6 Ways to Get Your Blue Lodge Out of a Rut

Have you ever attended your blue lodge and thought to yourself… “wow this meeting is so boring?”  Maybe you thought to yourself, “It is the same stuff every meeting – there is nothing new for me here.” Or maybe you go to the meeting and there is no energy in the atmosphere – not just in the lodge room itself. So let’s take a deep dive into this and diagnose the problem.

If you are like me and really want to diagnose the lodge’s problem, you will probably find that the problem is with the health of our fraternity’s blue lodge. I say ‘our’ because we are a brotherhood and you are not alone.  The issues your blue lodge is having with gaining new brothers to go through the ‘line’ or to go through the first three degrees of our fraternity are really just a by-product of the overall health of the local blue lodge.

Sometimes, it not uncommon for brothers to look at the blue lodge as being more of a business than a brotherhood.  And yes, it is a bitter pill to swallow because we all want our Masonic fraternity to be fun and enjoyable.

But, running our blue lodges like a business is incredibly important. Why? It is critical that we accomplish all our goals during the stated meetings and most blue lodges only meet 1 to 2 times officially each month. That excludes holidays and if they desire to go ‘dark’.

We need to communicate to our newest brothers that our meetings need to be ‘long’ to achieve the results we need to achieve.  If our fraternal order was doing business 24/7 then a long meeting is simply ‘overkill’ but we don’t do that.

Most of our membership is active in their personal lives and most only set aside 5 to 60 days on average to the blue lodge.  If you desire to have shorter meetings then change your blue lodge’s by-laws to meet on a weekly basis in a ‘stated’ versus ‘called’ capacity.

Finally, it is critical to communicate with all your brothers the ideas I am about to share because, without the brotherhood, it really doesn’t matter.

Here are 6 things I’d do right now to any Blue Lodge to help them get out of a rut:

1) Have a retreat to discuss what the Blue Lodge’s Craft really wants to do. 

This doesn’t mean you have to be a hold-your-hands around a campfire affair while having someone is banging a bongo drum.  It can simply be a morning or an afternoon that is scheduled for the lodge brothers. This is a meeting that is set aside from the stated or called communications and it is informal in nature where your lodge brothers can talk about what they want to do in the future.

I recommend that you have the secretary take notes during the meeting. Your goal should be to listen to find a few ideas that your lodge brothers are really excited about. Then, begin to focus on those ideas and challenge them to find ways to implement the ideas into the lodge’s annual calendar. The excitement and anticipation of these plans will motivate the entire blue lodge. How? – you might be wondering, well it is really simple.  The secretary during the following stated communication reports on the results of the retreat and the ideas discussed. The Craft can then vote to fund those ideas and create even more positive buy-in with the brotherhood. This will get your lodge brothers engaged and excited if they could not and/or opted not to make the retreat.

2) You need to be the start of the solution and Get Your Blue Lodge Out of a Rut

Okay, so let’s say your lodge is not healthy. You can tell if this is the case because your brothers probably aren’t having much fun together. They don’t hang out after or before the meeting.   They don’t communicate on social media and they don’t do things together with their families.

You need to be the ‘change agent’ and be the first to start to change that. Here is how you can do it. When you do something fun – invite your lodge brothers to join you!

The solution is actually very simple and you need to be okay with rejection. But just keep it up, when you do something fun, invite a brother or brothers to go along with you.  If you like to go to dinner, invite another brother to go. It could be pizza or something else, just keep inviting them.

When you are taking your girlfriend or wife to the movies, invite another brother to bring his sweetheart and make it a double date.  Or make it a guy’s night out and go see a movie then grab a sandwich somewhere afterward.  If you have a young family, invite them to your place and have the kids watch a movie, while the adults play cards and talk or something along those lines. If you are retired, invite other retired brothers to go hang out at a coffee shop with their spouses and talk about stuff.

The point here is you need to develop friendships. We are all brothers by the degree work and paying our annual dues but we can’t take that for granted. By developing friendship between lodge brothers based on something – you will see the health of the fraternity improve. Thus, eventually, other like-minded lodge brothers will see what you are doing and start doing the same thing.  Before long you’ll have a blue lodge that does things together and as small groups of like-minded brothers that enjoy a similar activity outside of the lodge.

It is okay to have various smaller groups doing things like motorcycle riding together, playing cards, getting coffee together, or riding rollercoasters together because everyone is different. And not everyone wants to do everything I just mentioned. This will help bring the lodge closer together and create conversations for brothers to share during a lodge’s dinner meeting. This will make your lodge brothers closer and interest them to want to regularly attend meetings.

Once that starts to happen, you are much more likely to have brothers begin to volunteer for degrees or committees. People like doing things with friends and sometimes feel obligated to help a friend if he is asked. As brothers, we need to create solid friendships that can last for a very long time.

3) Eliminate what ‘stinks’; ‘sucks’; and/or ‘is driving people away’. 

If something ‘stinks’ or if something ‘sucks’ or if something ‘is driving people away’ – don’t do them. If you are doing things that the lodge’s brotherhood hates, that will drain their energy and get your blue lodge into a rut.

If your brothers don’t like doing something – just don’t do it.  The fastest way to kill morale and decrease retention is to do something people hate. Let me give you an example if your lodge brothers prefer going out to eat versus doing a ‘Bring Your Own Dinner Item’ also known as a potluck dinner. Then don’t force your Craft to do that.  Look at the age group and demographics to ensure that the lodge activities are fun for your desired target.

If you blue lodge brothers in your local Masonic fraternity don’t like community service project number 1, then do community service project number 2 or 3 which is deemed to be a lot more fun.  Never allow anyone to make your fraternal experience to become a drag.  If it is, you will quickly see that your brothers will literally stop coming to the Stated and/or Called Communications.

