Whoops. I just re-read Carol&#39;s message -- I had misunderstood at first. If this is an effort to recruit *brand new* contributors (as opposed to retaining those who have dabbled), the research I cited above doesn&#39;t really apply :)<br>
<br>But, I do think the findings of the Wikipedia Public Policy Initiative would be informative;[1] Carol, I&#39;m not sure if you&#39;ve had contact with this program or not.<br><br>But in general, it ties in with what Sue brought up: people brand new to Wikipedia often need a *lot* of support and advice before they start to get their legs. So directing them to educational resources, and establishing a &quot;cafe&quot; type space to ask questions and build a sense of community, would certainly be helpful in keeping with what we&#39;ve learned from our outreach efforts.<br>
<br>And personalizing the message a little bit, tailoring it to the specific woman&#39;s interests by suggesting articles she may want to edit, couldn&#39;t hurt either!<br><br>-Pete<br>(formerly Public Outreach Officer at WMF)<br>
<br>[1] <a href="http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_Policy_Initiative">http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_Policy_Initiative</a><br><br><br>