Membership Building

A club needs membership to function properly. Membership is so important, that the Toastmasters Distinguished Club Program devotes two goals towards building membership. Every club should have a continuous membership recruitment program in place to offset member loss due to members moving, members leaving for better opportunities, and the many other reasons members leave. Below are links to resources to help you build your membership.

Membership depends on many factors

When considering membership, you should also look at your entire marketing plan. Consider the following:

• Bring in members: How will you bring in members to your club? Will you have a "bring a friend contest"? Will you use Toastmasters International professional ads at your local Starbucks? Will you use a website to attract members? When you do advertise, consider your club strengths. Are you a President's Distinguished Club? Do you have efficient meetings in the early morning, or are you conveniently located two doors from the corporate Executive Suite? Consider your club strengths when you advertise.
• When the potential members arrive: How do you treat them? Did they easily find your club meeting? Were the online directions accurate? You didn't almost cancel the meeting again did you? Did the person arriving feel welcome? Did someone volunteer to sit with them? Make sure directions are clear and up-to-date. Verify this with the TI website, your own website, any flyers out there. If there is construction, consider placing extra signs. Set up your club banner. Hold a meeting, unless it really does fall on a major holiday. Make everyone feel welcome. Provide the potential new member with a new member packet. Let them sit with someone who can answer questions. Have an awesome and FUN meeting!
• Sell your club. Ask the person for comments and offer them to participate. Don't make them feel uncomfortable by asking them to participate without their consent.
• Have a great ceremony when they join!

Membership Building Resources

For more information, please contact your Lt. Governor Marketing team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

• You should first visit the Toastmasters International Membership Building Page. This page includes a link on how to implement a membership building program and secrets to maintaining existing members, as well as information on Speechcraft and other marketing resources. Bookmark the page.
• Learn how to turn guests into members with the 10 keys to turning Guests into Members.
• Use professionally crafted flyers presented at Toastmasters International.
• Use your newsletter to highlight the reasons to visit your club. The newsletter can be inserted into a new-hiree package or left with potential guests. Keep it focused on your club and members.
• Use a simple membership building contest.