Last edited: March 28, 2024

Can't think of new ideas for your next membership drive? We’ve got you covered.

Whether your organization is creating a positive impact or just a fun club, you only have to follow two principles to make it a success. One - bring in more people and Two - retain them.

If you’re looking for ways to find and retain more members, here’s a step-by-step guide for you.

Key Takeaways

• Hosting events like charity fun runs is a great membership drive idea for organizations. You can have participants pay a small fee to register which gives them a discount on a membership.
• Use interesting membership drive themes or slogans to make your events unique. Add member testimonials to registration forms.
• Choose a membership management platform that is easy to use for both you and members. Look for easy payments, event sign-ups, analytics, and good customer support.
• Build meaningful relationships with members through membership management software features like customized membership forms, automated renewal reminders, event ticketing, email campaigns, online community, and CRM analytics.
• Get new members through word-of-mouth referrals. Offer incentives for referrals.
• Engage members by giving welcome kits, and discounts, hosting networking events, and sending surveys to get feedback.
• Keep membership prices and benefits transparent so prospects see the value in joining. Offer incentives for members who recruit others.

What Is a Membership Drive?

A membership drive is a strategic campaign focused on
recruiting new members to join an organization or association over a specific period of time.
They are time-limited campaigns that unite your current members, staff, board, and volunteers around the common goal of attracting new members. Your tactics might include social media campaigns, special events, referral incentives, and advertising, and the duration could be anywhere from a single day to several months.

Membership drive isn't just about recruitment, it's a concerted effort involving marketing, outreach, and engagement to highlight the benefits of joining your community. Whether you're a nonprofit, an association, a club, or any other member-based group, a membership drive can be a powerful tool to expand your community.

Preparing for Your Membership Drive - Things to Think About

Recruitment Objectives

Set clear objectives for the number of new members you want to recruit during the drive. Establish specific objectives around your organization's overall member growth rate versus your total membership count based on your organization's growth goals.

Target Audience

Identifying your target audience is crucial for a successful membership drive. This involves understanding who your ideal members are, their demographic and psychographic characteristics, and what appeals to them about your organization.

You can gather this information by surveying your existing members or conducting market research. Once you've identified your target audience, you can develop personas and tailor your messaging to resonate with them. Remember, the goal is to attract individuals who will derive the most benefit from joining your organization.

Capabilities

Assess your organization's capabilities to absorb and support an influx of new members.

This includes evaluating whether you have sufficient staff, resources, operational capacity, and systems to support an influx of new members.

If you identify any gaps, you'll need to address these before starting your drive which involves hiring additional staff, investing in new technology, or improving your operational processes.

Frequency

Determine the optimal frequency for hosting membership drives.

While you might be tempted to run them as often as possible, it's important to avoid donor fatigue. This can occur when individuals feel overwhelmed by constant requests for support. Therefore, you might decide to hold your drives annually, semiannually, or quarterly.

The key is to strike a balance between attracting new members and retaining existing ones.

Step 1: Make Smart Goals

Defining goals is like setting up new year's resolutions: they should be measurable and attainable.

Most organizations start with unclear goals such as “drive new memberships” or “retain more members”. While they may seem doable, you don’t have a real way to measure their results.

The right approach here is to create SMART goals for your membership campaigns. Let’s take the following goal as an example:

“Gain 50 new memberships in Q1” - A SMART Goal

Specific = It has a specific number. (50 members)

Measurable = It is measurable. (by dividing achieved memberships by targeted memberships, you can calculate the percentage of achieving a goal, i.e. 500 achieved memberships)

Attainable = It is attainable.

Relevant = It is relevant to your association.

Time-Bound = It is time-bound. (Q1)

Once you set your main goal, you can break them down into more manageable tasks to divide them among your teams.

