What they do say is, for New Orleans and Mobile organizations,  that your club can't use the media, TV, Radio, Newspaper, to expressly recruit, and only recruit, members. The internet is not yet considered "official" media, ( don't count on this loop hole to remain open for very much longer, however ) so for now, you can recruit openly on the Internet. 

3. Put an effective recruitment campaign strategy in place. Do you have a committee in place to direct your recruitment efforts? You'll be surprised to know that many krewes don't even have a strategy at all, much less any effort. The one thing a lot of clubs seem to take for granted is the fact that membership in the organization must be maintained and grown. Don't allow opportunities to recruit members get by you! If you're holding a cook -out, picnic, hosting a game, or like the Houston Men's Calvary do almost every week, a party or two, or three, have someone in charge of handing out literature and greeting new faces, to size them up for membership. Does your Club have a recruitment night? Does it announce it via the media? You should, and no it's not against the rules! We'll talk about that later! 

4. It's Still Ok to Be Selective. Like it or not, we owe a lot to Dorothy Mae Taylor.( It's A New Orleans, Thang !) Some of you will like that statement, some will not. Some accept it as fact, some never will. Agree or not, she put a really bad situation before us before we were really ready to deal with it. Now, as captains, chairmen, and presidents, I believe that we are. Now with that said, let's get to it!  It's ok to be selective, as long as we're fair about it. By fair, it's meant that racial, gender, and political views aside, judge each candidate on what he or she can bring to the Krewe. It's only prudent to add the cream of the crop to your membership, with one qualifier..... ONLY IF& WHERE IT IS POSSIBLE! 

5. Examine your and the potential members needs. Before you start your campaign, look at how you’ve put together your membership or just how they stack up. Do they meet the current needs of the organization? Can they help to accomplish the Krewes goals? Is each contributing as much as he or she can, or are they over extending themselves, heading for burnout? A krewe is a collective group that is the lifeblood of any organization. They live and breathe as one. You have to be a little careful what you add to it. Does the potential krewe candidate meet your org's requirements, etc, but a bigger question may be, does your org meet his/her requirements? Does the club, give him or her what they want and/or need socially? Do you match up well ? To keep and retain any member, you must address and ascertain their social needs so you can attempt to meet them. This makes loyalty of that member very strong. Difficult for another club, to lure him or her away.   

6. Refurbish your written materials. Go through your files and review all the written materials that describes your organization. Keep it fresh. Make sure that they are consistent in the message you are sending, and clear in asking the person to join your organization and easily identifiable as belonging to your organization. This may require you to change the typeface, your logo and/or slogan. Write a boilerplate statement about your mission and organization for everyone to use. Above all, please look professional. Slick , glossy paper only, with your krewe logo in one of the four corners and a good tight design, photos only, No clipart. No whimsical stuff is needed here, you're going after the cream of the crop here, they want to know you're the first class act in town.  If joining a krewe is on their mind, this is your shot! remember, they're more than 72 organizations out there, with fully 59 having some parade activity during the season.

7. Hand out your written materials. This may seem a little redundant, but, I've seen tons upon tons of literature that didn't get handed out. It's just sitting there, in boxes, no one seeing it, getting water logged, wasted money in printing costs, down the tubes. ( As if you had it in large vaults waiting to be thrown out ) Sit it out so people can freely take it. Make it easy to pick up one and go. Some cities don't permit advertising for riders, however, it is ok to advertise events or just the club! You can simply hand our business cards, which are a powerful inducement to someone looking to network, or just belong! Your parade is prime marketing time! After all didn't these people come to see your parade? Wouldn't they just love an invitation to your next event or to join?

8. Include recruitment in every event.  When your groups are brainstorming about specific fundraising strategies/events, make sure the recruitment plan is included. Spend time with your board and staff gathering ideas for a form of fundraising campaign that best suits your organization and your message. When you decide on how you will accomplish your goals go a little further and include literature for the business, group, etc can hand out for you. Piggy back off the other committees efforts.

9.  Be Unique! I know that's a hard one to do sometimes, but you must be determined to distinguish your group or club from the other guy. That takes innovation, inventiveness, and creativity. The chief idea here is to create the novelty, that draws a curious crowd. This also keeps you from repeating the same old mistakes that your predecessor's did. Don't be afraid to take, "measured risks", ( well thought out plans, with a reasonable chance of success), but look around first to see what the other krewes have done and what trouble you can avoid.

10. Include the Public.  It never ceases to amaze me how some clubs think that they can balance an entire krewe off just a few hundred members. Besides being the most single visible way to meet and greet the most potential members, you can also get them to help you finance the endeavor as well. The public at large wants to participate in your clubs activities, but you've got to invite them to come! They will not just "Show Up " and ask to be let in. Let the city know what you're doing and where you're doing it, and that they're invited! 

11.  Include the Media!  Some times secrecy can be a blessing!  The rules governing Krewes traditional recruitment efforts are strict. NO Media campaigns! But for the loyalists that refuse to move into the 21rst century, it not going to be, very much longer for them, now that the 21 century is here. Today's krewes NEED A Public Relations PERSON. If you don't have one, appoint one! NOW !!!! and get him or her trained in the art of representing your organization in the media and public events.

 While you can't openly and actively use the media to recruit, there are ways to recruit without recruiting. a. Keep the krewes name out there! While you are getting the word out about your  fundraising efforts and sending those press releases to the Websites ( like ours, for instance) TV and Radio stations, newspapers, and other media outlets. Not only is the krewe's name out there, driving funds, and other opportunities  to you, but also driving potential members you way, as well.  It seems that the last thing some krewes want is attention. If that's the case, then why parade? b. Print your website's address on everything!  Then get the media to announce it. Of course, your membership application will be there waiting on them. c.  Make news where possible and keep them informed! When you adopt a charity, or pay the children's hospital a visit, become the first krewe to accomplish something, or establish a scholarship, you're making news! Inform the media, and encourage feedback for more information or more ideas and be sure to include feedback avenues such as phone #'s, website url's and of course fax #'s

12. Don't forget your no. 1 recruitment weapon....your current members !  For years recruitment has been done the plain old low tech way. Relying on current members to recruit their friends. Going out and getting members can really be as simple as that. They are in fact your number 1 recruitment source. But don't rely on them to much and too hard. They need to see other efforts in place and working, setting them at ease to feel good about the club so they'll recommend the membership most strongly with the utmost conviction. If they believe in the Krewe and it's work, they can be your most potent recruitment force. 

13. Put that website to work!  Do you have a website up and running yet, in place, working hard to direct your recruitment efforts beyond New Orleans? If you look through the internet with a search, you probably are not surprised that a lot of krewes still haven't bothered to get a website. Remember tip # 2 ? Don't allow opportunities to recruit members get by you! There are currently over 150 million possible krewe members out there!  Thousands more getting computers and online every day! Why wouldn't you want to include them in your efforts? Over 2 to 4 million people come into the city every year from other city's across the nation and indeed a few from other nations to see the world's most famous party! Why wouldn't you want to include them in your efforts? It may not be the great money maker that some had envisioned right now, but neither was the TV for the first 15 years of it's