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DuncanM64.
My club has widdled down to 9 members this year. Do any of you have any suggestions on how to attract new members? Right now weve got a mediocre website ( I know we need to work on this), we work the sportshow and most of our members come from word-of-mouth.I think our formatt is pretty cool:We hold 6 summer tournaments on lakes drawn at randomWe have monthly meetings where we cover business and we do an educational demonstrationWe host an 80 boat tournament for our annual fundraiserWe do an away tournament that everybody goes and stays at a cabin for a weekendWhat else should we be doing?What do you guys do to market to new members?Thanks for the help!Kent Mittelstaedt, MN
We did this once……….planned and then had a “garage sale” of new and used fishing equipment. Pinned an ad at local sporting goods stores, and in church bulletins, boat dealerships. That way you can put the club name out there, maybe come up with a flyer regarding the club and activities. It is a little work, but gotta show club does more than just fish.Another way is to work with local high schools to get kids interesting in forming a fishing club at their school. Parents may see this as an opportunity to bond and realize that club fishing can be fun………The last thing would be to advertise in local newspaper, sports section, calendar………open to new membership.Last edited by jignpig on July 7th, 2010, 7:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.96 Eyra/12 Mercury 175 Pro XS with 2015 single axle trailer2017 Victory Gunner
We are from Michigan so we have winters like you do……………….We do free, no obligation meetings in the Winter during the offseason for perspective members to come and see what we are all about…That helps to break the ice… Make sure you hit on “You dont need a boat” that brings in alot of college age kids or newbies..Kids events bring in alot of members…..(Parents)Members being active on Forums helps..Amazingly our club has grown over the last 2 years even with the bad economy….I think we are at a good number now at 28 members….Here is our website…Click here for teambass.net
Kent, Im from Louisiana and our enrollment has dropped off significiently over the last 3 years. We have tried everything to encourge old and new members to fish. Our club is not the only one in our area with poor partication. Maybe its the hurricanes, oil spills, etc. we have endured throughout the past few years. You are not the only one looking for answers. If you figure it out, please let me know.
I am a member of two local clubs. One has about 47 boat average field each tournament(yearly average) and the other has about 10-12 boat field depending on the year and where the BASS Federation Nation State tournaement going to be held ( This club is a Federation Club). Our Federation club is the one that jumps up and down. We have a regular meeting before each tournament and also have a New Years Day open tournament to try and get new members. I feel the reason club size is down is there is just too many circuits and things to fish and pulls fisherman away from the local club level events. Only my thoughtsRon
Maybe you could talk to the former members and try to find out what caused them to drop out. Maybe there was something that was a common reason as to why they quit. If so, maybe you could correct the problem. It could be the economy. How far do you travel for your scheduled tournaments? Good luck to you. I quit club fishing years ago, for various reasons. Mainly because it wasnt any fun anymore. We had an influx of guys whose attitude, towards what the club should be like, was quite different than that of those of us who founded the club. It was a gradual process, but in a matter of 4 years, our membership went from 25 to 10, those of us who dropped out where those who started the club.
The most important thing we can do to enlarge our bass clubs is to appeal to the youth who are non boaters. not necessarily those youngsters sub adult, though those older in the 18 to 25 bracket. This is often before they have children obligations and can not afford a bass rig. Though if we set a course for them in fishing we will grow our sport. Our churches, automotive enthusiasts, softball teams and other areas which are good areas to look for membership growth.As for members who are older and desiring to belong to a club chapter, it is hard to grow in that area as they have many obligations and fish when they have time. There are three levels, those in their 30 to 45 year range and they often become competitive or they have other obligations. Then we have older anglers who can and are the backbone of many chapters. Though it is hard to keep them enthused year after year. Successful chapters pay well in their events, charge more for an entry fee, have some limited member obligations that require public service missions. Some of those are multiple level or split fund raisers which brighten the year end awards. Then we have also seen a dual level entry fee work well, with a amateur and a pro level entry and pay out. It keeps the field split. Those that are focused on many events and diversity often fail no matter the club or chapter. This goes for golf, motorcycle, bridge, tennis and other organizations. They manpower for a charity cause gets stretched. Then again in recent years some folks just prefer to go fishing with whom they want and when they want.Last edited by BCB Dream Team on July 8th, 2010, 12:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
billius wrote: Maybe you could talk to the former members and try to find out what caused them to drop out. Maybe there was something that was a common reason as to why they quit. If so, maybe you could correct the problem. It could be the economy. How far do you travel for your scheduled tournaments? Good luck to you. I quit club fishing years ago, for various reasons. Mainly because it wasnt any fun anymore. We had an influx of guys whose attitude, towards what the club should be like, was quite different than that of those of us who founded the club. It was a gradual process, but in a matter of 4 years, our membership went from 25 to 10, those of us who dropped out where those who started the club. Sounds like you and I were “Club brothers” once. Seriously, Blue Plate(Ron) has a good point of the fluctuation in the smaller club he is in. I was in that club and some of the reasons I dropped out was some of what Bill mentioned.Also, kids were growing up and my son really enjoyed fishing the OI as his “tournament”. When I asked about some youth fishing, no one wanted any part of it, even though the majority of guys in the club fish as boaters with only a couple of non boaters. In essence, you are pretty much guaranteed to fish alone at least 75% of the time. Couldnt take my own kid, even though club rule stated I could bring a guest, so I “retired”. The next year they instituted an age policy. 96 Eyra/12 Mercury 175 Pro XS with 2015 single axle trailer2017 Victory Gunner
We changed our format from 1 day a month to Sat-Sun you fish either or both days best day counts and our membership increased by about 10 members. The new people said they liked the flex schedule. Shoot me a email and I will send you a copy of our bylaws if you want to look them over and see if there are any changes/ideas you think might help you. My email is cmcbillroberts@hotmail.com Bill
We are one of the more successful clubs in our region. I do believe the economy has been the biggest hit to membership in our area. For us, our website is the biggest draw. It isnt the best website ever but it is professional and up to date. More club sites I see havent been updated in years. Not a good way to show you care.
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