How To Attract Members

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November 15, 2012December 4, 2017
in Good Advice
Virtually all Toastmasters clubs need a constant inflow of new members to stay healthy. That’s not necessarily a bad thing! Most members join Toastmasters with specific objectives in mind and leave when they have achieved them. More than 95% of the people who leave Toastmasters leave happy and say they might join again in the future.
 
There are many things your club can do to attract new members. Our district website, d25toastmasters.org –  has many ideas and resources that can help keep your membership at a healthy level – 20 members or more, with at least 15 attending meetings.
 
Here is a Member Retention Strategy idea! (click it!)

A good way to attract members and keep current members enthusiastic about Toastmasters is to –
 
Conduct a Membership Drive
Sometimes it’s as simple as asking your club’s members to invite guests to a special meeting. At this meeting put on a great show!
  • An experienced member should be the Toastmaster of the day. You may wish to have an advanced speaker or special guest speaker (such as a business or community leader) and a beginning Toastmasters speaker.
  • The advanced speaker shows what Toastmasters can do, and the beginning speaker shows that all levels of speaking proficiency co-exist within the club.
  • The evaluators are important, too! Choose evaluators who can give “model” evaluations – not too soft, not too hard.
  • Make sure you plan your meeting well in advance so participants have ample time to prepare and so the invitees can plan ahead.
  • Many clubs also conduct organized membership building contests. These programs usually involve points for participation in the program and rewards for those achieving the objectives.
 
Toastmasters International has created sample programs of this type that you may wish to conduct in your club. They are A Simple Membership Building Program (Catalog No. 1621) and Membership Building 101 (Catalog No. 1622). Printed versions are available free of charge from Toastmasters International when you place a supply order. You may also download them here:

(click this-) Shaping Membership, Shaping Meetings, Shaping Lives – Success 101

 


Marylee Mims
Lt Govenor Marketing
District 25