Recruiting Tips for Small Choruses
by Mary Mamer, Stateline Harmony Membership Chair
Recruiting for members in a small chorus has special challenges. The group is generally limited in both human and financial resources. Many of the older members may say "I've already talked to all of my friends and I don't know who else to approach." Newer members may feel uncertain about how to approach people they know. The financial health of the chorus may not allow for expensive advertising in the local papers. Luckily, you don't need to rely on word of mouth or expensive advertising to find new members. There are other ways to get the word out and recruit.
Assemble a Small Team
First of all, find out where your expertise is within the chorus. Who likes to work on a computer and has access to software programs for designing cards and brochures? Who is good at writing articles of public interest, press releases, and information letters? Who (if anyone) has contacts in the local media or is willing to work at developing those contacts? This is the group that should be on your membership committee. At least one member of the committee should also be on the board/management team of the chorus so that the board is kept abreast of your activities.Create a Plan
Next, create a plan for the year. Having guest nights are helpful but not always necessary. It is recommended to schedule at least a couple of guest nights or one series of guest nights each year. Materials on planning guest nights are available through the regional and international web sites. Focus part of your plan on what you can do on a regular basis that is cost effective and keeps your chorus visible as often as possible.Promoting the Chorus in the Media
As part of your plan, make a list of all your area newspapers. Don't limit yourself to just those papers in the major community of your chorus. If members are driving from 30 or 40 miles away include those area newspapers also. Also, keep in mind that many of the small local or weekly papers are more likely to print articles about the chorus, especially if someone from their community is a member.Here are some tips on sending out press releases to local media. Most of these ideas won't cost your chorus anything but the time and effort it takes to write them, and so they are ideal for choruses with less members and/or resources to start with.
Make sure the releases are sent at least 4 weeks in advance of when you want it to appear in the paper
If your chorus has a performance coming up (or several of them scheduled) create a press release that lists those performances and invites the community to attend. Start the article out with "Local citizen Sally Smith will be performing with the Sweet Adelines Chorus at __________ "
If your chorus has won an award or done something to gain recognition create a human interest article and send it to all the area papers. They may or may not print it (or may not print it as you wrote it) – but what do you have to lose? The more there is something about you in the paper the more others will become aware of your chorus.
Many newspapers have a "calendar of events" page or section. Make sure that chorus rehearsals, performances, and other special events are listed in this section.
Use brochures, flyers & business cards
Any time your chorus has a performance, have brochures or postcards about the chorus, flyers for upcoming events, and business cards available. All of these items can be created by a chorus member for the cost of the paper and ink using their own computer – they do not need to be done by a professional printer unless your budget allows for it. Keep the information short, sweet & visually appealing. Whenever possible, use card stock or glossy stock over plain paper stock, and make the size of your flyers or brochures as convenient and portable as possible. All chorus members should have copies of these promotional materials available to hand out whenever someone asks them about Sweet Adelines.Prepare a mailing
Create a list of area organizations and church groups that have women who may be interested in the joining your chorus. Create a letter and flyers and send them out as a way to introduce upcoming performances or guest nights. Most of these organizations will pass the letter and/or flyers out at regular meetings or post them on bulletin boards for others to see. Your costs in this case are limited to the paper and the postage and the time of your members to get the mailing ready to go. If you're going to send a mailing do so at least 4 weeks in advance of your event.Follow up!
Finally, evaluate your plan at the end of the year. What ideas worked and what didn't? If sending out a mass mailing didn't bring in any interest, take a look at what might have interfered. Was the time frame not right or were the organizations not appropriate for recruiting? Maybe you want to eliminate this idea next year and try something different. If one of the ideas worked well, can you expand on it or make it even better in some way for next year's plan? Remember, the more new members you have, the more new and fresh ideas you'll also have for continued recruiting – so include some of your newest members in your recruitment plans.And once the guests come to rehearsal…
Sometimes the problem isn’t so much getting guests to rehearsal, but getting them to come back. There’s no magic formula that will guarantee that guests will return, but here’s some good tips to help increase your chances.No matter how small your chorus is, you should have your membership chair and/or some other designated person ready at every single rehearsal to greet guests who may attend rehearsal. Whether it’s a guest night or a rehearsal where you’re not expecting visitors, be prepared just in case. If your usual membership chair is going to be absent, make sure you have a substitute lined up.
Make sure you record the guest’s name and contact information, give her a nametag, provide her with a guest folder, make sure she gets voice-tested (if needed), and send her home with a brochure, flyer, or other information about the chorus. Also, make sure that she gets personally introduced to the director and introduce her in front of the chorus so that she can be recognized. You should also have some sort of method to follow up with the guest during the week and invite her back to rehearsal next week.
Also, if you are having a "big" membership drive or guest night, make sure you’re prepared for big results. It will be difficult to entice a large amount of new members unless you’re prepared to provide music, learning tapes, costumes, and the like to a new "crop" of members. This may seem like a trivial concern, but if you don’t have these things in place, it will be more difficult to bring your new members into the fold and make them feel as though they’re truly a part of the chorus.
Good Luck!
