Rather than a long article (though mine have been quite short of late), I just wanted to start with some ideas that I've used in the past (very successfully) and open up the floor to more thoughts and ideas.

I'll preface this with a couple notes. First, obviously membership has been listed as key to Rotary's continued relevance in the world. This, then, is in part an electronic appeal for ideas that we can take back to our clubs to help Rotary maintain its enormous potential for good well into the future. Second, from the point of view of an easy-sell (a member who knew he wanted to be a member from the first meeting, who knew a lot about Rotary, and who had the time to dedicate to our phenomenal organization), there were a lot of things that went well with my experience, and a few possible points of improvement. And Third, this is coming from a Rotarian who was a VP Membership for a Toastmasters' Club that lead its district in new member recruitment. I thought I'd mix in all the things that have gone well in my membership experiences with some ideas.

So, what can a club do to attract new members? My focus is on guests who show up to a meeting. Of them, I'll make three assumptions: they're interested, they're likely of the right character (introduced by a Rotarian who judges them as such), and they're experience something new in your club.

I'll start with obvious points: - Every existing member should make an effort to greet the guest(s) (within reason, we have a club of 56 - that many greetings could be intimidating. Luckily we often have more than one guest...) - The President and someone from the Membership committee should definitely greet the guest(s).

Now, what context does the guest receive when they attend a meeting? I ask the question because the content of a meeting can very greatly from week to week. I believe that the biggest selling points of a Rotary Club are its service projects. So why not have a pamphlet outlining the club's successes of the past year(s). This could include current and past development projects, neighbourhood projects, international partnerships, and note-worthy members/scholars (the Ambassadorial scholar who's now a UN council-member, the past mayor, the Rhodes Scholar, the... most clubs have at least a few surprises). And since this is likely the guest's first meeting (or at least their first meeting with this club) it would be nice if they were given a contextualized outline of the meeting structure and some of the traditions particular to the club. The strategy is two-pronged: wow and demystify.

Another obvious, but often neglected point: does someone ask them whether they might be interested in joining the club? The most obvious candidates would be the member who brought them and the president, but the head of the membership committee is another possibility. If the individual is never asked, they can never say 'yes.'

Finally, what kind of follow-up is done with guests after the meeting is over. Are they given a phone call? Are they sent an email? Do they get a list of some speakers they might be interested in hearing at the next few meetings?

And while we're on the subject of follow-ups, what about all those Rotary Exchange Students, Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars, University Professor Exchangees, GSE'ers...? Does your club still keep in contact with all of them? These are all individuals that have already been veted by your club and Rotary International as upstanding and involved global citizens...

I'd love to hear your thoughts in reply.