- Put up a sign at your meeting place
It is amazing how many people discover organizations by simply walking or driving past their sign.
- Report on your membership numbers and goal progress
Keep the members up to date on how recruiting is going to motivate them to help.
- Consider the affordability of dues and events
Consider if the dues and event prices are a barrier to potential members. Tiered membership or special rates may result in more interest. You can also reorganize your membership model to better reflect different membership values.
- Make sure your contact information is up to date on national and organization-wide directories
Often these are posted and then forgotten. You may have information out there that is not correct.
- Remove barriers to attendance
Think about what might stand in the way of joining and try to resolve those issues. For example, you could meet near public transport, or provide childcare to volunteers during meetings.
- Create a MO / local group’s bumper sticker
Put your name out on the road!
- Consider membership tiers
If full membership requires too much commitment, maybe a lesser commitment (with fewer privileges, but also lower fees) would appeal to new people.
- Offer a trial period for new members before they pay membership fee
If there is no cost for trying it out, potential members may stay long enough to see how much they like your local group.
- Create a membership drive budget
Ads, events, and promotional materials all cost money. Prioritize your membership recruitment by budgeting for it.
- Offer online registration and payment
Make it easy to join your MO / local group without paper forms or checks.
- Give away something free to new members
The chance to win a prize always attracts interest.
- Create a structured yearly recruitment plan
Check out the other MOs for an example of what this could look like.
- Create new programs that might entice more diverse members
You could create a mentorship program for new members. Or offer educational courses to external public that are related to your central mission.
- Make membership free
Make membership by donation if you can afford it of course.
- Designate a Welcome or Membership chairperson
Increasing membership is a worthy effort, so appoint a team captain to head it up.
- Set a membership goal
A concrete goal encourages members to recruit new people and puts everyone on the same page.
- Talk to other similar organizations to see how their membership efforts are going
- Use Membership Management Software to automate your admin tasks and free up your time for member engagement and growth
- Track how new members join
That way, you can assess the effectiveness of your membership recruiting activities. Cut ineffective ways and pour more resources into the ones that actually work.
- Create better benefits and resources
If you can be something that people cannot get anywhere else — and something that is really special — your membership will flourish.
- Look into points of friction or contention for new members
Is it as easy as possible for new members to join? For example, if filling out a paper application and mailing it in is required, you might gain more members simply by shifting to online member application forms.