Last month, I suggested sending holiday postcards to your supporters. With the holidays now past, we're presented with an even better opportunity to use this effective and affordable marketing strategy.

Many folks make New Year's resolutions like "Lose weight" or "Exercise more", but these are the kinds of resolutions that fail because they're vague and lack structure. Developing a new, healthful lifestyle over time is more realistic than reinventing oneself overnight, and one way to encourage a gradual change is to set a schedule with a deadline — like, say, the MS Challenge Walk. So why not invite people to set themselves a goal of walking two days and 50K to cure multiple sclerosis?

I've never recruited for my team before because it seems like asking too much of someone. But in the context of a New Year's resolution, what I'm really doing is helping my friends meet their own goals. To do so, I again went to Click2Mail.com and created a postcard. You can see a sample PDF of the simple design I used. The front of the postcard consists of this year's MS Challenge Walk logo, while the back uses the Snipurl service that I've previously recommended. These 6" x 4.25", two-sided cards cost 23 cents each to print in full-color with glossy coating, and 28 cents each to mail, so sending 43 postcards cost only $21.93 total. If even one recipient accepts the challenge and meets the $1,500 fundraising minimum, then I'd say the investment of postcards is well-spent. And imagine if all 43 people formed a team — that'd be an extra $64,500 toward a world free from MS!

The event's two-day format, new to 2010, makes it an attractive option to newcomers who were previously scared off by the prospect of walking fifty miles, or who couldn't take a vacation day to participate in the Friday leg. Make it your New Year's resolution to bring one of these potential walkers into the fold. If you have other techniques for doing so, please share them here!

Ken joined the MS Challenge Walk in 2005, more than a decade after his mother was diagnosed. After walking for three years and 150 miles, he switched to the support crew and now rides his bicycle along the trail, providing whatever encouragement (and snacks!) he can to the 600 walkers. He is also an alumnus of the event's steering committee and is this site's webmaster.