Further, it is important to take an audit of toxic brothers in the lodge. Are they really worth keeping? Granted they pay their dues on time and may even have value, but if they continually year after year damage the morale of the blue lodge by driving off good Masons. Should you take into consideration what is best for the lodge and not just the individual.

Lastly, if this toxic brother is rejecting sage advice of past master or a brotherly whisper in their ear for their questionable electioneering practices and/or un-Masonic behavior – it might be the time to cut them loose. It is never easy to do but you need to safeguard the future of the lodge and make certain it is a healthy future.

4) Learn to talk about the positives of Freemasonry and your local Blue Lodge all the time!

If you aren’t even getting good men you desire then maybe you need to research how to do things better.  There are plenty of marketing books in the library and online to help you get on the right path.  When you organize and implement events start with the end in mind. What is the goal of the event?  Why are you doing the event?  What are the desired results you wish to attain for putting or attending an event?

Be honest it’s okay to say that you don’t really know what you are doing. Ask for help – engage your brothers that have backgrounds in marketing, advertising, event planning, or similar industry knowledge.  Engage and request their help to achieve the results and outcomes you desire.  Some good resources are your Grand Lodge and District Team.

Remember, your Grand Lodge is there to help you do things correctly and to help you make more new Masons.  Also, don’t forget to find books by Masons from another the world. These books have been specifically written to highlight their success stories. These books may also layout a complete ‘how-to guide’ for executing a great event or activity from start to finish.  Some of the best books are not esoteric in nature – they may just be blunt and to the point by explaining everything you need to know to be successful during a lodge event.

5) Maybe it’s time to… Clean House. 

I know it’s hard to get rid of your dead weight in our fraternity. Remember we are a society of secrets but not a secret society. This is regularly proven when you enter a new community and see our Craft’s Square and Compass next to the Rotary Club emblem.  If we were a secret society then we would not put the logo on our building monument signs or on our buildings. With that being said, you need to be the brother who changes this warped perspective.

If you find your Craft refuses to want to grow, it is probably because there are some brothers who are holding you back.  These brothers maybe rude to other brothers, they may be the ones that never pay for attending an event that requests money for attending. It could that you have a brother who is an embarrassment at community functions. First, talk to them directly, one on one and then with other brothers if necessary. Address the problem – don’t kick the can down the road.

If you find that a brother doesn’t get it and refuses to change, I recommend beginning the process to remove the toxic person. I hear brothers say guard the West Gate over and over, but sometimes you need to send a brother back out the west gate too.  In the long term, your blue lodge will be better for it, I understand it is a tough decision now but you need to get rid of the un-Masonic brothers.  Remember sometimes you have to take one step back to take two steps forward, just make certain you have all the details perfect before you bring someone up on Masonic Charges.

6) You, as a change agent in your Blue Lodge, need to embrace the struggle and Get Your Blue Lodge Out of a Rut

I know things are challenging now.  I know you can’t imagine the days when your Blue Lodge is tops in the community.  You can get there though if you embrace the challenge with a superior attitude.  Be positive, and cherish this opportunity you have.  You are going to turn a tough situation into a great one.

Remember it starts with you and grows with the brothers to engage to join you in this adventure of a lifetime.  Try new things, make mistakes.  Strive to grow and implement the teachings of the Masonic degrees to help grow your local Masonic lodge.  I promise you it will be an adventure you cherish forever.  Lastly, it will impact numerous generations of men in the future that one day wears that white apron as a Master Mason.

Thanks for reading this blog article and read other topics related to building a better fraternity.

Please keep up with the Freemasonry Report

The Freemasonry Report will be writing more articles to help grow the fraternity. The Freemasonry Report hopes this information was helpful to you. If you want more Freemasonry topics to read? Good news, the Freemasonry Report is creating plenty for you to enjoy! I have been spending hours creating this information, so take a moment to read each one!  Or maybe you want to find a lodge in your neck of the woods? More good news, the Freemasonry Report is creating a complete review of each Grand Lodge – it will take time but I wanted you to have this information at your fingertips!  If you want to network with other Freemasons – check out our Facebook Group / Page now!

Does great brand planning make the difference for your Masonic Blue Lodge?

As new Masonic Year begins and new lodge officers begin ramping up their plans, events, and activities for their year. It is safe to say that a need to agree on the focus behind Masonic Localized brand is important. Any branding and investment by the lodge into branding can have a positive impact on their communities and/or niche markets of the blue lodge.

A lot of times I hear new officers make statements such as ‘ We hope to make…’; ‘I intend to make….’; and finally ‘My expectations are…’. In my experience, as a lodge officer and as a Master of a Blue Lodge, the difference between hope and expectation starts with a highly organized and prepared branding plan.

So what does this ‘branding plan’ look like, how is one developed, and why does it matter? Lastly, why should we bother listening to the Freemasonry Report when looking at this?  First off, the content creators of the Freemasonry Report come from the marketing and advertising industry. We simply want to give the Freemasons – internationally – a leg up on the competition in the fraternal organizations market place.

Basics on Brand Planning a Masonic Lodge’s Calendar Year.

Okay, so now you now our intentions are only ‘good’ and we are looking for nothing back from your local blue lodge.

Let’s start by defining brand planning: Brand planning is the process of allocating resources to a strategy designed to achieve a business objective that drives a brand closer to delivering on a valuable future vision.

There are plenty of definitions on Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuck Go, and so on, but I kind of like this basic definition of brand planning. Why?  Because it makes clear there is a decision to be made between the money and time a brand receives and the contribution that it will make. The statement also ties your lodge’s core goal and/or objective to a bigger and longer-term ambition to see your lodge succeed in some specific measurable way.

