Ahh, the beginning of a new semester… as a campus leader, you are excited about this! You have personal goals of raising your GPA and increasing your social network, and then you also have goals for your campus organization. Whether it is increasing the amount of funds for your organization’s philanthropy, or increasing attendance at that amazing event you hold every year, your group has goals (and they better be SMART goals.) While setting these goals for the year, remember the value of bringing in new members to your student organization, and make it a goal to increase the number of new members in your organization.
New members bring a fresh perspective to the team. Of course, they have a common interest that connects them to the club they’ve joined, but they also come from a different background with a different set of values and ideas. This is an awesome strength for your campus organization. As a campus leader, spend some time on engaging incoming freshman and other neutrals to join in on the dance floor and become a solid 5 within your organization!
Here are 4 practices that will help you reel in new members at your information booth:
- Remember back to when you had first joined. You were probably sitting in a room listening to an interest meeting or at student activities night at the club’s table. What made you want to join in? How did the then campus leader move your interest from “Meh to Hmm”? Try to replicate some of their actions.
- Make it personal and fun. Let them know all the fulfilling parts of being a member. Making a ton of friends, feeling amazing after the community service event, or having so much fun at the social events. Why do you love your organization? Let them know!
- Make them feel at home. Great, they know all about what your organization does, but they still may be afraid to join if they don’t know anyone else there. Open up your interest meeting with a fun short icebreaker or allow them the first 15 minutes to enjoy food and drink while talking. Turn your interest meeting into a social, open house.
- Show Not Tell. If you have an involvement fair booth for your organization, don’t just sit behind your booth and wait for people to come to you. Instead, be in front of your booth and show what you do. By showing what you do verses telling what you do, you’ll not only attract more people, you’ll also attract the right kind of people.
Using these tips, you’ll make the potential members feel welcomed, connected, and engaged, and much more likely to join your organization.
