Like many of you, I am a member of several philatelic organizations, large groups such as APS, smaller niche clubs such as the Canal Zone Study Group, and local organizations such as the Indiana Stamp Club. All these organizations depend on member contributions and participation to function. A constant flow of new members is essential to prepare the organization for the future. New members bring with them fresh ideas and energy to an organization. How do you locate these new members? The First Issues Collectors Club (FICC) looked to address this important question in 2020.
The First Issues Collectors Club (FICC) was established in 1990 to promote the collection and research of the first postage stamp issued by any nation, province, city, army, or other entity. The club publishes a quarterly newsletter with first issue research and an auction. FICC started with fourteen members in 1990 and grew to a peak of 120 members in the early 2000s. The peak coincided with the addition of a website (www.firstissue.org), color newsletters, and electronic copies of the newsletter.
Since that time there was a steady decline in membership. The incoming members have not kept up with those leaving the hobby or moving their focus to another specialty collecting area. The number of members submitting articles, auction lots, and bids was on the decline. Financially the club was stable, but the lagging membership and participation became a concern for the club officers.
During the COVID lockdown, APS seized the opportunity to schedule weekly Stamp Chats. That allowed collectors across the world to join for some fellowship and face time that COVID was robbing from them. I saw this as an opening to share collecting first issues with a larger audience. I proposed a chat on collecting first issues. APS took a chance on me and scheduled a program for May 2020. FICC had some homework before that program.
Tweet, Tweet
We wanted a way to promote the program and a method for potential members to locate us after the program. The first step was to develop a presence on Twitter. We launched @First_Stamps in April 2020 (fig. 1). Philately on Twitter was gaining speed in the spring of 2020 with @ExploringStamps, @PunkPhilatelist, @DigiPhilatelist, @philatelythings, @GaryLoew, @APS_stamps, and others building followers. We worked to tag onto their growth to increase our visibility. We commented on their Tweets and tagged them when appropriate in our Tweets. This slowly increased our followers, likes, and retweets.
Figure 1 – Twitter Profile Screen. Figure 2 – Example of daily First Issue of the Day Tweet.
We started a daily “First Issue of the Day” series on Twitter to share information on first issues and promote our website (Fig. 2). We began to see an increase in individual website viewers and the average number of pages accessed. This metric often doubled our prior monthly averages. Twitter gave us a growing base within social media to share the upcoming stamp chat and promote our website content.
Address the Web
The next piece of homework we did not anticipate. In April, James Gavin presented an APS Stamp Chat “The Future of Philately is Here”. One of the focuses of the program was evaluating an organization’s website. Our website was created in the early 2000s by a gracious member with the skill to publish the site. He developed a wealth of information on each first issue of the world before handing it over to another member. The website was the source of most of our new members since its inception including an uptick in our foreign membership. While the content was updated, the structure and look of the site did not change for close to 20 years.
Our website hit several of James’ “Top Mistakes”. We had a discussion board that was no longer functional, an outdated look, outdated events, and an obituary on the home page. All items that may discourage a visitor to look past the home page. A few changes were made to the site to give it a fresh look (Figure 3). A new color scheme, removal of the obituary and the discussion board, and a feed of the club’s new Twitter feed. It was something I could proudly promote on my scheduled Stamp Chat.
Figure 3 – Updated home screen for www.firstissues.org website.
Let’s Chat
May brought our scheduled Stamp Chat https://youtu.be/CCMJ2U1pmKY. I took a point from James Gavin’s rules for a website for my chat. He recommended not to picture rare, expensive stamps that will discourage a collector from finding interest in the collecting area. I could have composed a program detailing the Hawaii Missionaries, the Mauritius Post Office issue, and Swiss Cantons, but instead, I took a more entry-level approach. Looking for first issues that collectors may have in their current collection – Ghana #1, Germany 9N1, Falklands 1L1, Italian Colonies #1 – that could be the springboard to a new collecting interest. (Figure 4)
Figure 4 – APS StampChat on First Issues of the World
The goal of the program was not to lecture on a specific issue, but to share the numerous options when collecting first issues and build interest in FICC. I wanted to convey the freedom that first issue collecting allowed for a collector to collect what they like. Not sure about the number of viewers for the live program on YouTube and Facebook, but I do know we have now had over 2200 views on YouTube as of October 2022. It now provides a quick reference point to share with those interested.