Okay, so we have got this definition squared away, now let’s consider what your communications committee of the blue lodge needs to focus on in a brand plan. The committee needs to document and communicate the following:

1. What your blue lodge wants the brand to achieve in future, for its members, general community where potential members can learn about your lodge (i.e. the vision)
2. What needs to be achieved in the short-term (i.e. the objectives to get things started) to move towards that vision
3. How the short term objectives aim to achieve the vision of the blue lodge (i.e. your lodge’s brand strategy)
4. What needs to be done to make certain that this happens (i.e. the tactics to be implemented to achieve your lodge’s desired goals) and at what cost.

Why have branding goals for your Blue Lodge?

The goal of the brand plan and the brand planning process is to align the cross-functional working team of lodge officers and committeemen. As well as including your other stakeholders, such as your brothers which comprise the overall lodge’s membership. It is important to include everyone engaged with your lodge so that you can get insights from everyone on the direction for the lodge. This will help figure out the overall ‘culture’ of your particular lodge and understand the rationale or the ‘why’ the lodge does things in a certain way. This can include but not be limited to the fundraising priorities, community initiatives, and of course ways to which the lodge pursues good men in the community.

Once you can understand that, then a  strategy can be formed on ‘how’ to implement effective goals, ideas, styles, themes, slogans, creative and/or artistic vision to the branding plan.  After completing the strategy sessions within your lodge, you can move into the tactical side of the branding campaign or more easily explained the ‘what are you going to do’. This alignment is crucial to make powerful branding strategy actionable and to make execution happen across all stakeholders of the lodge.

How important is getting the Leadership & The Craft into Alignment?

This is so important, don’t assume anything in the branding planning.  You need your brothers on-board with the branding plans for it to really work. Why? Because by engaging more brothers into the plan, you are decreasing the workload for a single individual, thus increasing the overall productivity and overall performance of the branding campaign throughout your lodge.

Aligning your brothers into working teams is achieved by sharing the plan with them. A working team of brothers need to be supplied a goal, deadline, and potential result or results from the efforts. In reality, there are a number of factors that get in the way for the brothers to be completely aligned with the plan.

First, take a look at when and how you are on-boarding them. Need to set clear written steps and actions in the beginning to avoid any misunderstandings or miscommunication on what they need to be focused at which point in the process of the branding plan. It is great to have a visionary brainstorming brother but once that portion is completed – they need to understand the evolution and the action steps required in each stage of the plan. They need to buy-in to the plan’s evolution in the beginning.

Further, it is very important to establish a sense of confidence in the plan to avoid any misunderstanding and/or a limited belief in decisions made – which can be toxic to the branding plan’s overall success. It is really terrible to have a brother that never really bought into the plan and now is speaking against the actions other brothers are taking. This type of brother can’t be ‘fired’ because we are a volunteer driven organization but their confidence issues must be addressed directly and in a positive manner. Many times, a brother such as this one needs more communication on a more regular basis plus it is also relevant to determine their capabilities and limitations to ensure they can be given a task which is ‘very achievable’.

By ensuring clarity and a higher than average communication level, your lodge’s confidence in the brand plan will be high across the
cross-functioning teams of brothers. This will help in the ability to execute the planning effectively and deliver real tangible value to the lodge over a longer period of time.

Discussing the Brand Plan with the Masonic Lodge Brothers.

Did you ever consider that the brothers in your lodge may not know or clearly state their organizations strategic priorities? Now you lodge’s management team (i.e. the officers) that is held responsible for leading strategy may struggle to accurately list their local organization’s strategic priorities. This is truly should be a big concern.

The key is to involve the Craft in the process to develop the brand plan in a meaningful way. I recommend that you encourage honesty and healthy debates to ensure that key decisions are clearly explained. Further, I recommend you print and post your lodge’s priorities in the lodge building for the brothers to see and read.  This communication will result in helping to keep the lodge’s priorities open in a very simple, very clear and very consistent way. Thus it will ensure that the Craft can see, know, and understand the bigger picture to which the branding plan is looking to tackle.

Don’t consider it a victory to talk just once and post a poster up.  You need to repeat the priorities over and over and then repeat the lodge’s strategic priorities some more.

Final Thoughts on this topic for now… A brand plan is presented once a year, ‘brand planning’ is continuous!

Specific timings will vary based on lodge officer installations and committee appointments, but planning tends to accompany the financial year that the lodge follows – often January 1st to December 31st. But Grand Lodges generally transition during the mid part of the year to assist the lodges with their transitions in some cases, thus their financial year may or may not vary based on their individual reporting schedule.

With that being said, this means the cycle of brand planning will build through the earlier part of the year with activity reaching a peak at the later part of the year. This can be adjusted for progressive lines and multi-year functioning committees. While the development, writing and presentation of brand strategy and tactics will be concentrated over a two to three month period, the process of developing brand strategy should be a continuous effort of the Masonic Lodge’s Craft.

Once these have been completed and the plan moves to execution, an emphasis should focus on measuring the outputs of tactical campaign execution via regular review of Key Performance Indicators. By doing this, you are allowing for tactical adjustments to be made to close strategy-execution gaps which transpire. Ask your working teams to gather relevant data for actions taken and generate meaningful insights to accurately diagnose the situation of the brand, your local market, and what possible new opportunities and/or challenges need to be addresses.

It is okay to add additional objectives, removing objectives in some cases and considering other factors during the campaign. It is important to always focus on the best way to achieve the brand plan’s objectives.  If you need to get in the deep and look at things in a granular  way, then do so.