Step 2: Set a Realistic Budget

Setting an unrealistic budget and exceeding it is one of the most common errors organizations make when driving membership campaigns. One way to avoid this is to analyze all the components when deciding on a budget which are:

• Fixed cost (tools, subscriptions)
• Variable cost (ads spend, sales commission, staff wages)

Next, calculate your member acquisition cost to set a budget based on your marketing activities. Simply put, a member acquisition cost is an amount you spend on marketing for acquiring new members.

You can calculate this cost from the last membership drive by dividing the cost of marketing by the number of new members i.e.

Cost of marketing / number of new members = cost of acquisition

For example, if you gained 10 memberships the previous year with a marketing spending of $1,000, your cost of acquisition would be: 1,000/ 10 = $100

Now multiply this cost of acquisition by your goal (50 from the example above), you will get your budget for the upcoming campaign: 100 * 50 = $5000 (budget for the upcoming campaign)

If you don't bring 50 members in with your $5,000, that means you have exceeded your budget. On the other hand, you have made a profit if you manage to bring in 50 members with less than $5,000.

It’s a great metric to evaluate your marketing efforts as well as spot spending that are cost-effective as well as effective.

Step 3: Drive New Members to Your Organization/ Association/ Chamber

The next step is to decide how you will use all available resources to grow memberships.

When brainstorming membership campaign ideas, it is useful to consider the past successes of your organization. You can also study what is working well for similar associations.

In case you have run out of some great tactics, here’s a long list of the proven strategies that will help you grow your memberships in no time.

1. Events With Free Lunches

Ever heard of hosting free luncheon for bringing in new members? Well, it's a proven tactic used by several associations for successful membership drives.

All you have to do is to ask your members to bring a non-member friend to the event to enjoy a free lunch. You can also offer them incentives like $100 in case their friend ends up being a member at the end of the event.

Make sure to give a presentation on what your association is about and the benefits of becoming your member.

2. Cycling Events

Arranging cyclic events or charity fun runs is one of the top membership drive ideas for clubs (especially health and fitness clubs).

Host a city-wide cycling event for maximum participation. Design a colorful registration form with information regarding your club and activities and offer them your membership by paying 10% extra for the event registration. (Make it equivalent to a 50% discount on the entire membership amount)

To make your events unique, you can try interesting membership drive themes or slogans. Don't forget to add member testimonials on the registration form for better engagement.

3. Phone/ Email Campaigns

Getting in touch with prospects over the phone is an old yet effective method of gaining customers. You can use the same method to drive members to your association.

Simply make a list of all your prospective members and contact them one by one. You can also send membership invitation emails  stating your membership privileges such as reduced event fees or exclusive VIP events. Make sure to add the link to your registration page for them to click.

4. Limited Time Offers

This is a helpful method when you are unable to bring more members despite other efforts.

Time-limited discounts shift a user’s perspective toward saving their money by creating an urgency to avail it.

By explaining how membership will improve their finances, you give potential members a valid reason to join your organization. However, don’t do it often as it will signal a low-value tactic to your prospects.

5. Business Networking Events

Business networking events are considered one of the best membership marketing ideas. In fact, according to CrossCheck, building a professional network is a major reason why people join associations.

Depending on the type of your association and the region it covers (national or global), you can decide between an on-site event or a virtual one.

Host a short introductory speech introducing your association and mentioning your membership perks (including networking as a top one). You can also offer free tickets to your members to add them as a benefit of joining your association.

6. Annual Conferences

Having annual conferences not only brings your members together but also gives you a great platform to promote your association.

The best conferences extend at least two days, feature multiple agendas, distribute certificates to attendees, and have some fun activities. So make sure you have them all.

If your organization extends nationally, choose a different city for the conference each time. This will allow maximum participation across the country and you will have more prospects to connect with.

Make sure you have contact fields on your registration form such as email address and contact numbers. You can also send an eBook to all your attendees giving them a brief on your membership benefits.

7. Business Spotlights

Most people are not aware of the benefits of business spotlights for gaining new members.

Business spotlights are programs that showcase the exceptional stories of businesses including how they got here and what are their next plans.

