Whether you've volunteered for the task or find yourself responsible simply by default, you can rise to the challenge of writing a letter soliciting membership to an organization. It's vital that you convey, in tangible terms, the benefits of joining your organization. In this way, recipients of your letter should view the membership fee as a mere pittance compared to the advantages they will reap.
Be positive and upbeat about your organization and cast it as a vital, necessary force. Enthusiasm is contagious and should prompt your letter recipients to join in. Reviewing the elements of a successful sample application letter for membership of associations will help you create yours.
People often join nonprofits because of the benefits they get, personally or professionally. Group them in order of appeal so that you can easily refer to them as you write your letter. Review the organization's marketing materials – its Web site, brochures and press kit – to ensure that your messages are consistent. Many organizations refer to this list as "member benefits."
Advertisement Article continues below this adYou'll engage readers if you adopt a friendly, personable tone, according to Fundly.com. "Talk" your way through the letter and discuss your organization as if you were meeting with readers face-to-face over coffee and trying to entice them to join. Write a compelling, provocative opening paragraph that demonstrates you know your audience and why they could benefit from joining your organization. If you are soliciting business members to a local chamber of commerce, you might appeal to their desire to grow their business.
You might say, for example, "As a business owner, you understand the challenges of remaining competitive and profitable. So does the Great Opportunity Chamber of Commerce, which has assembled an exciting array of initiatives that we are eager to share with new members."
Advertisement Article continues below this adIf you describe the initiatives, programs and events that make your organization vital and interesting, you'll hook more people. You might mention an upcoming business expo, a business conference with a noted financial speaker or a marketing workshop. Explain how these initiatives would benefit a new member.
List some of the other benefits of joining your organization. For example, you might mention after-hours business socials, dinners and holiday parties. Social events are beneficial unto themselves, but make the extra point that business people often make important contacts and conduct a fair share of business at social events, when they have time to talk with people in a relaxed forum.
Invoking the positive experiences of a recent new member helps people make a better connection to you. Otherwise known as a testimonial, this important information should include an anecdote that reveals how joining the organization helped the business solve a problem, design a new marketing strategy or meet new customers. Re-state the mission of your organization. Briefly outline its history and underscore its commitment to the members.
Advertisement Article continues below this adPeople will soon want you to explain how much it costs to join your organization. It may be tempting to offer a reduced membership fee as you are soliciting new members, but first weigh the reaction of your current members, who may view your well-intentioned overture as unfair to them.
Offer the recipients a quick way to join your organization, such as by phoning a hotline or going online to sign up. Explain that you will call the recipient to follow up on your letter and to answer questions within a few days if they're not yet sold on how the organization can help them.
Closing your letter with a strong emotional appeal can increase your conversions, advises Purdue University's Online Writing Lab. You might say, for example, that your organization "depends on talented, dedicated professionals who not only find strength and great ideas in numbers, but greater profitability, too." Add important information in a P.S., which stands out visually when people first look at the letter.