Finally, clarity and confidence in the Masonic Lodge’s brand plan is really the goal to aligning the plan consistently and completely across your Blue Lodge’s working teams to drive effective execution and hopefully deliver the results you want.

A typical brand planning cycle

1.  Seek First To Understand Your Masonic Lodge’s Situation
   • Where are we winning/losing?
   • What are the Stakeholder’s behavior trends?
   • What are local community external trends?
   • Determine what key priorities need to be addressed
2. Define and Establish Your Masonic Lodge’s Strategy
   • Create a brand vision
   • Define Your Annual Objectives
   • Target Good Men and other and value propositions
   • Create a Printed List of Strategic Priorities
3. Develop powerful and agreed upon tactics
   • Have the Lodge vote on tactical campaigns that compliment its strategy
   • Align budget requirements
   • Assign responsibilities
4. Align & execute
   • Shared understanding of ‘why’, ‘how’, ‘what’
   • Ensure there is an aligned individual objectives
   • Review and Discuss the Key Performance Indicators in Lodge Meetings
   • Offer recognition items for the volunteers in the Lodge

Brand planning in the Blue Lodge, you and your teams will need to recognize the accelerating nature of their markets. You may need to resist the temptation to throw more and more tactical activities to address a wider range of growing challenges to grow your lodge in the way you have envisioned. Set reasonable goals to achieve and remember to raise expectation of clarity and confidence to the Craft.

Please keep up with the Freemasonry Report

The Freemasonry Report will be writing more articles to help grow the fraternity. The Freemasonry Report hopes this information was helpful to you. If you want more Freemasonry topics to read? Good news, the Freemasonry Report is creating plenty for you to enjoy! I have been spending hours creating this information, so take a moment to read each one!  Or maybe you want to find a lodge in your neck of the woods? More good news, the Freemasonry Report is creating a complete review of each Grand Lodge – it will take time but I wanted you to have this information at your fingertips!  If you want to network with other Freemasons – check out our Facebook Group / Page now!

3 ways to keep your Masonic Lodge from closing its doors

There is no easy Answer to turn around a Blue Lodge that is struggling to maintain enough brothers to keep it’s doors open.  This article is going to attempt to answer some of the popular ways to turnaround your Blue Lodge or a Blue Lodge in your Masonic District.  Please note, this information is a very broad answer to the challenge and it’s always wise to speak with your District Deputy and/or your Grand Lodge to ensure you can take advantage of these ideas without breaking your Grand Lodge’s Masonic Law.

Is your Blue Lodge getting close to closing its doors forever? This is a tough situation for any brother to have to face.  You know your local Blue Lodge is struggling, but you feel powerless to do anything about it.  You need to start with a grassroots movement among the brothers in the lodge to turn it around. Don’t worry, you may be wondering where do I even start?  The Freemasonry Report has a few ways to get your Blue Lodge moving in the right direction, but it will take the dedication of yourself and your brothers to put these ideas in action. Please understand just reading this article is not enough and if you feel like you accomplished something from reading this article – it is simply not going to help you. So take action immediately after reading this article.

So here are the ways the Freemasonry Report promised you at the beginning of this blog article. Follow these steps and you will be able to improve your Masonic Blue Lodge.

First Way to Keep Your Masonic Lodge’s Doors Open. 

Let’s go back to the basics. Be sure you understand your Blue Lodge’s vision as a fraternity.  Unfortunately, you will find that there are a lot of brothers who complain that the fraternity is falling apart and that it needs to be better.  However, a lot of times these lodge brethren don’t have ideas on how they would help change the day to day operations to make it better.  Brothers who complain a lot and don’t offer solutions are part of the problem unfortunately and their minds and/or hearts need to be changed.  So how do you change the hearts and minds of these brothers? It is important to read your lodge’s charter or warrant to determine what goals directly align with the charter.  It is recommended to read the charter or warrant at a meeting for every brother to hear it.  Further, it might be wise to send a letter to every brother in the lodge re-engaging them to remember the purpose of the Blue Lodge.

Remember, if you want to be part of the solution, be sure you understand what needs to be changed. Really look at what your lodge is doing and what it is not doing.   Make a list and share it with the brothers at a lodge meeting.  Begin having the conversation(s), to re-align the lodge with its core purpose and possibly it may take redefining your local lodge’s vision to better align with the new direction (or possibly the original direction set by the Grand Lodge in the charter or warrant).

Please understand, this is not an overnight solution because it requires intense humbleness, critical thinking, possibly a lot of listening, and a high level of communication. The humble brother that takes this first step can really make a big impact in the Blue Lodge.  By taking this action, you are literally changing the morale of the lodge brothers, giving them a new way of looking at things, re-establishing the true goals for the lodge brothers to attain, and striving to make the lodge function properly again.  Since this is not an overnight solution, be prepared to deal with setbacks, feelings of doubt, and of course continuing to do what is needed when others question your zeal.

Second Way to Keep Your Masonic Lodge’s Doors Open. 

Start having private talks with the current leadership of your blue lodge. Why? You need to get on the same page with your lodge’s leadership team to better understand the current state of the fraternity from their eyes. Listen to them and get to understand their perspective of reality. If it sounds like communication is a problem in the lodge, then these private talks will help enlighten you to what they are thinking.  Further, it will not be seen as an attack of their leadership style in front of the entire craft in a regular meeting. So, therefore, they will trust you more and respect your drive to improve the lodge while not publicly attacking them for anything in their control or that may be actually beyond their control as well.