You can host a business spotlight at any local business and invite your members (along with one non-member to these events).

8. Inviting Influencers to Speak

Considering the massive following of influencers, inviting them to speak at your events is a great way to attract new members.

They not only add educational value but also make for great networking sessions. You can ask influencers to add a post on their social media regarding their upcoming session - a great way to promote your association.

To find influencers, use social media platforms like Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn or podcasts. You can also ask your members if they have influencers in their circle. The speaker can also be your member, which is a great way to highlight the expertise in your organization.

9. Online Advertising

Online ads can help you drive more members than other methods since they can target members by understanding their journey and interests.

To run an online ad, choose a platform that has your target prospects. See how your members find your organization online. For instance, do your prospects look for your types of memberships on search engines? Or do they join social media groups to find relevant companies?

If they use search engines, it’s wise to place search and video ads on Google and YouTube. If you have more prospects on social media, then we recommend using Facebook or LinkedIn ads.

However, you mustn’t forget to set a budget for the digital ads, as they can quickly exhaust your finances.

10. Member Rewards for Involvement

Indeed, word of mouth is still a strong method to bring in more members. And who can drive referral programs better than your members?

Rewarding members for promoting your association ensures that they are constantly appreciated so they don't stop doing it.

For referral programs, host competitive friendly events where the person who gets the most memberships for your club is rewarded with a gift basket or a discount card.

11. Exchange Gifts

Unlike rewards (mentioned above), exchange gifts are available for both members and nonmembers. The idea is that you offer a giveaway in return for something else.

For instance, you can offer a free resource in exchange for adding 5 email addresses of the family members on your website or tagging your friends on social media posts.

Once you get their email addresses or social ids, you can then begin marketing your association and events to these people via email campaigns and online ads.

12. Social Platforms

Promoting organic posts on your social platforms is a cost-effective way to bring in new members.

Make sure you have an official page on the social media platforms where you have the most prospective members. Add a compelling introduction with the key benefits of becoming a member. If you're out of membership benefits ideas, read this article.

Add your logo, a group picture of your members (very useful in getting more likes and shares), and your upcoming events on your page.

Post your content regularly with relevant hashtags to grow organically. You can also create groups based on common interests and interact with the members regularly by creating shareable posts, helpful articles, and engaging in conversation.

13. Short-Term Membership Programs

If you are thinking, “how to attract new members to a club?” this is your answer!

Most prospects think twice before going for an expensive annual membership. Offering short-term memberships is what you need to do at this point to get them involved in your organization.

Offer a 3-month membership plan to your prospective members with access to the facilities like a swimming pool, jogging track, and gymnasium. Some activities can be restricted and you can mention in your registration form that they are only available to annual members.

This way, they can try your club for three months and decide on buying annual memberships when satisfied or to take advantage of the additional activities.

14. Business Collaborations

Collaborating with a local business is an excellent way to spot new prospective members.

For example, if you have large meeting or event spaces, partner with another organization to host events together. The event will have audiences from both sides, benefiting both sides.

Make sure you have combined agendas and overlapping topics to engage audiences from both sides. You can also create and cross-share content on social platforms.

15. Nonprofit Events Sponsor

Sponsoring a nonprofit is not only good for your membership drive but also offers an ideal volunteer opportunity.

Depending on your budget, you can sponsor a small fundraising event or a large kick-off event for capital campaigns. It will help you gain more exposure as well as build a network with other sponsors and board members.

You can also set up a small stall where you can distribute brochures regarding your membership benefits.

16. Optimized Website

An optimized website is a key to successful memberships, especially if you have a virtual organization.

An optimized website influences audiences both rationally and emotionally to convert them into members. It has well-written copies that tell what your association is, the story behind it, and your vision.

To optimize your website, keep both search engines and audiences in consideration. Mention the top features of your membership on the homepage to attract incoming prospects.

