Six tips for a successful membership drive

Just because you have a small staff doesn’t mean you can’t get big results with member recruitment. Here are six tips to help you pull off successful membership drives for your association.

Members help your association to fulfill its mission. They help to keep your association vibrant and relevant. They also deliver the membership dues that help to drive revenue for your organization. In short, members propel your organization forward.

So, it’s no surprise that growing membership is a top goal for many associations. In fact, the 2023 Association Trends Study by Community Brands shows that increasing membership is the top priority for associations.

So, are you ready to boost your membership? Here are six tips for successful membership drives.

Six tips for successful membership drives

1. Put your membership committee to work.

You don’t have to do all of the work around your membership drives alone. Using a membership committee to give you a hand with member recruitment is key to reaching your goals.

Build a team that’s committed to your mission and growing your organization. Membership committee team members should represent and reflect your membership and potential members. They should be a diverse group of members representing an array of demographics, including generations, career stages, and membership tenure. They will be key to making sure you’re meeting your target audiences at the right place with the right messages.

2. Pick up the phone.

Even though it requires some time, making a phone call as a follow-up to your marketing efforts is a nice (and effective) personal touch. Enlist your membership committee and board of directors to help with making phone calls to prospective members. And don’t forget about your lapsed members: Give them a call, too, to let them know that you’ve missed them and to invite them to come back.

To make things easier and more consistent, create and share a script for your volunteer callers. The script should be friendly and concise.

Here are a few points to include:

• Identify the caller – name and business name and that they are a member of the organization
• Encourage them to join – what is the organization and why is the caller a member
• Discuss benefits – a short review of membership benefits
• Make the ask – ask to send them the membership application
• Thank them for their time

3. Encourage word of mouth.

A word-of-mouth recommendation is one of the most effective recruitment tools. And when your members love your organization, they’ll likely be happy to share their experience and invite others to be part of it.

Offer your current members an incentive, even if it’s a small one, to get them out there promoting your organization. What benefits do your members value that would be enticing enough to encourage them to spread the word? Maybe it’s a free ticket to your annual conference or a discount on next year’s membership. Or maybe it’s something they can use personally, such as some type of gift card.

Keep in mind that most people like a little friendly competition. So, give a shout-out to members who are actively bringing in new members. Whether it’s in your newsletter or your online community, acknowledging them shows that you appreciate their recruitment efforts and may encourage others to start recruiting as well.

4. Rethink your membership path.

No matter how great the messaging and tactics for your membership drives might be, if it’s hard for members to join, they’re not likely to do so. So, before you begin your membership drive, review your current membership path.

Put yourself in your member prospect’s shoes. Is it clear why they should become a member? Is it easy to find the membership application on your website? Is your application reasonably quick and easy to complete?

This is a great exercise in which to involve your membership committee. For a fresh perspective, ask your membership committee members to review the membership path, and even ask them to ask a friend or family member to try to join. Feedback from someone not associated with your organization might open your eyes to something you never thought of.

5. Use digital ads.

Meet your member prospects where they are – online. Digital advertising isn’t just for large organizations. Social media and other online ads have proven to be successful and cost-effective for many associations of all types and sizes.

6. Keep things going.

Acquiring new members is a never-ending job. Every member interaction and every event or program your organization holds is a chance to recruit more members.

Regularly review your membership recruitment practices with your membership committee and adjust your efforts accordingly. It can help to set up dashboards and reports in your association management software for visibility into membership growth and how well your membership drives are performing. Also, survey your newest members about what activities sealed the deal for them, and review their feedback with your team. And don’t forget to also get feedback from your members who recruited a member to learn what approaches worked for them.