town centre outlet. If they will or can't come to us we must go to them.

Absolutely. No disrespect to Goosey, but if this didn't work in Keighley, Sky wouldn't pay someone however many thousand pounds a year to stand in the shopping centre. In the main I see no activity at this stall, but the other day I was walking past and saw one person being signed up. Based on a minimum subscription for 12 months maybe the maths must add up for Sky. So, with all their might commercially, if they see it as positive then based on our small budgets it's got to be a consideration. If the Cougars got only a handful, it's more than they had at the start of day. I accept the uptake maybe small, but as Lawkholme Len has said, if the uptake is only 1 in 50 say, over a busy weekend Christmas period this could equate to a substantial number of fans. To add to the interest it could be piggy backed as a meet the players commercial idea. On Friday the British legion rented out the old Samuels shop. No frills just based on selling. Is this an idea for a base and we could sell the odd bits prior to Christmas too. Forgive my ignorance, but I am aware we have a sponsorship deal with the shopping and had video mails to suggest a shop would open in the future, but nothing has happend since. A bit like the new website etc. I accept we might not have much merchandise at the moment and with the Stash situation maybe the club is looking at alternatives, but even to sell some stickers, signed photo's etc would be an income stream. I know a few who do and would give up time to assist the club. The simple point is you can market via internet, tv etc in the hope of fans ringing/attending in person. Some people may not get this message for a number of reasons and some need to have that face to face contact.

This may not work, but let's at least try rather than saying no, it's been tried before. How was it done before, what was the success rate, what could be improved etc. If a shopping wasn't an option then what about a supermarket?

Regarding the standing order issue, this is something for the club to consider for next season but there is no time this year. Also, as I have said in previous posts, how many staff do you think are employed to manage and administer this. I know some know it all said post dated cheques, but as the price could change I can't see how this would work. As Stealth suggested there could be those who default and the club would have to administer this and it all takes time/effort and money.

If this has already been mentioned earlier on, apologies, but with regards to dishing out leaflets, what about having leaflets added into the Keighley News, Craven Herald, Ilkley Gazette and T&A every other week until start of season that way the these leaflets are getting dished out over quite a wide area.

Great idea - if it doesn't cost much. Have an idea Newsquest or whoever may charge advert rates for this sort of thing.
Are we in the presence of the lad who gave Cougars their name in 1991?

Hi Lawkholme, I don't want to come on here too much and I won't in regards match talk as I am sure I will only be defending myself haha but just to answer to a couple of questions you raised,
firstly you can but a season ticket over the phone
secondly you can join squadbuilder by filling in the form on the cougars website and then Margaret will send you a letter with account details so you set up a standing order.
Just thought that info may be helpful to a few others as well.
Cheers JD