The recruitment process for an organization driven by members is a fundamental one.  The key to positively impacting your membership is to consistently and methodically develop targeted messages to recruit new members.

Below you will find a step-by-step guide to assist you with creating and executing a successful recruitment campaign. AAPA staff is available to assist individual inquiries, as we understand that each organization is unique.

Before you spend any time or money, ask yourself the following questions and flesh out the answers. This will help you to focus your resources and energies into a campaign that is targeted and well conceived.

What is the purpose of this campaign?

Determine what purpose you need your campaign to serve. Is it a recruitment or retention effort? Decide on only one and do not mix recruitment and retention efforts. Organizations will often mix both into one campaign that runs subsequent to their renewal efforts. One generic letter to recruit new members and retain current ones will not generate desired results, as each audience requires a message tailored to their circumstances.

How many prospective members are in my chapter or specialty?                 

Identify how many practicing PAs are in your state or specialty. You most likely already have a good sense of who is eligible to be a member of your organization. AAPA tracks detailed PA information and provides this in the form of three free mailing lists per year for chapters and specialty organizations. We encourage you to utilize this valuable data and combine it with your own to ensure you have the most accurate information on PAs in your state or specialty.

What is the biggest area of membership growth opportunity?

Determine what population is most likely to join and concentrate your efforts on that audience first. It is important to identify the different groups of people who are within your prospect list and segment them into groups to concentrate on. Use your energy and resources to go after those segments that are most likely to join.

What is the most effective way to reach my prospects?

Determine what is the most effective and cost effective way to reach potential members. Direct mail is the most often used distribution channel among organizations but not always the most cost effective. Look for alternatives that can help you to save money and provide you with desired response rates.

How much is your campaign going to cost?

Develop a budget that includes costs for development of campaign pieces, postage, printing, etc. Track these costs closely so you can accurately determine your return on investment (ROI). This will also help you to determine which prospects to target and how many you can afford to recruit.

How many members do you need to recruit to offset the cost of the campaign?

Once you’ve determined your budget, figure out how many members you need to join in order to breakeven with your costs. Breakeven is when you have made enough revenue to cover the costs of your entire campaign. Here is a breakeven example:

Total Recruitment Campaign Costs = $1,500

Individual Cost of Membership       = $120

In order to breakeven in this example, you need to gain a minimum of 13 new members.

How many new members do you expect to gain?

Once you determine your breakeven proposition, use the AAPA response rate table included on this CR-ROM to help establish a realistic goal based on industry averages for different marketing channels.

The best way to control costs and target your message is to break your list into segments. Segment your list into those who are most likely to join, those who have joined before, those that have never joined, etc. Segmenting allows you to strategically develop a message that will resonate with each group based upon its characteristics. A letter to recruit PA students is going to vary greatly from a letter to recruit a PA who has been practicing for ten or more years.

When you develop a letter that has the same message for all your prospects, you are greatly impairing your recruitment potential. Generic letters do not appeal everyone and will only work against response success. The extra time you take to develop targeted letters and messaging to your different segments of prospects the higher the return you will see.

Do your best to keep your messages simple and straightforward. Try to keep your letters confined to one page only; you only have 3-5 seconds of a person’s attention once they open your mail. If you don’t grab them within those first few seconds, you’ve lost them.

Here are some additional tips to think about incorporating into your campaign

• Use testimonials (personal stories) from your members on how they have benefited from being an organizational member.

• Communicate the value not features of membership. What does the member personally gain from membership? Instead of communicating, “Through your membership, you get a newsletter, have access to Members-only section of Web site, etc.” communicate the value to your members. For example, use this communication strategy, “Through your membership, you have access to special events through which you can make connections and network with hundreds of PAs who can share challenges and provide insight.”

• Keep your brand in tact. All your marketing materials should have the same look and feel so members and non-members can identify it with your organization.

If you want prospective members to join your organization, you have to ask them to join!  Every campaign you develop should have a call to action, this is the action you are requesting the prospect make.

Often many organizations will skip this very important step and send out a “Dear Colleague or Dear PA” letter rather than one with a personalized salutation such as “Dear Mrs. Williams”. When you skip this step due to the small increase in time and cost to the campaign, you are negatively impacting your response rates. A personalized campaign most times outperforms a generic one.

According to CAP Ventures’, a market research and strategic consulting firm, 2003 personalization study, more than 69% of consumers prefer highly personalized direct mail to non-personalized direct mail offers. Personalization uses data elements such as name or number of years a person has been a member to evoke recognition with a person.  

At the very least, test a campaign with a personalized salutation. Track your response rates to this and compare to previous non-personalized campaigns to determine for yourself if the investment is worth it.

What you decide to put in your recruitment campaign mailing is entirely up to you and your organization. AAPA recommends that the following pieces be staples in any recruitment campaign:

Appeal Letter

This is your primary vehicle to communicate your message to your prospects. Remember to tailor your message to your audience rather than creating a generic message. Communicating the value of membership is essential in recruiting new members.

Membership Application 

A hard copy of your application should be included in all mailings. Be sure to include a source code, an identifying marker, which will allow you to track the response rates of your recruitment campaign.

Business Reply Envelope

The easier it is for a prospect to reply to your call to action, the more likely they are to respond. Business reply envelopes (BREs) are an essential part of your campaign.

Membership Benefits Brochure/Flyer

This provides prospects the full scope of your organization offerings. If you don’t have a brochure, you may wish to include your top three benefits with brief explanations in your appeal letter.

Once your recruitment campaign has been executed, you can expect to receive 50% of your responses within 18-22 days of the date of execution. Responses will begin to trickle off after 22 days, and by day 45, you will have a fairly accurate representation of how well the recruitment did.

The single most important part of any campaign is to track your results! Make sure you have coded your campaign so you can track applications back to their source. Success of your campaign depends in large part on how well you defined your goals and objectives. Above all don’t be discouraged if your response rate is lower than expected or desired. Two keys to direct marketing are recency and frequency. If your first effort is less successful than your expected, follow up and follow up again.

Last Revised: 2/28/08