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Happy Monday, blog readers!
I’m back again to talk about how exactly you might be able to recruit those four new members by the end of the year. 🙂
A lot of this comes down to visibility.
So this month, let’s think about how we can get our names really out there. There might be some crossover with May’s blog, which was all about community involvement.
Just to review, those suggestions included:
- Setting up a table or booth at a health fair – if you’re not sure whether there are opportunities where you live, consider checking with any local schools, hospital systems or doctors offices.
- Participating in a parade – your group could walk together, perhaps help decorate a float for another organization (volunteering is great!), or we’ve even seen one of our chapters “deck out” a golf cart as part of their participation in a local parade.
- Handing out waters at a local fun run – wearing your TOPS T-shirts, doing this as a club, would be a nice touch!
- Having a presence at a community garage sale — plus, it’d raise money for your chapter!
- No matter what you choose, look for ways to publicize what you and your group will be doing. Calendar listings and social media groups (on Facebook especially) are a smart place to start.
All of these are great ideas on how to get your names out there!
And when I say NAMES, you personally don’t have to put your first and last names out for the world to see … I’m referring more specifically to your chapter information (when and where do you meet? Does your community know you’re open to welcoming new members?) Or perhaps, if you have a Chapter Leader/Advocate/Coordinator nearby who wants to be a reference point, perhaps putting that person’s name on the back of TOPS flyers, for example, or on business cards that you can hand out.
So, it doesn’t necessarily have to be “Michelle Ganley” as the name that spreads around town … but TOPS Milwaukee chapter 0555 — Leader Jane Smith, and her email address. I’m just making that up as an example.
Another piece of advice: Are you taking advantage of your meeting location? Because maybe you could be! Of course, if you’re meeting with your colleagues, or at someone’s private home, this might not be the avenue for you. But if you conduct chapter meetings at a local library, a church, community center, or somewhere that’s a bit more publicly accessible, perhaps you could see about “advertising” your next meeting on the marquee. Or hanging flyers in a lobby. I just saw (and posted on our Facebook page) a woman who promoted her chapter at a farmers market in town. Brilliant!
These are all excellent ways to get our name out there. You want to expose TOPS to as many people as you can, and hit them with a positive first impression. “We’re still here, after all these years, we have no plans to change format, and we work! We’d love it if you could join for your first meeting.”
Also worth mentioning: “We’re a nonprofit organization, and your first in-person meeting is free.”
Who could say no to that?
Also worth a mention, since this did come up at Seeds of HOPE: You don’t have to make it uncomfortable, or promote us only to people who you suspect are struggling with healthy living. Weight doesn’t always tell the full story, as you know. You can mention TOPS to anyone … say something like “we’re all about health and wellness,” or mention social support or the friendships/community you’ve built. A short anecdote about how much TOPS means to you, should suffice. I wouldn’t get into the weeds on weighing in, rules, recognition; any of that stuff that can sometimes be complicated or loaded. Just offer a friendly invite, and make us sound simple.
Hosting an event might make a splash, as well, in terms of steps toward name recognition. It doesn’t have to be a huge event! In June, we explained the Bunco party idea, which feels like a slam-dunk in my book, but even just a walk, or if your group were to organize a canned food drive (before the holidays?) This would serve as a nice way to give back to the community where you live, plus, you could collect the food items at meetings, and coordinate a big drop-off to one of your food pantries or shelters.
We talk sometimes in our publicity volunteer meetings about reaching out to the newspaper, radio stations, local TV … this is the stuff they want to hear about! Reporters love covering stories about people doing things for a cause. They like action. So maybe this sounds enticing to you, or perhaps you can think of an idea appropriately bigger or smaller, depending on your chapter specifics: How many of you there are, whether you live in a big city or a small town, etc.
Do what works for you, and let us know how it goes!
Once you hit your FOUR goal, we’d love to hear about it! Shoot me a note at marketing@tops.org, and perhaps I could use your chapter’s story for a future blog.
Good luck out there!
