BUILDING CLUBS - TOP TIPS
Building Clubs is a MCofS initiative to help clubs promote themselves more effectively. 21 member clubs have been working with the MCofS to come up with a series of bullet points that can be used to promote your club, raise your profile and welcome new members. 40 bullet points, under 8 sub-headings, are included in the list below. We hope that other clubs can now learn from and use this list. If you try out some of the ideas below then we would welcome your comments and news on any results. Please send any feedback to mike@mcofs.org.uk.
First Impressions
1. Always ensure a warm welcome for new members.
2. Have a “Meet and Greet” policy and consider having a rota so there is always somebody responsible for greeting new members and looking after them on their first indoor or outdoor meet.
3. Develop a club “Info Pack” so you have something tangible to hand to new members.
Your Message
1. Decide what your Unique Selling Point (USP) is. For example, what is your club renowned for? Are you known for your weekend meets, active social scene, focus on a specific activity or a combination of factors?
2. Communicate this USP whenever you can (e.g. on your website, on posters and in reports to newspapers).
3. Consider having a club strapline (e.g. The Family Club, The Eco-Friendly Club, The Club That Gets Out in Winter, etc.). This should reflect your USP.
4. Make it easy for potential new members to contact you by always giving a contact phone number or e-mail address.
5. Consider your club’s age profile and whether you want to take action to lower it. This could influence how and where you promote your club and the kind of message you communicate.
6. Consider ways in which you could attract new members from those leaving student clubs each summer.
Advertising
1. Produce posters and flyers for advertising the club in shops, supermarket small adverts boards, libraries, sports centres, climbing walls, gyms, Mountain Film Festivals and cafes at outdoor shops.
2. Ask members to pin a club poster on workplace notice boards.
3. Produce a poster with tear off tags.
4. Produce hand out labels, similar to a business card.
5. Always carry a few of your hand out labels / cards with you, especially in your rucksack and in your car.
Web
1. Have a club website and keep it up-to-date and interesting.
2. Monitor the performance of your website.
3. Promote your website address.
4. Have web links to other sites (e.g. walking & climbing organisations) and get links back in return.
5. Seek opportunities for free listings on websites (e.g. newspaper websites often have an “Outdoor Activities” or similar category).
6. A Blogs section can add a personal touch to your site and be of particular interest to younger visitors.
7. Be on the MCofS list of clubs that welcome those leaving a student club.
8. Appear on the “Building Clubs” page on the MCofS website.
Media
1. Seek out opportunities for inclusion in local booklets (e.g. local sports council publications) and in free local “What’s On” guides.
2. Send a list of upcoming trips and events to local newspapers.
3. Submit trip reports with photos to local newspapers. Photos with lots of people in them are best for the papers.
4. Use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to promote your club and communicate your news and events.
5. Remain alert to the possibility of using new forms of media. Local TV station for example.
Benefits
1. Promote the benefits of being a member of your club.
2. Forward the MCofS e-newsletter News4Clubs to all your members so they have the opportunity to be aware of what is going on within the wider Scottish mountaineering community, and so they hear about courses and discounts on offer to members of clubs.
3. Arrange your own discounts with local shops and service providers and communicate these offers to your members.
Mountaineering Activities
1. Organise taster trips for potential new members.
2. Seek training opportunities and gain qualifications in order to be competent at introducing new members to mountaineering activities. Remember that club membership can enable you to qualify for subsidised training courses via the MCofS.
3. Organise training and provide support for members.
4. A meets list will help a potential new member to assess how relevant a club is to their interest in mountaineering, so always try to have an up-to-date meets list on your website and have paper copies available at indoor meets.
5. Develop a store of club equipment for use by members.
6. Develop a lift sharing scheme to help members save money on fuel and build relationships within the club.
7. Potential new members may be concerned that they will need to buy lots of kit before they get started, so use your website to reassure them this isn’t the case. Have a clearly visible statement to explain what kit they can borrow from the club and where they might be able to hire equipment.
Events
1. Hold club events (e.g. ceilidh and winter lecture series).
2. Organise the occasional family day meet with sensible objectives and a relaxed atmosphere to educate and encourage young people about the hills. MCofS provides guidance for clubs at: youngpeopleonmeets.asp.
2. Consider taking part in charity fund raising events. This could help a good cause, be fun for your members and get your club seen in a positive light in your local area.
