Knife Rights made a pretty big splash at SHOT Show, especially considering we had only a couple weeks over the holidays to get ready and couldn't schedule a press conference on such short notice. We gave out about 6,000 KnifeRights.org buttons and it was hard to look anywhere without seeing one or more pinned to an attendee's badge holder or shirt. You can see how well those red, white and blue buttons stand out in this shot of the Knife Rights Board of Directors with Sandy Froman, NRA President and our first Cornerstone Charter Member (L to R: Alan Romania, Doug Ritter, Sandy Froman, Tom Gresham and Ethan Becker).
We had 26 "button boxes" out and for those exhibitors that put them on their front counter, we had to refill the box every day. Perhaps even more important, the press helped themselves to hundreds of business cards with a link to our press releases and took about 50 Press Kit CDs and hundreds of buttons.
I met with a number of industry executives at the show, including many beyond just the knife industry, and garnered near universal support from everyone I spoke with. I anticipate that this will result in some exciting cooperative efforts that we will announce in the coming months. Considering we weren't at the top of anyone's agenda but ours, the time we received from these executives was most generous and indicative that we are being taken seriously.
Knife Rights was not exactly on the tip of everyone's tongue however. The most common subject was the new Congress. Lots of speculation about what the outspokenly anti-gun leadership may do. Not a lot of optimism, to be sure. These same anti's are as likely to be anti-knife as they are to be anti-gun. While the NRA will be there to protect guns, they won't do a lot about knives unless we just happen to get lumped together in a piece of legislation. A scare tactic? No, just reality. These politicians are not our friends and have little respect for the freedoms we hold dear.
The member sign-up trends are very exciting. I had expected that we might garner 10-15% upgraded memberships, but 50% of Individual Charter Members are signing up at a higher level, with 5% at the $250 Individual Cornerstone Charter Membership level. At the request of a number of potential Charter Members, we are instituting an installment payment plan for an Individual Cornerstone Charter Membership, allowing it to be paid in five monthly installments. Details can be found on the Individual Memberships page.
Now comes the hardest part. We've laid the basic foundation. All of this means zip if we don't get members. That's as much up to you as it is to us. Word of mouth remains by far the most powerful and effective recruiting method. It's you who hold the key to success. Our Member-Get-A-Member program just adds a little more incentive.
Just encourage 10 of your friends to join Knife Rights and we'll reward you with an annual membership renewal or equivalent credit towards a higher level of membership. The Knife Rights member who brings in the most new members in the first year will win a custom knife worth over $300! All the remaining Knife Rights members who gained a Member-Get-A-Member award will be eligible to win another custom knife worth over $300! TWO chances to win. (Click for details.)
So get out there and get all your friends and associates to join.