Facebook Fans
Figure 5 – Facebook Post
After the response received from the updated website, Twitter, and the Stamp Chat, we were motivated to next make our club known to the world of Facebook. Thankfully one of our new members agreed to help set up the account to get the ball rolling. Our content for Facebook is the same as Twitter, but there tends to be a separate demographic associated with each social media platform (Figure 5). This opened us up to a new audience.
Old School
After reaching out through social media and the web, we decided to try to connect with potential members that were not commonly participating in the new online stamp community. As an APS affiliate, we were able to request address labels of APS members that reported #1’s of the world as a collecting interest. This provided a list of 32 APS members that were not already FICC members. I mailed a letter to each potential member with our contact information, email, and website. This more traditional outreach allowed the club promotion to hit yet another demographic.
Cross Promotion
We cross-promoted other stamp programs related to first issues on our platforms. FICC member James Grayson shared an APS Stamp Chat on the first issues of North and South Korea. FICC member Sandeep Jaiswal has presented a number of programs related to first issues of the Indian States. This fit perfectly into our narrative, so we shared the links on social media and our website. We sent a letter to the podcast Stamp Show Here Today asking for a shout out and it turned into a review of the website for the better part of an episode.
Insta Crowd
As the final social media step, we added a presence on Instagram in February 2022. A new member answered a call for volunteers to help with the social media. While the content is shared between the three platforms, they reach different audiences based on the predominant age groups utilizing the platform.
Figure 6 – Instagram Page
The Payoff
After promoting collecting first issues and the FICC, there was a hope the club would see a payoff in new membership. Likes on Facebook, followers on Twitter, and website visitors are great, but could we crack into active members? Turns out we did. From 2017 through 2019, before our social media outreach, we added 14 new members. In the period of May to December 2020, we added 13 new members and had 2 former members rejoin. To continue that momentum, we added another 11 members in 2021 and 10 members in the first 9 months of 2022. This influx pushed our membership back to 77 members with more than 40% of members joining since 2020.
The surge added a new energy. Four of the new members submitted articles for the newsletter. The new members helped further promote FICC by tagging, liking, retweeting and commenting on social media. All the important social media activities that help push a message out to a larger audience. Two of the new members stepped up to manage the Facebook and Instagram posts.
We also saw a bump in monthly auction participation with a 100% increase in bidders and a 5-fold increase in total bids during the 2021 auctions. Both numbers were dominated by the new members.
Most of the members came to us through the website but were directed there through social media or stamp chat. Our new social media push elevated the visibility of FICC helping with awareness of our specialty. At the same time, the APS address labels did garner 2 new members, so there remains room for tried-and-true methods as well. A successful push for membership requires you to go to where the potential members get their philatelic fix – APS, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, etc. The member will not appear if they do not know what you have to offer.
To view Kurt’s StampChat, check out the APS YouTube channel or scan the QR code.
To learn more about collecting first issues… http://firstissues.org/main/howto.php
The Author
Kurt Streepy has been a collector since age 10. His current interests include postal history of Hawaii, the Panama Canal Zone, Panama, and Nicaragua in addition to his First Issues of the world on and off cover. Kurt is a member of many philatelic organizations serving as the secretary/treasurer of the First Issues Collectors Club, vice-president of the Hawaiian Philatelic Society, and the editor of the Canal Zone Study Group’s quarterly journal The Canal Zone Philatelist. Kurt serves as a director of the Indiana Stamp Club and judging coordinator for INDYPEX. As an exhibitor, Kurt has won multiple gold medals and recently his first large gold medal. There are three APS StampChat programs created by Kurt available on the APS YouTube Channel focused on how to start collecting Hawaii, Canal Zone, and First Issues. You can find him on Twitter @KurtStreepy.