Membership Building

The lockdown hasn’t slowed us down!

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With four clubs chartering during this time and new members streaming in, it’s been busier than ever. It’s great to find our members now coming back to rejoin their clubs. After the initial panic, let’s face it, we all did in one way or another, after weeks of being at home, our online windows on the world have provided opportunities for us to stay connected and let’s be honest, sane. At the beginning when the switch to meeting online was mooted, many members were not happy. Now in May, we reflect on our club, contests and conference sessions; they were all able to perform well and adapt seamlessly to the online format. This is itself a success.

“United We Speak” is the Region wide initiative to run Open House meetings, which you can invite friends, colleagues and family to join. There’s a Facebook page – United We Speak – as well as details appearing on LinkedIN. District 91 is hosting an event on 21 May.

The mantra “30 is the new 20” for club membership has been embraced. By increasing their base membership, some clubs are weathering this storm. What has been great to hear from you is that even if members didn’t renew, that clubs are still involving them to encourage them to join and experience an online meeting. Others are now actively seeking guests to join their meetings and to engage in the “+3 Challenge” to recruit three members (1st April to 31 May) to be gifted £30 from the District. As we are in May, running through to 30 June, it is of course Beat the Clock – time to increase your membership by 5.

During these challenging times members have stepped forward to offer support to members of their clubs in so many ways. I have heard stories of bread and milk drop offs; writing letters and posting them; and a tutorial on mastering online shopping. The latter was needed to avoid the 10 carrots, being 10 bags of carrots.

The continued support our Toastmasters community is providing is shining through right now. Let us pause for a moment, to thank all that have worked hard to support members, phoned those living alone or self-isolating, provided an escape for health care workers to do something ‘normal’ by joining their club meetings and to see familiar smiling faces at online club meetings. It may seem small, but right now, it is priceless.

Quoting Past Toastmasters International President, Mike Storkey “remember the member”. You are the most important part of this organisation. We are here to serve and support you.

Our new windows to the world

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The online events and club meeting experiences are proving to be a winner. In the last few weeks, all seven of our Division Contests events were held. All had over 100 attendees at some point during the event, with one reaching the 200-attendee mark. Absolutely fantastic showcases for what Toastmasters offers.

The small thumbnails on a screen are now our windows to the world. Visiting clubs has never been easier. We are a global organisation and from the comfort of our own homes, we are travelling the world. Our members have shared their experiences of joining meetings around the world, from Vancouver to Lisbon, Lille to Qatar. Each member is hearing new stories, picking up tips on how other clubs run meetings and strengthening the Toastmasters community bond. And in turn, we have been joined at our events by guests from at least four other continents!

Back in September when I mooted the “30 is the new 20” about club membership, some clubs embraced the challenge. One of our newly chartered clubs, Didcot Speakers, which chartered during this period, has reached that target. At the time of writing, Burnham Speakers, with 23 members has just voted to charter, at this rate they will have 30 members by the end of this Toastmasters year.

Toastmasters International, I have heard it said, is the best-kept secret for learning. Let’s share this secret and shout it from the rooftops. Now is the time to step up and seize the opportunity to embrace online webinars, demonstration meetings and open house meetings. As a District we have held a pilot demonstration meeting to test the format – it works! More of these events will be set up through May and June. If you are struggling for guests, hold an online open house meeting and invite all those people you know would benefit from the Toastmasters learning experience. It’s great when I hear the success stories from clubs, particularly during this difficult time when they have guests becoming members.

To support membership growth, the +3 Challenge running from 1 April to 31 May, is simple. Sign up three new members and ensure they are registered, and the District will gift you £30. As we head into May and June the Toastmasters International membership campaign, Beat the Clock commences. Make sure you update your websites, social media and Easyspeak (if your club uses it), to let everyone know you’re meeting online.

Buddy up members to regularly contact each other and help each other out. If you haven’t heard from one of your members for a while during this period, pick up the phone, check-in with them. A note of thanks for all those that joined and engaged so openly in the Survival to Online Interviews webinar, good luck with your interviews.

We are a community and we are supporting each other right now.

20 To 20 Membership renewals challenge

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Membership renewals season is starting earlier than usual this year and we are inviting you to take part in it as early as you can. In order to create a bit of competitive spirit, District 91 has created the 20 to 20 challenge for membership renewals.

The first 20 clubs to renew a minimum of 20 members by September 15th will be able to claim back £50 from District 91 coffers to organise a pizza party celebration for their members and guests. Just imagine your usual vibrant club meetings with high calibre speakers, analytical evaluators, fun table topics and FREE pizza and refreshments on the top. Amazing eh?

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Social Media Means More Members

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1. Introduction

Below are some of my hot practical tips on how to build your club membership using social media, in particular Facebook. My experience is based on many years as a Director of several corporates responsible for marketing and business development, plus eight years of building my own small consulting practice, along with being responsible for the initial marketing and branding of Haresfoot Brewery and more recently BerkoBeerFest. I was the District 91 PR Manager last year (2017-18) and this year I have started Stevenage Speakers Club. This blog follows on from my webinar masterclass delivered last week (I will share the link to the video once live).

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PR & Comms Award Winners

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Congratulations to the D91 PR & Comms Awards winners:

  • Paul Branley-Jones & Arun Speakers – An effective use of social media which increase their visibility externally to attract new members. They have great engagement, across clubs, on Facebook and also use MeetUp, consolidate accounts wit other clubs bringing about substantial cost savings. A highlight of Arun’s external PR activities is their work with the Prince’s Trust at Highbury College. This support has received wonderful testimonials from those involved and attracted good press coverage.
  • Ula Howlett & Microsoft Speakers Club – The club’s has grown from 5 to 20+ members driven by a creative use of LinkedIn. Meetings photos are added to this social network, commented on and participants tagged in order to gain more exposure. The club has already offered to shared its PR techniques and how these could be replicated for struggling clubs.
  • Rose Marie Calder & Leighton Buzzard Better Speakers – Since 2015, Roase Marie and the club has developed a working relationship with the Leighton-Linslade Council. They have been Master of Ceremonies for several festivals including the Big Lunch, Day by the Canal and the Christmas Lights Festival. Community events, such as the above, spread the word of Toastmasters to a wider audience. Rose Marie also hosts a hospital radio show and regularly invites Toastmasters to speak on the show.

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