Read more: Top 12 Membership Website Design Tips For Associations

Once optimized, you can use the homepage or membership page links in your emails, or newsletters to improve engagements on your website (ultimately leading to conversions).

17. Speed Networking Events

Virtual speed networking is the newest trend in the online world. If you are not using it for your membership drive, you are missing out on a great opportunity!

During a virtual speed networking event, you pair attendees with each other and let them connect virtually for short one-on-one video calls to engage faster and efficiently. This allows them to interact with more members in a short time.

To set it up, choose software that integrates and automates speed networking like Glue Up. Once done, create an event and invite your member's community as well as prospective members on the email subscription list, and social media.

At the beginning of the event, have a short introductory speech about your association and membership details (focus on benefits) and let your invitees connect through speed networking.

You can also create member rewards for bringing in new memberships.

18. Organize Public Chamber Meetings

Organizing public meetings is a strategic approach to draw in potential members and provide them with firsthand knowledge about your chamber of commerce. These meetings, open to all interested parties and free of charge, are an excellent platform for promotion.

Make sure to follow these steps to run successful campaigns through public meetings:
 

• Utilize your website, social media, local publications, and word-of-mouth to advertise these events.
• Encourage board members and active participants to interact with attendees during these meetings.
• Present a detailed overview of your mission, activities, networking events, and the extensive benefits offered to members.
• Include a Q&A session to address any queries with informed responses.
• Post-meeting, send out information packets for further engagement.

19. Offer a Trial Membership

Offering potential members a "test drive" of your chamber is an effective way to demonstrate its value.

Provide free trial memberships for a period of 30-60 days, allowing prospects to experience the benefits before making a commitment. During this trial, they should enjoy the same privileges as paid members, such as attending events, training, mixers, accessing online resources, and networking with other members.

Ensure to collect their contact details and maintain regular follow-ups during the trial to answer queries and encourage them to join. Emphasize the key benefits they stand to lose without membership.

This firsthand experience often leads to conversion into paid memberships.

20. Launch a Member Referral Program

Leverage your existing network by initiating a member referral incentive program. Reward current members who bring in new sign-ups with benefits like discounts on their dues, gift cards, entries into a raffle prize draw, or special recognition.

This strategy not only capitalizes on your members' personal connections and word-of-mouth promotion but also enhances current member engagement and retention.

To monitor referrals, assign members a unique code to share with their referrals. The prospect can use this code during sign-up, ensuring a successful referral strategy and member acquisition.

Step 4: Retain Current Members

If you are dealing with memberships every year, you probably know that retaining members is more difficult than driving new memberships.

Simply put, retaining members is all about understanding your members’ needs and fulfilling them. However, it's easier said than done. Sometimes, members quit despite your best efforts. In such instances, identifying the root cause and fixing it is the only way out.

In case you are exploring ways to retain members, you might be interested in the methods listed below. In addition, figuring out what might be causing members to lapse in your association can help you fix it more quickly. (also mentioned below)

The Common Reasons Why Members Lapse

There are several reasons why members lapse. According to the 2023 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, people leave associations because of six main reasons:

• They don't feel engaged with the organization and other members
• They don't feel valued by the team
• They cannot justify the membership costs with the ROI
• Their employers stop paying for their memberships
• They leave the field or the industry
• They forget to renew their memberships

If you are facing member lapse, you might need to dig deeper to figure out the exact cause. As a whole, adopting the following strategies can increase your chances of membership retention.

Improve Onboarding With a More Holistic Approach

Just like new employees, your new members also await a warm welcome from your side. Therefore, a holistic onboarding is the first great approach to retaining new members.

Facilitate your members with a warm welcome, and a smooth initiation with the right resources. This includes a personalized welcome email and the right login clicks and credentials.

Offer them a welcome kit with the first-month discounts on dine-outs, shopping, and spas to take their experience to the next level. You can also make groups based on shared interests and add your new members while onboarding.