Please be aware, I am a Past Master and I understand that the Worshipful Master is the top leader of the lodge. This brother is in control of everything related to the lodge during his year. With that being said,  it is fair to say that an “Act of God” event does happen from time to time. Also, in some cases, the sitting Worshipful Master has inherited issues from the previous sitting Master’s year. Unfortunately, he can fix the past and simply has to deal with the repercussions of the past events now however he deems is best for the craft.

Back to my original point, if you don’t understand why the executive committee of your lodge is making the decisions they are making – talk to them privately.  As a common courtesy among brothers, you owe it to them to talk to them before you publicly voice your discontent.  During these private talks, you may find out a lot. You may determine they are part of the problem or they have a very similar vision for the future as you do. If you learn that they are part of the problem start digging deeper to really understand why they are doing things they are doing.  Ask questions about where they see the lodge in 10 years, 20 years, or maybe in one year. It is not uncommon to find brothers that are interested in merging with another local lodge as a way to solve all their problems. Ask yourself if merging your blue lodge is a potential solution or not.

In some cases, just starting to privately talk can help identify the barriers that prevent your lodge from improving its overall health.  With that being said getting communication going is a big step to changing the lodge’s current reality.  These talks can build strong possible allies in overcoming those barriers to the lodge’s success in keeping its doors open.  It will enlighten you on what is being planned, not being planned, and what has/hasn’t worked in the past plus why as well. Finally, some lodge leaders may find hope in your efforts and become inspired to see brothers want to fix the health of the Blue Lodge.

Third Way to Keep Your Local Blue Lodge’s Doors Open. 

Even if you are not currently an appointed or elect lodge officer does not mean you can’t be an informal leader. If you still believe that your lodge leadership doesn’t get it or worse yet is simply ignoring the problem entirely. Then you need to take the initiative to improve your local Freemason lodge. Remember, just because you are not in a leadership role doesn’t mean that you can’t lead.  Here are things you can do to improve your fraternity while not being on a lodge officer:

1. Strengthen the brotherhood – The foundation of brotherhood is the strength of the friendships between the brothers.  Work on making your brothers become better friends. Achieve this by asking them to hang out with you.  Get them to want to begin eating more meals together.  This means a lot of work for you – ask brothers to go to the gym and work out with you a few other brothers. Ask them to do a couples date night together. Maybe it is as simple as planning a social card night or bowling night for the brothers.  Never exclude anyone for any reason especially the current lodge officers.  The more time you spend with your brothers, the closer you will become.  This will strengthen the brotherhood and possibly change the direction of the health of your blue lodge all together.
2. Improve your Freemason Blue Lodge’s image – Here are 2 simple steps to effectively do this.
   • The first step in improving your image is to make sure you represent yourself in a way that brings honor to yourself and credit to the fraternity.  Be a role model, a lifelong student, a friend, an ethical business professional, and an active member of your community.  And wear your Square and Compass on a polo shirt, jacket, hat, or ring.  Let everyone know you are proud to be in the Freemasons.
   • The second step is by letting others know how good your Blue Lodge actually is.  Never miss an opportunity to brag on your blue lodge with outsiders.  There are good things about your local fraternity – focus and celebrate those things.  Tell your wife/girlfriend, your kids, and your extended family how awesome your social events are.  Tell prospective new members about the great brotherhood events you have.  Tell your boss at work about how being in the fraternity has improved your ethical decision-making abilities.  This type of positive energy is infectious.  If enough brothers take in upon themselves to share how awesome the Masonic Lodge is in their personal lives, it won’t take long before the entire Blue Lodge actually believes it again.
3.  Get active in the Community – Fresh blood does wonders for any blue lodge.  New candidates and the new brothers are excited to start their fraternity experience and have no idea the baggage the Blue Lodge has. Be honest and let them know the challenges then empower them a chance to fix it with or without you.  Focus on the positives, and feed off their energy.  Empower them to improve your local Blue Lodge by getting active in the community.  Here are some ideas to get the brothers engaged as Freemasons in the community
   • 4th of July Parade Participants
   • Halloween Community Event Candy Hander Outers
   • Book Reader in an Elementary School Class
   • Host a Movie Night at the Lodge
   • Give tours of the lodge on weekends to local citizens and/or tourists in your community
   • Setting up and volunteering for the Freemason Table at a community event
   • Awarding Police/Fire/EMT with plaques for excellence in Service at a City/Town Council Meeting
   • Be active on Social Media presenting Freemasonry is alive and well in the community
   • Volunteer for local goodwill projects like – Habitat for Humanity or a Community Food Bank
4. Plan something out of the box – Struggling Masonic Lodges need something awesome to happen to them.  They need to have a success – big or small to brag about. The Craft needs to share the story of this success to the community. They need to tell about the experiences of the success to brag about.  So, be the brother who comes up with an awesome idea and makes it a reality.  Maybe a free Masonic Lodge Pancake Breakfast for the entire community to attend or maybe it is a giving away toys during the holidays to foster kids, whatever you choose to do – make it truly epic.  This will bring your lodge brothers closer together.  Also, it will boost the pride in the Masonic Lodge dramatically because they now have something they can be proud of beyond being raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason in the masonic lodge building.

If you follow these steps, your Blue Lodge may see improvements, but remember it starts with you.  These are subtle things you can do that will have dramatic results on the lodge brothers as well as yourself too. Remember, the underlying theme is to focus on the ‘positives’ by taking the personal initiative to improve your local Freemason Lodge. Okay, I hope these ideas help you and your lodge in the coming year. So I have put a lot of hours into this website and the Freemasonry Report Youtube Channel as well. I hope you explore the Freemasonry Report further to get more ideas and questions answered.

