1. Hold a parent meeting. Be prepared and give a short, to-the-point „pitch“ for the program. It would be a great idea to share some good recordings.
2. Use your resources. If you know of a successful ukulele teacher or a proficient Ukulele player in your community, invite him/her to your parent meeting and/or classroom. Or bring in a ukulele group to share their music with your students. If all else fails, play good-quality ukulele recordings for your students and their parents.
3. Practise. Perhaps the best thing you can do to promote your program is to become proficient on the ukulele yourself. You need to get good enough to inspire your students.

Jamie „Mr. T“ Thomas¹⁾

The general public—and in this case the „general public“ would be the parents and the grandparents and the friends of the school—have to be aware of what is going on. For example, if you're expecting the grandfather or grandmother to come up with a ukulele for Christmas for the kids then somebody's got to do some selling so that they realize that this isn't a waste of money, that this is something really valuable and good. And therefore the public has to be informed to some degree and sold on a package of goods. They have to believe that there's something good here, that there's something like apple pie and motherhood involved.

Chalmers Doane²⁾

All parents are encouraged and invited to bring their child's ukulele and book to the meeting where a short ukulele lesson is taught. It is designed to include the basics of playing and methods for understanding the book³⁾—how to hold the instrument, how to strum, how to interpret chords and notes from the diagrams, how to play chords with a song from music, how to read and pick notes from the music and how to play the [major] scale. With the amount of knowledge the parents can help their children and listen to them practice with understanding.

Jody Wood⁴⁾

Dear Parents and Guardians,
at the (… -school / community) we will once again learn and play with the ukulele. The new course starts on …day, (day).(month). The ukulele is a small guitar. It has long been used successfully in music education because it is:
1. portable and small enough for young students,
2. excellent as a solo or ensemble instrument,
3. an excellent instrument for developing the ear training and teaching music theory,
4. relatively inexpensive compared to other instruments,
5. an instrument to which the students can sing.
For permanent participation in the program, you must buy a ukulele for your child. Suitable instruments for beginners usually cost no more than 50 euros. I am happy to advise you before you buy.
If you cannot buy a ukulele right now, please do not hesitate to contact me. For starters, a limited number of ukuleles are available for hire.
For the ukulele to last for the duration of the program, you should explain to your child how important it is to handle the instrument with care. Thanks for your help.
Please return the completed registration form by …day, (day).(Month)., to (the office of the school / community / me).
I look forward to working with your children and making music an important topic in their lives.
Yours sincerely

Of course the music teachers „get it“ instantly when they have that in front of them. If they don't have that in front of them then you have to explain what it is you can do on a ukulele. It doesn't take a lot to convince a music teacher because of the fact that you can sing and accompany yourself, learn melody, harmony, rhythm, all those things.

Melanie Doane⁵⁾

Most of the skeptics were people who had a classical background. And they saw [my ukulele program] as somebody cutting all the corners and trying to promote themselves to the top of the mountain without actually going through all the things that you’re supposed to go through. When someone else studied for eight years before going on stage to perform and these kids were getting to play before an audience perhaps after they had studied in a class for a year… some people thought that was a terrible thing. It was mostly musicians who thought that was a terrible thing.
I used to talk to these people about that fact that there are many different facets of music. I never for a second said, “well, classical music isn’t all that good.” I don’t think that. I think classical music is that good. I never took the attitude that what I was doing with the ukulele was better; that wasn’t it. I was getting people started in music who would never have had a door open to music. Now, if they decided because of what they heard on the ukulele that they [wanted to pursue music further], the world was open to them. The door had been opened. Then they could do other things, and many did. This is one way I dealt with the skeptics who were musicians.

Chalmers Doane⁶⁾

A fella put up his hand and he said, „we're concerned that if we buy the violin—this was a string program—that after a year or so [our son] might give it up.“ And I said, in front of two or three hundred people, „if you even have the slightest doubt that your child is going to stay in this program then don't join. I don't want you to join. How can he be successful if you're starting off with that kind of negativity and feeling that way? Wait. Wait 'til next year, 'til you believe in it better. You don't believe in it enough right now. Wait until you think he can succeed because if there's anyone in the world who has to think he's gonna succeed, it's you. And so he won't succeed if you think he won't. He may not succeed even if you think he will but if you don't think he will he hasn't got a hope. So forget about it.“

Chalmers Doane⁷⁾

You must make as much use of the media in the area as is possible. You must talk it up on local radio shows and put articles and notices in the local press concerning the ukulele and the potential that it has for adults in their leisure time. … Notice of the adult ukulele programme and of registration is brought to the attention of the public in your area by advertising in the local newspaper and by posters located in strategic places in your locality where adults will see them. This is usually in schools, shopping malls, church halls and other similar places. In addition you must again make full use of the radio and local television station if one is available to you. Generally the media will provide free public service bulletins for programmes such as this and thereby help keep expenses at a minimum. I cannot emphasize too strongly the importance of using the radio, the press and television in getting the initial notice of the ukulele class to the public. The media wants to be involved in this type of activity and it is up to yourself to take full advantage of that assistance.

R. E. (Bud) Kimball⁸⁾