New Semester, New Recruits

Now that you're heading back to campus after what was hopefully a long and refreshing break from school, it's time to start recruiting!  Between January freshmen, transfer students, and those whose New Years resolutions require them to learn more about politics or get engaged on campus, now is a prime time to find new recruits for your YAL chapter.

Your participation in YAL's Spring 2012 Recruitment Drive will help your chapter grow -- but it will also help Young Americans for Liberty on a national level by identifying new activists and future leaders, growing our network, and spreading the liberty message to a brand new audience!

Here's how you can get involved:

1. If you are not a YAL dues-paying member yet, get yourself a free t-shirt and join YAL for $10 right now.
2. Join or start a YAL chapter on your campus.  It's very easy to get started here.                      

Once you take these first steps, it's time to recruit and grow your chapter!

FREE Recruitment Resources and Ideas

YAL is offering FREE resources to every active YAL chapter: 

1. Apply for YAL's Activism Kit: a box of useful materials mailed directly to your chapter's doorstep.  Complete the online application to receive this valuable box of resources ASAP!  Contents:

1. Download your Guide to Build an Effective YAL Chapter: designed to include all the basic activism information a successful chapter needs to know, use this for a more detailed guide through the recruitment process (and as a general advisor in all your activism, actually).
2. Order a banner for your YAL chapter.  A professional YAL banner will add aesthetic value to your table, which new people will use to judge your chapter.  It is the cheapest, most durable way to effectively present your chapter at your school's activities fair or when you table.
   
   To order yours today , make an account at Mondo Print and then go to their banner page:
   
   Select the following options:
   W: 6'
   H:  2'
   Material: Matte Vinyl
   Color: 4/0
   Lamination: No Lamination
   Turnaround: 2 to 3 Days
   Finishing: Grommets every 2'
   
   Then hit "Place Order."  On the next screen:
   
   Proof Type: If you're submitting a custom design and want them to email you a proof first, keep this checked (it's $5); if not, uncheck it.
   
   Order Comments: If submitting your own artwork instead of YAL's logo which they already have on file, let them know you DO NOT want the generic YAL banner, and tell them you'll submit your own.
3. Sign up for Students for Liberty's Resources: SFL's materials are available to YAL chapters to supplement your activism.  Check out their:
   • Protest grants
   • Free books program
   • For-purchase activism kits
   • Tabling guide

4. Designate a Recruitment Director, and make sure he or she familiarizes himself or herself all the tips and resources on this page.

   Make sure the person in charge of your Recruitment Drive gets the big picture, will be creative and arrange a unique plan for your event(s), and can manage a project as important as this. 

5. Operation Politically Homeless:  Apply for a free Operation Politically Homeless kit, a tried and true recruitment tool which many YAL chapters have found highly effective.
6. YAL's Sign-Up Sheet Template:
   

Where to Start: Five-Step Spring Recruitment Plan

Step One: Attend Orientations and Student Activity Fairs.

These highly-publicized events for new students are one of the easiest recruit potential YAL members. Students here are looking to get involved, so take advantage of the opportunity to get them to your next meeting. 

Learn more:  Read Chapter 3 of our Guide to Build an Effective YAL Chapter for recruitment strategy tips.

Step Two: Effective Tabling.

This is one of the most important steps. Tabling is not only a great way to recruit new members, but also a crucial step to get your YAL chapter's name out to the student body and forge relationships with other groups on campus.

Try this:  Apply for an Operation Politically Homeless kit, a surefire recruitment tool available to you for free.

Step Three: Dorm Storm.

Encourage active members to go door to door at their student housing and introduce themselves and your YAL chapter. Bring a sign up sheet to get contact information from anyone who seems interested. Don't debate; just be friendly.  If no one is home, slip a flyer under their door.

Learn more:  Read this one-page guide to conducting an effective dorm storm.

Step Four: The First Meeting of the Semester.

Be organized and timely. Show up at least 15 minutes early and be on the lookout for students who may be confused or lost. Have a written agenda prepared before the meeting and be sure to stick to it as closely as possible.

Be prepared:  Check out page 29 of the Guide to Build an Effective YAL Chapter for a step-by-step explanation of how to hold the best possible informational meeting.

Step Five: Hosting a Social Event. 

Before you host your first meeting, come up with a few different ideas for a social event which everyone will enjoy.  Stick to something simple, like a pizza party, hike, or movie night.  At the meeting ask members their opinion and, if necessary, vote on the event. Offer carpools to students that may not have cars. Most of all, have fun!

Keep reading:  More Chapter Building Strategies can be found here, in the Guide to Build an Effective YAL Chapter.

Don't forget these details along the way:

• Reserve a high-traffic area to hold your recruitment drive with your school's student activities office or equivalent organization.  Don't just show up and start tabling without permission -- you don't want to give your administration a reason to shut you down.

• Create a list of everyone who will help you recruit, and schedule specific times for your members to work your table.  Make sure you do whatever you can to have at least one guy and one girl out in front of your table as your primary recruiters.

