Contact people that might be willing to become members of your club or that might help you with it.
At least 8 members are needed to create a new club, but it's better if you have between 10 and 15 to have a stable club. If you already have the prospective members, great! Jump to step 7. For physical clubs, there's no need for chartering members to be new members of Agora. It's perfectly possible for all members of a new club to belong also to other clubs: For online clubs, at least 8 members must be new to Agora (not be members of any other Agora club)
Some possible ideas on how to recruit people are:
- Publish on your social media accounts your intention of starting an Agora Speakers club and information about what Agora is and what the club will do.
- Email your contacts about your initiative.
- Email friends or members of other similar organizations that might be interested in the club.
- Spread the word about Agora Speakers in meetings you attend; invite attendees to the chartering meeting.
- Spread the word about Agora and your club in the social media groups you belong to. If the group is subject to strong moderation and censorship, it's recommended that you just observe the opinions of participating people, then identify those who could be responsive to your initiative and just comment publicly in the group that you sent them a private message, mentioning them by name to draw their attention. Then do the rest of the correspondence in private.
- Talk to members of other organizations that didn't renew their membership.
- Post-event notices on sites like Meet Up or Internations
- Announce your intention of starting a club in either the Facebook Group of Agora in your country or - if there is still not one created - in the Agora Speakers International Group.
- Create a Google AdWords or Facebook campaign targeting searches of "learning public speaking", "public speaking practice", "fear public speaking," or similar combinations, setting a geographical limit as precise as possible (ideally, your city)
- Leave flyers at universities, bookstores, libraries, etc.
- Google blogs, sites, forums, and groups in your area for public speaking and leadership, and post a notice there. To avoid being labeled spam, make it clear that Agora Speakers is a nonprofit, and the fees are absolutely minimal.
- Publish a free classified in the local cultural guide or newspaper.
- Write and send a press release to the local newspapers and radio stations.
To get more ideas, Google the name of clubs of other organizations in your area, and see the places where they've advertised, then use the same channels.
When you reach out to recruit members, you need to be able to explain what Agora is about.
It is a good idea to review all the information and presentations available about our organization so that you may include the appropriate documents in your communications and highlight the main benefits of joining an Agora Speakers club. It's beneficial to share this very brief presentation.
You can also use this one-minute explanation of Agora.
Once Emails or messages from interested people start coming in, follow up with an explanation of Agora's work and how clubs work, and how members benefit from the Agora experience.
You can use the official Agora presentations, either as-is or customize them to your needs. You can find them in the branding portal under the "Presentations" area.
All club members need to register as users of the Agora Online Platform to access Agora's systems, including the educational materials. Point them to this link so that they can register.