Please keep up with the Freemasonry Report

The Freemasonry Report will be writing more articles to help grow the fraternity. The Freemasonry Report hopes this information was helpful to you. If you want more Freemasonry topics to read? Good news, the Freemasonry Report is creating plenty for you to enjoy! I have been spending hours creating this information, so take a moment to read each one!  Or maybe you want to find a lodge in your neck of the woods? More good news, the Freemasonry Report is creating a complete review of each Grand Lodge – it will take time but I wanted you to have this information at your fingertips!  If you want to network with other Freemasons – check out our Facebook Group / Page now!

5 Ideas to keep Brothers Motivated

In any fraternity, finding ways to keep brothers motivated is tough and this is true for Freemasonry as well. But remember that every brother is a volunteer and you can not stop the heart of a volunteer. So, finding a good volunteer is really important because once a brother finds his passion project(s) in the fraternity – he can be stopped!

Growing the Lodge Brothers to want to be engaged and to volunteer is so valuable to the health of the lodge as well as to in themselves.  The degrees teach so much, but keep in mind that a committed brother is a volunteer which means he is a committed donor to worthy causes, too! Either way, their commitment to your local Blue Lodge is really the key. To keep that commitment alive after a brother completes his degrees, maybe after he has completed serving the lodge as an officer, or maybe once he has been a brother for a few years, the Freemasonry Report has created some tips for keeping your brethren motivated and coming back time after time.

Idea #1 – Say Thanks

Whenever you thank your brothers for any task big or small you are showing honest and genuine appreciation. By showing them how much their work means to you, you are literally cementing a long-term relationship.

As you may already know, there are many different ways to say thank you.

I always recommend to acknowledge them when you see them in person and do it privately. No need to thank them in front of the lodge. It is better to thank them and have a genuine conversation afterward about Freemasonry, the lodge or whatever feels right.  Next, take time to write a handwritten thank-you note to the brother(s) that helped with achieving a major or minor project. Whatever you do, make sure to follow up their volunteerism with some words of gratitude, we all have very busy lives and to have brothers stop them to give their valuable time to the fraternity needs to be appreciated.

Retention of Brothers starts with simple acts of gratitude. Retaining a brother over the long term is a good way to build him up to maybe make an impact on the fraternity you never dreamed of.  By saying thank you, you’ll gain loyal supporters if you have intentions of sitting in the East or not, it makes a difference in your Blue Lodge over the long run.

Idea #2 – Build a Community

Invite your brothers to join your lodge’s online community!  Over the years, Yahoo Groups, Facebook Groups, and numerous others are ways to get information out and keep the conversation going.  So, set up a Facebook Group – it’s free! Invite them to join the group and get to know them better. Make them feel welcome and yes, I did this during my year in the East by sharing pictures and gif files to make them feel welcome. Remember, not every brother is computer savvy, so reach out to him and chat about the importance of the group. A neglected brother won’t come back, but today’s online social connections will keep brothers tied to your Blue Lodge and your local goals.

Maybe, the online avenue is not for your lodge. Okay, what about ‘Food’? Did you know, food is always a great option for getting your lodge brothers together? It is true!  So, organize a fellowship social time for your brothers. And no, the lodge’s monthly dinner does not count.

Seriously, how hard is it to go to a coffee shop or restaurant and just hang out together? Have a bite to eat before everyone gets to talking or working on any Blue Lodge business. While you’re sharing a meal, you can get to know one another and ask for feedback in person from a brother. Did, you know, when I was Worshipful Master, I would invite brothers to eat pizza with me. We would talk and they ask me questions about the fraternity. These pizza conversations set up a future line of leaders and it went a long way to share the importance of reading the Grand Lodge’s Digest. If you’re looking for a new way to feed a big crowd, well reserve a 20 or 30 person table and eat a lot of pizza. Maybe, if you want, build a dinner night out into the lodge’s budget and give everyone a free dinner.

It is important to build a community of brothers in your lodge.  A good community of brothers that fellowship often keeps the spirit of the fraternity alive after the lodge meeting ends.  So, encourage brothers to hang out and explore places to grab a bite to eat.  Last thought on this idea, my brothers help the VFW raise money by going out together and eating steak once a month.  We have a few brothers that are veterans and numerous more that love steak. By eating together for this important cause, we are engaging with each and growing friendships within the lodge’s brotherhood. Thus, we are establishing a new community of brothers to spend time with. Having numerous communities of brothers to eat with will certainly increase retention.

Idea #3 – Open Door Policy

Open Door Policies are not only for the Human Resources Department, but it also needs to be part of the lodge officer’s ethos. We all know that communication is key, especially with new brothers. Having an open-door policy helps your brothers potentially be able to do their best work and feel comfortable asking questions. When a brother asked me a question as an officer of the lodge, it was a great moment because I could build a trusting relationship that could withstand the test of time.  I know, I know it’s not often. But anytime you want to just tell the lodge anyone is welcome to ask any lodge officer a question at any time about anything.

This type of open-door communication allows brothers to get the conversation started. By allowing them to chance to speak whenever they wish about anything they wish creates trust and bonds. I tried to remember that my time in the chairs was so limited.  It was critical for me to help establish communication channels wherever possible.

Did I have control over every conversation? No, yet in a matter of time my control would be gone anyways but the brothers who had the conversations would not be. I wanted them to communicate with each other before and after they did something together. I  just openly allowed them to do so. It was such a quick statement in the first lodge meeting and officer meeting not many probably even recall it being said. It did add a few extra emails, text messages, phone calls, and online chat to my plate, but it did help things run smoothly once the door was open.  Unfortunately, I did have surprises in my years of being a lodge leader. So, no idea is perfect but when you combine some of these together maybe you can get close.