  Also, get two or three others to stand off to the side to 1.) talk more in-depth to passersby who want to get involved and 2.) deal with those who want only to debate you and our philosophy (don't let these types of people distract you from your main goal, reaching out to those who already agree with our message).

• Schedule a recruitment meeting before your Recruitment Drive kicks off, so everyone in your chapter knows what you have planned.  Take this opportunity to nail down important details.

• Prepare a handout which outlines your full plan to distribute to your chapter members at the meeting.  Include the contact information for everyone in your chapter: name, cell, and email.
• Review the plan then open the floor for Q&A at the end of your presentation.  Don't let anyone leave the meeting unsure of their exact role in your Recruitment Drive.
• Pass around a sign-up schedule.  Calculate how many hours each chapter member will need to work your recruitment table to keep it manned with at least two people (preferably one guy and one girl) throughout your drive.  Make sure everyone signs up for at least that many hours, but especially if you're in chapter leadership, be prepared to fill in any gaps in the schedule yourself.
• What else are you missing?  Review this page, hold a brainstorming session with the other creative activists in your chapter, and prepare to get to work building the youth movement for liberty.

How to Earn Media Attention for your Chapter

Here are ten steps to earn media attention for your chapter.  While they may take a little practice and you may need to follow all the steps for several consecutive events, if you are persistent about this, you will eventually get on the radar of local and campus journalists.

1. Earned media—media coverage you don't have to pay for (unlike advertising)—should be a top priority.Spreading your message on campus will only go so far if only passersby hear about it. So how do you reach everybody that didn't walk by your display? You earn media!

   
   Follow the golden earned media rule: If an activism event doesn't make it in the news, did it really happen?

1. Download this PowerPoint to guide you through creating press releases and media advisories.  You can view YAL National's past releases and advisories here if you need examples of how your press materials should be formatted.

   A. You will send out a press release approximately one week before your event.

   B. Your media advisory should arrive in your media contact's inbox and/or desk the day before your event.

   C. And you should prepare a final press release to go out immediately after your event concludes (just in time for reporters to meet their evening deadlines).

   Make sure your press coordinator follows up each one of these releases with a phone call. Thinking long term, this is about building a relationship with the media contacts in your area for this event, as well as future activism projects.

   If done correctly, you could become the media's go-to for all campus-related stories.

1. Send out your press release 3-5 days before your event.  Use a free mass email service like Mailchimp to make sure your email looks professional.  If you cannot use Mailchimp, use the BCC function to make sure your media contacts do not see each other's email addresses.  Do not send the release as an attachment; put it in the body of the email.

   
   Before you send the final draft, send yourself a test email to make sure it is formatted properly.

2. Follow up your press release with phone calls or in-person meetings.This is the most important step! Members of the press literally receive hundreds of emails each day. With so much traffic, how do you expect them to read and report on your story? Call them!

   
   Pick up the phone or walk into their office. Ask them if they received your press release. If they said they didn't see it, send it to them again. If you meet with them in person, bring copies with you. This step is vital.

3. The morning before your event, repeat steps 5 and 6, but this time send out your media advisory. The media advisory is a quick reminder and follow up to your press release. This will hopefully catch any reporter you may have missed previously.

   
   Make sure you follow up with another phone call! This personal contact IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP and the difference between your story being reported or not.

If you have any questions about how to earn media, need help with your press release, are uncertain how to use Mailchimp, or need a media distribution list, email YAL Director of Communications Bonnie Kristian at bonnie.kristian@yaliberty.org.

Reach out to the Regional Leadership Team for Support

Use these links to find the State Chair and/or Regional Director for your area.  If either position has not yet been filled, learn more and apply to join the Leadership Team here.

Want to earn some cash for your chapter?

To enter your chapter in the contest, document your recruitment efforts and post pictures, videos, news articles, and descriptions of your activities to the YAL blog.  Here are the three prizes:

• First Prize:  $500
• Second Prize:  $350
• Third Prize: $200
• Additional $100 prizes may be awarded as merited

Here is the contest judging criteria you should consider:

• Most new recruits to join your chapter and the national organization. Download and print the YAL sign-up form to register new activists and encourage them to join at www.yaliberty.org/join. Bring a laptop to your event and have students register on the spot. The size of your student population will be weighed against the number of new recruits, so smaller schools will not be at a disadvantage.
• Best recruitment table. Take pictures and video of your recruitment activities on campus. Capture the excitement and interest on campus. Check out this great video produced by the YAL chapter at the University of North Texas.
• Best Informational or First meeting. How many interested students can you recruit to attend your first semester meetings? How do you present the message of liberty and YAL to new recruits? Take pictures and video of the presentations and overall turn out at your meetings.
• Most creative and effective ways to get out information. We are looking for clear and easy-to-understand materials that recruit the largest amount of students to the youth movement for liberty. Include your flyers and handouts in your chapter report.

Note: Not every item is required to win the contest.  YAL chapters will be judged on their overall performance.

Your entry must be posted on the YAL blog to be eligible. (See the Fall 2011 winners here; for blog access email YAL Director of Communications Bonnie Kristian at bonnie.kristian@yaliberty.org.)  All submissions must be made by Friday, February 17, 2012.