Top Member Recruiting Strategies for 2025 and Beyond

Your association’s success is only as strong as the members who support it. Without them, even the best ideas can fall flat. Consider how they directly impact your association:

• They provide the reliable revenue your organization needs to thrive.
• Their collaboration builds a vibrant community of shared experiences, encouragement, and expertise.
• Their feedback allows you to make strategic improvements to make your program more enticing and valuable over time.

By continually recruiting new members, your association can maintain a healthy membership base, bring in more diverse perspectives, and inject fresh energy into your community.

According to a 2025 membership benchmark report, organizations reported that their best recruiting strategies are: events/meetings, member referrals, emails, social media posts, and website content. Let’s explore how your association can use these strategies to boost recruitment results.

1. Events and Meetings

Associations host many events and meetings that promote networking, industry learning, and idea sharing. By allowing non-members to participate, you give them a firsthand glimpse into all the value your organization provides.

For example, if you’re planning a members-only networking mixer, encourage attendees to bring a friend. Alternatively, you could sell full-priced tickets to anyone interested and simply charge your members at a discounted rate for attending.

Focus on providing a streamlined event experience that highlights the benefits of membership without forcing people to commit before they’re ready. During these events, devote special attention to new guests by:

• Distributing welcome packets. Hand out packets containing basic information about your association and member benefits. Include an event calendar, contact details for questions, and a branded keychain or pen that attendees can take home as a keepsake.

• Providing colored nametags. Print member nametags in one color and non-member nametags in another, so it’s easy to tell who’s who at a glance. Then, recruit members to serve as ambassadors who will greet non-members, assess their interest in your association, and help them connect with like-minded event attendees.

• Setting up a dedicated membership booth. Assign one or two volunteers to run a membership booth with snacks and refreshments at your event. There, attendees who are interested in joining your organization can stop by to relax and learn more about the benefits of becoming a member. They can even sign up immediately if they’d like.

Even if attendees don’t sign up at your event, follow up by thanking them for coming and suggesting upcoming activities they may be interested in. Prompt appreciation can go a long way toward securing lasting member engagement for your association.

2. Member Referrals

A recent U.S. consumer survey found that 69% of respondents are likely to trust a friend, family member, or influencer recommendation over information coming directly from a brand. People are naturally drawn to relatable and credible experiences, so a member referral can be the tipping point that convinces those on the fence that joining is worthwhile.

If your association doesn’t have a referral program yet, start by:

• Making it easy for members to refer others. The referral process should be convenient and straightforward for members, whether it involves filling out an online form or sending an email link. According to eCardWidget, you can even design eye-catching referral eCards that members can send via email, social media, or text.

• Coming up with referral incentives. Encourage more members to endorse your association by rewarding those who successfully refer someone. These incentives could be anything from discounted membership rates to a branded hoodie. Set some prerequisites for earning these incentives, such as the referred member staying at your association for three months.

• Promoting your program to members. Spread the word about your new program across various internal channels, from your member portal to weekly newsletters. Recognize top referrers by awarding special badges or creating public shout-outs to express appreciation and inspire participation.

When your referral program is up and running, ensure that you have a prompt and consistent welcome process for when a referred member joins. Beyond sending a warm welcome email to the new member, don’t forget to acknowledge the referring member’s efforts, too.

3. Emails

Email marketing is a highly effective way to provide educational value to potential members and eventually win them over. To start, collect email addresses from non-members by asking them to fill out a short form to access free downloadable resources or webinars on your website. Store this contact information, along with other basic details such as their name, in your association’s database for easy reference.

From there, send a series of automated, informative emails to these potential members. Avoid summarizing your member benefits repeatedly and asking them to join your association immediately. Instead, point them to blog posts or upcoming events that interest them.

Maximize your open and click-through rates by:

• Optimizing your subject lines. Craft subject lines between 30-50 characters and use action-oriented language, such as “Get 2025 insider tips for talent agents like you!” Depending on your association’s brand personality, consider including emojis to help your emails stand out in inboxes.

• Personalizing the emails. Address the recipient by name to reinforce that the email is directly relevant to their interests and needs. Depending on the email’s topic, you could include their name in the subject line and body text. As you learn more about them, categorize them into appropriate audience segments to send more targeted content.

• Including a clear call to action (CTA). Your emails should gradually lead potential members to engage deeper with your organization, whether that’s registering for a webinar or following your social media accounts. No matter what you’re asking them to do, use a prominent CTA button that makes it clear what you’re asking them to do next.

If you’re not seeing as much engagement with these emails as you’d like to, consider running A/B tests to assess individual elements of your messages. For example, you might discover that incorporating more visuals into your emails leads to more conversions. Then, adjust your strategy going forward.

4. Social Media Posts

Social media allows your association to share a variety of content that might grab the attention of potential members. For example, you might post infographics with industry statistics, clips from webinars, event highlight photos, and short polls for voting on your next networking session format.

When choosing which platforms to focus on, consider your target audience. You might strengthen your LinkedIn presence to appeal to professionals interested in networking in their fields and post on Instagram to connect with recent graduates.

Then, start interacting with members and non-members by:

• Running social media giveaways. Allow your followers to win prizes such as free event tickets or a three-month membership discount simply by tagging their friends or creating posts with a specific hashtag.

• Collaborating with influencers. Partner with influencers or well-known experts in your industry to promote your association. Ask them to post about your member benefits or to join Q&A live streams with your followers.

• Encouraging member-generated content. Make it easy for members to communicate their stories and accomplishments with others. For example, if your learning management system (LMS) has social sharing features or integrations, members can share the digital credentials they earn on their profiles.

Respond to questions and comment on member posts frequently to maintain high engagement and lively conversation around your association.

5. Website Content

Your association’s website is one of its most important marketing tools, encapsulating all your membership value in a central place. To convince prospective members to join, create a variety of content, such as:

• An “About Us” page summarizing your association’s history, mission, vision, and values.

• Impact stories demonstrating how members have achieved their goals thanks to your association’s resources.

• Video testimonials where members share their reasons for joining and positive experiences with your association.

• Blog posts covering industry trends, insights, and thought leadership.

• Photo galleries from previous conferences, networking sessions, and volunteer opportunities illustrating member benefits in action.

Many membership management software solutions lack built-in website management tools, making it challenging to assess how visitors engage with your organization online.

However, with an engagement management system (EMS), you can create website content directly through the platform. According to iMIS, an EMS contains member management, content management, and database functionality all in one system, enabling you to unlock detailed insights into what’s working in your engagement strategy and what’s not.

As you implement these tactics, listen to new members to learn how you can continue improving for the future. Send out a survey to collect feedback on what inspired them to join and what types of content they appreciate the most. The better you understand your audience, the better you can tailor your recruitment approach to maximize your results.