This is useful for recruiting brothers to help at special events.  You can introduce the new brothers to the lodge committee chairs for the special events. Openly state, “Anyone at any time can ask questions about anything pertaining to the committee work.”  When you’re ready to get started, explain their task of each committee in detail, and times /dates they are meeting plus any other useful information that is necessary. Then, ask the new brothers to volunteer for something. Stick around for the entire meeting to be present for questions that might come up, and make yourself available if any other issues arise, but also invite the committee chair to take over the question/conversation for you. Don’t be afraid to give your brothers a challenging job either! It might take some extra time on the front end, but giving them significant work will make them want to come back again.

Idea #4 – Respect Their Time

A brother’s time is so valuable. The cable-tow is a great example of that truth.  I recommend that you don’t invite a brother to do something until you have something for them to do. Just asking a brother to help out is cool, but if there is nothing to do, they will it is the case and they will move on to something with substance. Never ask for a brother to volunteer and then just let them sit around. It is a total waste of the brother’s time.  It shows you don’t have a plan and their time is worthless to you. Lastly, it shows the brother that maybe they should spend their time with someone who actually values it. Remember, they’re making themselves available, so take full advantage of their help while they’re available but be certain you have something for them to do.

For ten years, I have been a business owner and time is money to me.  How I use my time equates to how much money I can bring home to support my family. Any volunteer effort that I want to be a part of is my time. I am clearly aware of this, that I am making a clear decision to not make money but to help someone. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that many brothers are employed full time or part-time, so getting time off from their job is something they need to plan way ahead of time for.  Understand and respect this reality as truth.

Well, you might be thinking – “What about retired brothers?”. First, they are not your full-time employees and have worked hard to enjoy their senior years. Vacations and family activities play a big role in their lives. Be considerate and accommodating of their schedules because they might be making up for the lost time during their working years. Always, be upfront and honest about communicating your needs and more importantly what is required if they wish to volunteer to help you out too. Share how long a task will take when it’ll be available to do and not to do. Most importantly, if there is a deadline for when it needs to be done. Providing alternate opportunities is also a great option—it includes your brothers that have tight schedules but still want to give their time.

Idea #5 – Show the Impact

Brothers love to hear and see the impact they made. From making a new Mason to the amount money donated to a worthy cause – this matters!  From collecting money at each lodge meeting for a local charitable cause to the efforts of brothers at a special event.  We need to share this as often as possible.

Remember, every brother (myself included) loves seeing the impact their work has made. You can easily do that by giving them a shout-out on social media, acknowledge them in a newsletter, or ask them to stand up in a lodge meeting. After the meeting, snap a few photos to be shared on the lodge’s website or social media page too.  Try to brainstorm some other ways to spread the brotherly love in your local lodge with the other lodge leaders! Fill the brothers in on your lodge’s goals and let them know how they helped in a personal email, thank you note, or phone call.

You can also recognize the volunteer efforts of your brothers by rewarding them for their effort.  You can encourage your brothers by tracking their volunteer hours on a picture set up in the lodge for their faithful service.

Okay, I hope these ideas help you and your lodge in the coming year. So I have put a lot of hours into this website and the Freemasonry Report Youtube Channel as well. I hope you explore the Freemasonry Report further to get more ideas and questions answered.

Please keep up with the Freemasonry Report

The Freemasonry Report will be writing more articles to help grow the fraternity. The Freemasonry Report hopes this information was helpful to you. If you want more Freemasonry topics to read? Good news, the Freemasonry Report is creating plenty for you to enjoy! I have been spending hours creating this information, so take a moment to read each one!  Or maybe you want to find a lodge in your neck of the woods? More good news, the Freemasonry Report is creating a complete review of each Grand Lodge – it will take time but I wanted you to have this information at your fingertips!  If you want to network with other Freemasons – check out our Facebook Group / Page now!

Does my blue lodge need to have a brand strategy?

Yes, it does. Branding is everything these days and Freemasonry internationally has a great brand.  But, how do we convert it to your local community? What steps do you need to follow to make certain that the area around your lodge is excited, engaged, and inspired by the Freemasons that attend the lodge regularly?

People in your community should know that the men make up your lodge are…what exactly?

This is the million-dollar question Masons are trying to answer. And the answer is not and cannot be so generalized that no one can really feel like that they can relate to you.

First, before you run off and create a brand for your local blue lodge to have. You need to ask yourself – what is the culture in my lodge?

Are the brothers dressed very formal at the meetings or not?  Are the brothers meeting every week for stated communications and practices or not? Are your brothers very interested in fundraising for community programs or not? Are your brothers more interested in social fellowship based activities when the lodge is not open?

Who makes up your lodge? And who doesn’t make up your lodge too?  There are endless questions to define your local lodge experience. In my home lodge, the biggest question was ‘what color tuxedo coat are we going to wear next year? white or black?  This is a simple question but it really digs into understanding so much of the culture of my home lodge. It was formal and very traditional in the way it did things. But, not all lodges are like this, some lodges are much more casual while others are very formal. Are you starting to get the point of building your brand locally?

Developing a Brand Strategy with the Brothers of your Blue Lodge

Developing a brand strategy is a vital step in creating your blue lodge’s identity. Your brand strategy will act as a blueprint when it comes to developing your marketing strategies and tactics. But, Ed aren’t we a secret society, that should work in the shadows and not use marketing materials?  Well, my question to you is, is that what you want to be? Living in the shadows? Is that what your Grand Lodge wants you to do or not?  If you aren’t certain, call up your Grand Secretary and ask him. I think he might be surprised by your genuine concern to do things right and happily answer your question.

