A good marketing strategy is key to club promotion, which in turn increases membership and builds relationships within the local community.

Clubs need to promote themselves because most are ‘competing’ with other organisations and leisure activities in their area. With changing leisure patterns and the emphasis on ‘quality time’, the competition for people’s leisure time gets greater.

The better relations a club has with its local community and the local media, the better chance it has of increasing membership, or lobbying e.g. for venues. Promoting a club need not be expensive, as effort and ideas are more important than money.

Having a plan in place helps you to concentrate on maximising opportunities for increasing membership, including volunteer and participation numbers. You’ll find your marketing is more likely to be successful when you’ve taken time to identify what you want to do and when you want to do it.

To help you with your marketing strategy, here you will find guidelines and a template to download.