This time of year I start to hear that all-important question from my student leaders – “How do we recruit members this year?” When I meet with these students during our summer get-togethers, this is one of the hottest topics of discussion. Every student club & organization is looking for the best way to solicit new members.

Here are five sure-fire ways to help your student leaders attract new members.

1.       Reach out to the incoming first-year students.
I love summer orientations with the incoming new students. These students have the most energy and are the most eager and willing to get involved. In fact, many are already talking about starting new organizations and joining ones that suit their interests. If you can make contact with these students early on, perhaps during summer orientation or freshmen-specific programs, you’ll be in good shape. The typical incoming freshman is looking for a way to become connected to the university as quickly as possible. Involvement in an organization is one of the easiest ways for them to make that happen.

2.       Face-to-Face Interaction
This is a no-brainer. Recruitment starts with your student members. They must believe in their organization and believe in getting their friends and classmates involved. They must be able to articulate the purpose of the group and do so enthusiastically. True recruitment is a result of one student raving about his/her experience to another student who in turn wants to become a part of that experience.

3.       Strong marketing campaign.
Although most student activities/affairs professionals will tell you that face-to-face student interaction is the number-one way to get students to buy in to your organization, I would argue that a solid marketing campaign is just as effective. Start early. Use slogans. Use photos of students, but not just any students – smiling students! Give away branded (imprinted) items… if your budget permits, of course. Get your organization in the student newspaper, on the Web, on Facebook, and on the walls throughout your campus. You want people to know that your organization exists and is alive and well at your institution. A student club that has poorly designed marketing materials gives off a lackluster impression to prospective members. (Look for more a marketing blog from me next week…)

4.       Advertise the perks of membership.
Students are selfish beings. In fact, we all are.  Remember Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs”? This theory is based on the assumption that we have basic needs that we need to satisfy. Our students have needs, and they usually join our clubs & organizations in order to meet their personal needs. What is it that your organization can offer to students to help fulfill their needs? Once you figure out what that is, make sure your students don’t hesitate to spread the word.

5.       Have a plan.

If your students don’t have a plan, I can guarantee their recruitment campaign will be rather unsuccessful compared to the group who sat down during the summer or early fall and planned out their recruitment efforts. There needs to be a conscious and collective effort by everyone in the organization in order to get members. I don’t believe in leaving recruitment up to a single committee chair, because recruitment is the responsibility of the entire group membership. It’s important that you and your students believe in this philosophy, as well.