Hello everyone…looking at starting a homebrew club down here in Supply, North Carolina. I love the feedback on AHA for the most part, but I would love to have to some one on one interaction and have a nice club going. Any suggestions or recommendations?
Gregg
Is Wilmington too far to go for you? There’s a club there. At the least you should be able to get some info from them on people who may be closer to your neck of the woods.
Start with an ad in the paper, if you can get three or four people start meeting and let word of mouth take it from there with an occasional newspaper ad if needed. I started with three people counting me but they brought friends and it created a critical mass.
Use the forums and word of mouth. As was already said, newspapers, craigslist, facebook or other social media. You could even travel to other clubs, not to steal members per say but to learn how things are done and pickup tips.
Make a poster with contact information and ask put it up at the homebrew shops in Wilmington. Many homebrewers from your area probably go to those shops, at least occasionally. Also, club leaders may know homebrewers who don’t attend their club meetings because of travel distance.
Thanks for the input everyone. Wilmington is about 45 minutes from my neck of the woods. Me and my brew buddy were wanting to start something a little closer and just have a good time with friends and bounce ideas of off folks. Sometimes reading feedback on forums can get confusing…lol. But I just think it would be a good idea to get something started down here. Thanks for the feedback everyone. I will keep you posted. My location is close to the beach so if all goes well, maybe you’ll can stop by on your way to Myrtle Beach during the summer. Cheers!!!
Gregg
Bring your members to the forum and then we can all be confused together! LOL.
Really, word of mouth will work to grow your numbers. Myself and another guy started having brew days for neighbors - not really a club thing, but now we have almost 10 brewers in the neighborhood after a couple years! This hobby sells itself!
Good luck with your club.
Do you have a local homebrew shop? That’d be a great place to recruit.
Start your club with just the two of you if you have to. If your internet service provider gives you a free web site, use it and create even a simple page. List your club with the AHA club directory. We get at least a few new member referrals every year through that channel.