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Who doesn’t want to generate more interest in their research among their family members?
I’ve contacted different family members for years, asking them to share family photos, documents, and stories with me. They seem willing and ask, “What do you want to know?” Those seem like golden words, but they’re not. Or at least, I sometimes fail to convert a willingness to help into the desired outcome.
In the past, I shared a group sheet and a list of questions and potential items that would interest me. Sometimes, I've mailed them the research I know to a certain point and asked them to fill in the gaps. A few individuals have willingly responded and filled in gaps with amazing photos that I never knew existed and stories I've never heard.
However, I received more open hearts and a flow of information when people were excited about what I was doing, and they could consume their family history in a method that excited them. So, here's a list of 10 ways I have shared family history to build excitement and lead to more discoveries.
Ten Ways to Share Your Family History
Create a bound book
Create an eBook
Create a heritage scrapbook
Create digital photo projects: digital photo albums, slideshows, music videos, documentaries
Write articles for local genealogical societies or state genealogical society writing competitions.
Donate family histories to a genealogical library, university special collection, or local genealogy society
Write blog posts
Upload photos and stories to online genealogy trees
Print an online or offline blog book or journal
Notice how this list includes options for delivering your stories, whether for large projects or smaller ones.
Depending on which project format and delivery method you choose, you can create great excitement among your other family members about your family's history.
Or, you might be able to give pieces of a story to someone who can put them together into a project of their own.