Let People Know About Your Meeting!

Your group can publicize your meetings in many ways. Here are a few. For more information, contact your local service body or region and get the Public Information and Professional Outreach Service Manual at bookstore.oa.org.

Group Registration

Register your group and keep that information current with the World Service Office and your intergroup/service board. Many people visit oa.org or call the World Service Office seeking information about meetings in their area. The World Service Office depends on you to make sure we have current information.

Bulletin Boards

Post notices of OA meetings and special events on community bulletin boards in shopping malls, grocery stores, libraries, schools, waiting rooms, hospitals, and other public places (where permitted). You may use the Bulletin Board Attraction Sticky Notes (#440W) available at bookstore.oa.org.

Classified Advertisements

Many websites, newspapers, and neighborhood “shoppers” offer free listings to nonprofit organizations. Post or send notices to the appropriate departments and include a meeting contact name when possible. Publishers may require that ad copy be sent in weekly, usually by email. Length is often limited to a specified number of words or lines. Many groups prepare a month’s worth of notices in advance and send one each week on the same day.

Sample classified advertising copy

30 words

Do you worry about the way you eat? Overeaters Anonymous may have the answer for you. No weigh-ins, dues, or fees. Call [contact name and phone] for a meeting location in your neighborhood or visit oa.org.

25 words

If food rules your life, call Overeaters Anonymous. No dues, fees, or weigh-ins. Call [contact name and phone] for the nearest meeting location or visit oa.org.

15 words

Are you a compulsive eater? Overeaters Anonymous can help. For information, call [contact name and phone] or visit oa.org.

Public Service Announcements

A public service announcement is usually a 15-, 30-, or 60-second radio or television spot with a short message about OA and the phone number and website of the World Service Office and/or the local service body. Although broadcast stations are no longer required to air public service announcements, many stations do so as a community service and to fill space between programs.

Tips for using public service announcements:

Using the prerecorded radio public service announcement “Start Living the Life You Deserve”

Downloadable audio files in 15-, 30-, and 60-second spots are available from the Public Information and Professional Outreach page at oa.org in the “Audio Resources” section. When contacting radio stations, include an emailed cover letter with a link to these resources. Once broadcast or internet radio stations are interested, they may request digital files via email or cloud. Note: Many radio stations will prefer to produce a brand-new recording of your public service announcement to meet contemporary standards for sound quality. All registered OA service bodies are free to produce a new public service announcement that upholds OA’s Twelve Traditions, whether using an OA script or their own script.

Using the video public service announcement “Many Symptoms, the OA Solution”

Provide a link to the Public Information and Professional Outreach page on oa.org to share on social media.

Using live copy

Some stations prefer live copy that they record or announce on the air. (See sample live copy public service announcement scripts in the Public Information and Professional Outreach Service Manual, available at bookstore.oa.org, or use the sample below.)

Sample live copy public service announcement [10 seconds]:

Do you compulsively eat? Overeaters Anonymous can help. No dues or fees. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop eating compulsively. Call [phone] or visit oa.org.

Ongoing Meeting Notices

Some websites and papers have special sections for community meetings. The type of notice you post depends on the individual policies of each website, paper, or newsletter. Some require that you resubmit a notice periodically. Others will run one submission indefinitely.

Tips for submitting meeting notices:

• Double-check names, titles, times, and places. Type your notice and submit it online or email it with a cover letter.
• If your notice will be running indefinitely, check the listing periodically for errors.

Sample meeting notice

[day, date, time, location] OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS
[specific focus, if relevant]
No dues, fees, or weigh-ins. Everyone welcome!
[Include a contact name and phone number, plus oa.org and/or the service body’s website.]

Press Releases

Press releases are submitted when there’s something newsworthy to tell the public. If your service body is planning a special event (such as a public information or newcomers’ night, presenting a copy of the newest OA book to a library, or starting a new meeting), inform the media and the public through a press release. Include the name of the sponsoring service body; the exact time, date, and location of the event; the purpose; the total cost (if any); a contact name, phone number, and email; and links to local OA websites and oa.org. (See samples below.)

Tips for submitting press releases:

• Check online or call your local newspapers and broadcast stations to find who to send your release to and what guidelines there are for submissions.
• Type the name, address, email, and phone number of your group’s contact in the lower left corner. Indicate that this information is for media use only; it must not appear in the final story.
• Tell who, what, where, when, why, and how in the first few sentences or paragraphs. Place the most important information first and continue in decreasing order of importance.
• Keep sentences and paragraphs brief and to the point. If writing in hardcopy, include a few details about the OA program; one page is ideal, but don’t use more than two. If emailing, insert links to local OA websites and oa.org/media-press-kit.
• Proofread carefully.
• End the release with “# # #” centered on the page; this indicates the end of the press release.
• Email, fax, or mail your release to all editors on your list, even if two or more are from the same publication or station—this can lead to feature stories. Do not hand-deliver your press releases.
• If your release is not used, contact the editor(s) to ask why. Use this information the next time you submit a press release. If your release is used, send a thank-you note and consider following up in the future. Share your success story with the Fellowship.

Be prepared for newcomers at your meetings. Stock up on OA literature and, if possible, compile a list of abstaining members who can help callers with questions about OA.

For more public information and professional outreach resources, link to oa.org/service-bodies/public-information-and-professional-outreach.

Order the Public Information and Professional Outreach Service Manual (#765) from the WSO: 1-505-891-2664 or bookstore.oa.org.

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Sample press release announcing a new meeting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A meeting could save a life. Is food a problem for you? OA can help.

Compulsive eaters and those suffering from compulsive food behaviors are invited to a new weekly meeting of Overeaters Anonymous beginning next [day, date, time] at [location].

Overeaters Anonymous is not a diet club. There are no dues, fees, or weigh-ins. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop eating compulsively.

OA views compulsive eating as a physical, emotional, and spiritual disease that can be arrested but not cured. Members seek recovery on all three levels by following a Twelve Step program patterned after that of Alcoholics Anonymous. To find out more, go to oa.org.

There are [number] meetings in the [location] area. For information, visit oa.org, [service body’s website], or call [contact first name and phone].

# # #

Sample press release announcing a public information night

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Is food a problem for you? OA can help.

Overeaters Anonymous (OA) is a fellowship of people who share the common problem of compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviors. A public information night will be held on [day, date, time] at [location]. All are welcome, including those who think they may be compulsive eaters and those who are concerned about a friend or relative.

The OA recovery program will be explained. Members will be present to share their own experiences and to answer questions.

OA has meetings in more than 75 countries worldwide. There are no dues or fees for membership; one becomes a member simply by having a desire to stop eating compulsively. OA is not affiliated with any public or private organization, political movement, ideology, or religious doctrine. Find out more at oa.org/media-press-kit.

There are [number] meetings in the [location] area.

For more information about this special meeting or other OA meetings in the area, call [phone]. Interested people can also visit oa.org and [service body’s website].

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OA Board-approved

© 1991 … 2017 Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. All rights reserved. Rev. 3/2025

Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. World Service Office
Location: 6075 Zenith Court NE, Rio Rancho, NM 87144, USA
Mailing address: PO Box 44727, Rio Rancho, NM 87174-4727, USA
Telephone: +1 505-891-2664