Member Building Tools List

By Judy Hunt, ATM-B, CL

Gaining new members is an ongoing project in all Toastmaster Clubs. It is my belief that if people hear the benefits of Toastmasters they will come and they will join.

Below you will find a list of 20 ways to get your Club's name in front of the people in your community. Don't assume you can use one way and be a winner. The more times and the more ways the public sees your Club's name, the more they will already know about you when they are invited to visit. By the time they have seen your club's name 3 or 4 times in various places about town, they will begin to wonder what they are missing!

If you know of some clever Public Relations tool, or additional methods of informing the public, please email your idea to us at Superiorlandtm@earthdome.com. I will then place those items on this list. It is a group effort. When one Toastmaster Club wins, we all win.

• Talk Toastmasters to everyone you know and meet. If you see an old friend and are listing how the family is doing, where you are working, always end with 'and I am still really enjoying Toastmasters."
• Invite Everyone. Use one of the methods listed below or at the end of a conversation (the part where you mention how much you enjoy Toastmasters) say, "why don't you come visit our club and see for yourself."
• Order the Toastmaster International freebies when you place an order.
• Place Toastmaster pamphlets in lobbies, on public display counters or on the tourist racks found in restaurants and motels, etc. Be sure you ask permission from the respective establishments.
• Any time a member is in the newspaper for a 'good' reason they should list the fact that they are members of the local Toastmasters Club.
• Create a club email address. Use this address on advertisements instead place of using a member's home phone number. This allows for contact without making any individual vulnerable.
• Make business cards to place in the Business Card Drawings held in many restaurants, pin several on free bulletin boards set aside for this purpose. Make Club business cards on your computer. Hand them out to everyone you know. List the date, time and location of meetings as well as contact information. Be sure the club's website or email address is listed on the card. Make individual business cards for each member. These too can be handed out to everyone you meet, placed into drawings and on bulletin boards. Be sure the contact information is discreet if the cards are posted on a bulletin board. If a member is a businessperson, they should list 'Member of Toastmasters International' on their card. TI membership is synonymous with 'achiever' and is an asset.
• Make bookmarks with your club name and contact information. Leave the bookmarks where they will be useful. When a bookmark is found in a returned book at our library, it is placed on the counter for other patrons to use. Donate a stack of bookmarks and ask permission to place them around the library. When returning a book, be sure to leave your bookmark. Anyone with a computer and even the smallest imagination can print four columns on a page and cut the pages apart for bookmarks. Use cardstock, white or colored, to add a crisp freshness. Use color and inspirational quotes. Be sure to include club name, meeting dates and times, and contact information.
• Send invitation postcards to members have missed more than two meetings, former members, or any person you want to invite to your meetings. Postcards can be created in much the same way the bookmarks were made or they can be purchased from TI. Be sure to include the same information. Tell 'missing members' that they are missed. They may just be waiting to see if anyone noticed they were gone.
• Do a community project. Plant flowers in the park as a memorial for a deceased member or member's family, or in honor of our servicemen. When your project is completed, be sure to get some press coverage. Answer phones for a local telethon.
• Place invitation cards in the newborn freebie pack at the local hospital. You will need to ask permission. Start by contacting the Department Manager. Team up with a local day care center. Perhaps they will offer 2 hours free babysitting. This is a great, inexpensive, night out for new parents. They may just become members to get out of the house. They could even take turns attending!
• Have a meeting at the mall, a park, a supermarket, the county fair, or any busy place in town. This will also require advance permission. Present a regular meeting, in abbreviated form, that will last 30-40 minutes. Then repeat the program 3 times in a row to allow exposure to the greatest number of persons. These meetings can take place anywhere crowds of people will gather, and you obtain permission.
• Create a Speakers Bureau. Create a Speaker's Bureau, on a volunteer basis, from you club. This does not mean one would have to speak to large groups of people. There are numerous clubs, organizations, and businesses that would like a speaker to present to their group. This could be as small as 3 or 4, or it could be hundreds. The main point is that your club may not be able to honor all requests for speakers. No member should be required to accept an assignment that makes him or her uncomfortable. While we may not be permitted to charge a fee, the organization requesting a speaker can make a donation to the club.
• Conduct a SpeechCraft or Youth Leadership Program. Be sure you get extra mileage by submitting Public Relations articles and photos to your local newspaper. SpeechCraft is the number one new member tool in Toastmasters. If you want a testimony, contact the Reedsburg, MI club!
• Create a club newsletter. Fill it with educational articles and puzzles as well as member information. And, of course, be sure to include contact information. The District has Club newsletter/bulletin standards that should be followed. For a list of these standards, contact your district officers.
• Create a club website. This does not have to be a 98 page interactive website. Minimally it should contain the name of your club, when and where it meets, contact information and some basic information about your website. Be creative. Be sure to keep it updated and list your site with TI. They will place it on your club's contact page on their own website. It works! For the TI standards see the TI website.
• Purchase bumper stickers from TI. Pass them out to all members. Use them to create book covers, pop can covers, coffee cup advertising, etc. Again: be creative.
• Create signs for each of your meetings. Be sure they are strategically placed so anyone passing by or anyone looking for your meeting will be able to find it!
• Purchase a highway sign to be placed at the edge of town. These sell in the TI catalog beginning at $25.
• Adopt a highway or park, or whatever your community offers. You not only get publicity (free advertising) but you get your highway sign for free

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