Membership Building Ideas

This page has membership building ideas gathered at Toastmasters Membership Building seminars and from various workshop and conference resources.

Who are potential members?

• Anyone over the age of 18 years
• Someone with a need
• Students - Postgraduates
• Lawyers/Accountants/Teachers
• Boards of Trustees
• Anyone with a speech difficulty
• Managers
• Other similar training organisations
• People for whom English is a second language

Why do we need new members?

• New blood and ideas
• Replace lost members
• Add enthusiasm
• Toastmasters provides benefits to new members
• Fulfil our Mission
• Toastmasters is not a secret
• Strong clubs - vibrancy
• More revenue for the club
• Display confidence
• Provide an Audience
• Prove you have speaking skills
• Achieve Distinguished Club goals
• Lead by example
• Make new friends
• Upskill population of New Zealand
• New members will challenge us
• Satisfaction of helping others

50+ ways to attract new members ...

• Talk to people about the benefits of Toastmasters
• Advertising via media
• Listen out for opportunities
• Bring a guest to meetings
• Personal invitation
• Demonstrate a meeting in local library
• Learn how to close a sale
• Use club business cards
• Put business cards in library books - eg wedding
• Printed T-shirts
• Poster on community hall noticeboards
• Editorials/articles in local newspapers
• Staff and work colleagues
• Articles celebrating successes
• Fax local businesses
• Letterbox flyer drops
• Run a Speechcraft Course
• Approach local Chamber of Commerce
• Create bumper stickers
• Promote the District Website
• Promote your Club website
• Listings in community and Council websites
• Advertise in local What's On Guides
• Library promotions
• Leave pamphlets at Citizens Advice Bureau
• Publicise at your local Rotary club
• Promote the 0800 number
• Run a Membership Clinic
• Read books for other ideas
• Posters in Stores
• Adopt the "Fly the Flag" Campaign
• Run the Successful Clubs series
• A club's own members
• Leave Toastmasters magazines in public places (eg waiting rooms)
• Membership Vice President manual has lots of ideas
• Talk to other clubs about their membership building plans
• Club or personal business cards
• Advertise Speech Contests as open to the public
• Hold Club Membership Building Contests
• Use your Training Leadership Institute Officers to run seminars
• Give spare copies of Newsline to interested people (eg HR departments)

For more information and ideas, contact Lt Governor Marketing, email marketing@toastmasters.org.nz.

Membership Retention Ideas

• Send a thank you note for a job well done
• Give an incentive such as a free gift to members who renew their membership early
• Give a special certificate of thanks to members who renew their membership for the first time
• Establish and promote a member-mentoring plan, and assign mentors to new members quickly
• Keep experienced members active and interested with special tasks or jobs, such as running speech contests, holding training workshops, coordinating speechcraft courses
• Set up a frequent flyer points scheme for members with prizes
• Establish and adhere to club communication standards, such as response times to requests or enquiries
• Look for opportunities to recognise long-standing members for special contributions to the club
• Encourage contributions to the club newsletter or website
• Obtain testimonials from long-standing members for publicity purposes