IN SHORT: If you have trouble keeping members, and you member number looks like a yoyo month to month, read on. I will give you easy things you can do to make members stay.
Getting new customers / members / subscribers is one thing. Keeping them is the trick! Community radio stations all over the world are struggling with this. In June you have 500 members and in July all of a sudden you are left with 243. What happened? Well if you are in Australia, that is the churn from a new financial year starting. BTW, who decided it was a good idea to have a financial year running from July to June? Madness! I digress.
The people that become members, of a community station, were already your listeners. Let's be real, how else did they know to sign up to begin with? So, how did you get them through the door?
That's easy enough... You do a membership drive every year. And all of a sudden that membership turns into a raffle ticket. Maybe it's a meat tray, maybe it's a river cruise. That membership is worth a chance on a good prize! Everyone loves a good raffle! But out of the 250 people that signed up, only one wins. The other 249 get exactly ZIP! May sound a bit harsh, but do those 249 even remember they entered a competition?
Everyone loves a good raffle!
If it wasn't for the prize, what would make someone fork over cash? What do you actually offer? Sure... You play great music. You keep people informed of events in their area. Traffic... You interview the local politicians about issues that everyone stuggles with. But why do your listeners need to be a member for that?
Yeah we all know it costs money to produce radio... That's why YOU need members. But what do members get from you that they don't already get being a listener? If you can't asnwer that question... You are in trouble!
Here are a few reasons to become a station member that I 'ave seen.
These are live on community radio websites right now
- Voting rights at our next AGM.
- There are many ways you can be part of our station. (followed by a list of jobs)
- The station has no paid employees and relies solely on volunteers.
- Meeting room hire. Free t-shirt for new members.
Those are not benefits. That's a job description! Sure there are those (like yourself, me...) that enjoy giving their time to volunteer work, but for most people that is just not the case. The only good thing on the above list is that free t-shirt. That's on offer from 4EB in Brisbane, in case you were wondering.
5 great value things you can offer, not breaking the bank!
1) MEMBER ONLY FRIDGE MAGNETS
Make sure it has the word MEMBER and the YEAR on it (footy clubs do this). It gives people an experience of belonging to a club, they get a MEMBER ONLY gift, and it expires - They'll want it again next year. And it's on their fridge, they'll see it every time they go for a cold one.
2) MEMBER ONLY DISCOUNTS
You organize special events, right? Trivia nights hosted by on-air talent, concerts, bingo. Give out a discount for members. Make sure that people know they can sign up for membership when they order their tickets and still be elligible for that discount!
3) MEMBER ONLY EVENTS
That hotel that runs daily ads during drive time? Have them subsidise a dinner at their venue. You won't need to hire any DJs - You have a whole stable full! That's a cheap dinner and a dance after with an exclusive club. If people make new friends on the night, you bet they both are going to be members for life! Imagine if they get married!
4) MEMBER ONLY MERCH
Do you know what colour t-shirts get ordered most? Make those exclusively available to members. You want pink? Sure, are you a member? No... Oops!
5) DON'T FORGET THE KIDS
At all the location events I have been at, the kids were the most mesmerized by the fact they could see me talk, hear it over the PA and sound just like the guy in dad's car (probably because I am that guy). Kids want to be on radio, and some of the funniest interviews I have done on-air were with kids. One of them, wrapping up the segment, thanked me and and my co-host for coming to the fair... Hahaha. Tell those kids they can come visit you at the station (and maybe even be on the radio) if their parents sign up to be a member... Make sure you have plenty of stickers (and maybe some colouring pages) handy.
- The freebies have your name on it. Fridge magnets, stickers, t-shirts provide recurring reminders.
- Discounts and special events give a flair of exclusivity.
- A family day in the studio? Kids will not let the grown-ups forget.
Once you have your member numbers stabilized, make sure to keep your record keeping up-to-date. You already know that RadiYO! can help with that