Utilize Your Existing Members Suggestions to Enhance Your Services

Many members want to feel valued and heard. That being said, they want to feel like an active participant in your organization. In such cases, having them involved with feedback, surveys, and open discussions is a great way to keep them around.

Ask them questions like how is their membership going? What is it that they like to improve? What are the services they want to enhance or change? You can also take their suggestions for the upcoming events and conferences.

This will not only help you engage and retain your members but also in improving your association.

Choose the Right Membership Management Software

A membership management software is the lifeline of your association. It does not only impact you and your team but your members as well.

Whenever you choose membership management software, always look for an easy user interface. Select a platform that is easy for making payments and signing up for the events. Analytical dashboard, customization, and prompt customer support are some other features you should consider when selecting a platform.

Glue Up’s Membership Management software is an all-in-one platform to retain and grow your member community. It helps you build meaningful relationships with your members through five connected modules, which are:

Memberships: You can create several membership types and customize online application forms to make it easy to enroll prospective members.

Once your members fill out the forms, the Information is automatically synchronized across the platform. You can also automate membership renewal workflows to maximize retention and send renewal reminders through push notifications and automated emails.

Events: You can create top-notch events with agendas, sponsors, and speakers. There is also an option to create and customize several ticket types like early-bird, exclusive for members, and 50% off.

Email Campaigns: The email module allows you to create newsletters, branded events, and campaigns in just a few clicks. You can also send invitations, surveys, and automated notifications using this section.

Community: The platform has a private community that is exclusively designed for you and your members. Your members can create groups, have 1-on-1 chats with each other, and even share their virtual business cards.

CRM and Analytics: All your members’ activities from events, emails, and finances are stored in the dashboard which can help you make informed decisions.

All in all, Glue-Up provides your members with the premium experience they deserve. Interested to find out more? Book a demo today!

FAQs

What Is the Best Way to Conduct a Membership Drive?

There is no one-size-fits-all method for conducting a membership drive. It essentially depends on the type of organization and the memberships you offer. For example, an email campaign can bring hundreds of new members to a health/ fitness club. On the other hand, arranging networking events is the most effective way to drive new members to chambers of commerce.

How Do You Encourage New Membership?

Word-of-mouth is a proven way to encourage new memberships. Other activities such as free luncheons, cycling events, and limited-time discounts are also some successful ways to grow association memberships.

How Do You Drive Membership Engagement?

Membership engagement is all about building a long-term relationship with your members. Some of the key ways to gain more engagement include:

• Giving a welcome kit when onboarding new members (such as free tickets or a branded t-shirt along with a personal welcome letter).
• Promoting member benefits by offering them everyday discounts.
• Hosting several networking events with a free ticket for your members.
• Introducing surveys and improving your association.

How Do You Get People to Buy a Membership?

If you want your prospects to buy memberships from you, keep your prices and benefits transparent. Make sure you are targeting the right audience on the right platform. When a new member joins your association, offer them an incentive for inviting others.
 

How Do You Specifically Engage Members of an Association? Is it Any Different From Chambers and Other Member-based Organizations?

To engage association members, provide industry-specific content, networking opportunities, and targeted professional development. Encourage member involvement through committees and events, and communicate regularly and transparently.

While chambers and other member-based organizations may use similar tactics, associations focus more on industry-specific resources and fostering a strong sense of community among professionals with shared interests.

What Motivates Members to Join an Association?

People mainly get motivated to join any association for access to exclusive networking opportunities, professional development resources, and industry-specific information.

They also seek a sense of community and belonging among like-minded individuals who share similar interests and goals.

So, if you want people to join your association, highlighting these benefits can help attract them to your organization.

What Motivates Businesses to Join a Chamber of Commerce? Is It Any Different From Associations?

Businesses join chambers of commerce to access networking opportunities, increase visibility and credibility, and receive resources and support for growth. Chambers also advocate for business-friendly policies and provide avenues for community involvement.

While similar to associations, chambers focus more on local business development and fostering a thriving economic environment within their specific geographic area.