Your branding is also the core of your blue lodge and the brothers need to look at the materials in the lodge and approve them.  The same way they would if you were going to repaint the blue lodge. Getting the brothers’ input and feedback is critical to having a localized strategy.  So what if your meeting runs long, isn’t it better to build up a healthy lodge?

These branding material come from the talks of your brand strategy conversations – it need to address the goals, vision, results, and ways you like to conduct business.  I think a healthy lodge tells new EA brothers that the stated communication is a business meeting where we pay the bills and decide on things that need to get done to the building.

I personally stress to new brothers that the fraternal experience really starts when you leave the lodge building. My branding strategy for my local lodge is two-fold – you learn to become a better man and you are gaining new friendships.

Becoming a better man starts by taking action on what you learned in the degree outside the lodge in life. Further, the friendships are the bond(s) we form to help each other with taking actionable steps to apply what we learned in the degrees. We hold each other accountable in life and we support one another too.

Getting off my soapbox, having a brand strategy keeps your business functional and consistent. An effective branding process will create a unique identity that differentiates you from the competition. Such as the Moose, the Elk, and so on. Your identity is what will keep brothers coming back or the lack of a local identity will create a revolving door in your blue lodge.

What is the purpose of your brand?

Your brand should be created based on your Masonic Lodge’s personality, image, and core characteristics. The impressions you make, and how others perceive your fraternity in the community will lay the basic framework of your branding.

So, what do you want your brand to do for your blue lodge, and what do you want others to say about your fraternity when you are not in front of them? With a strong brand, you will have more influence on your marketing, and you will be able to build your credibility as a fraternity that matters in the community. This should motivate brothers and local residents to want to engage your lodge to invest in the fraternity by way of community service, community involvement, and asking how to become a member of the lodge.

A big part of your branding is the look of your marketing. Everything from your logo to your color schemes all plays a part in your strategy. With the success of your branding strategy weighing so heavily on the look of your branding, it may be best to turn to a professional. This is a good opportunity to engage a brother in your lodge or Masonic District to step up and help you.  A professional can help tie things together and help design the perfect logo for your lodge that includes the square and compass.  A professional can help with establishing the slogan and assist with the layout that can be used throughout your marketing efforts.

Should my lodge host a branding awareness campaign or not?

No, and yes.  I say ‘no’ because you really need to speak with your Grand Lodge to ensure that they are cool with it.  Now, I say ‘yes’ because simply stated, your lodge’ brand awareness is the degree of a brand’s consciousness in the minds of its target audience in the community. Most charities, do fundraisers and special events to keep their target audience aware of their brands which drives donations, a positive community impact in some way, and new membership as well.

So let’s just say, your Grand Lodge is totally cool with the idea that your local blue lodge wants to make new Masons and build a strong positive foothold in the community.  There are a lot of innovative ways you can quickly increase your lodge’s brand awareness. Please keep in mind, I am sharing this information free of charge and only doing so that you can improve your own fraternal experience. As a Past Master of a Masonic Lodge in Florida, we have done some of these steps but not all of them. Why because I worked hard to get my brothers to buy-in to the ideas. I shared numerous ideas knowing some would be rejected versus only sharing one idea and having a fifty-fifty chance of successfully getting the brothers to buy into the idea.

• Engage the Masons in your lodge that are “influencers” already.  You may have a businessman who knows the players in the community or maybe you have the mayor in your lodge. Talk to them and get them to agree to engage more people in a positive way about the fraternity.
• Ask local small businesses to display your posters about an upcoming event or how you care for those in need in the community.
• Try inviting new ‘influencers’ that you meet into your niche is a great way to increase brand awareness and hopefully drive new candidates into the door. These can be radio station talk show hosts, local club leaders, and TV personalities. Am I saying to make them a Mason on sight – NO! What I am saying is to team up with them to get your word out there.
• Create and use branded packaging. Get a local print shop to make business cards for the lodge officers and brochures for the brothers to help them explain what Freemasonry is doing in and for your local community.
• Get online, build a website, do your SEO research, and share your website on Social Media
• Get as many of the brothers in the lodge to ‘share’ or ‘re-post’ your social media branding with their friends online.
• Get setup on Google Maps as a location and add pictures and content there too
• Maybe run a small Facebook or Google promoting the successes of your fraternity – such as giving a ton of money to the local children’s home or being awarded something as lodge from the Grand Lodge or your local community leaders.

How long should we be doing this?  All year!?!

No, not all year. Again a brand strategy is essentially a plan with a start and end date. So you can review the results and make adjustments for the next time. A good branding campaign should only last for 2 to 3 months. If your brand awareness campaign less than 30 days, you are reducing the likelihood of your target audience seeing and grasping the message you’re sharing. Remember, people don’t live on Facebook, Instagram, and whatever social media platform even if some people tell you that the younger generation does. Nor, do you want to keep a poster up for years because it starts to look faded too.  Keep it a few months and thank people that engage with you at the end. My final thoughts are that you don’t want your brand awareness campaign to go on longer than 45 days because then you’re running into the risk of your messaging becoming stale or played out.

So what Branding Materials should my Blue Lodge use?

1. Business Cards

1. Add your logo
2. Add your tagline
3. Use the back-of the-business card as an appointment card or print something unique and memorable about your blue lodge
4. Hand out a few extra business cards in every correspondence with someone so that they can refer you
5. Create a version of your business card as a sticker for envelopes
6. Add your social media URLs to the card and the social media logos too
7. Include your business card in any outbound invoices, correspondence, and give away bags
8. Have your lodge create a list of referral partners and make sure they have enough business cards to get in their hands
   • These could include relevant businesses, banks, libraries, chamber of commerce offices and so on

2. Letterhead & Envelopes

1. Add your phrase or tag line on the letterhead and the envelope.
2. Make custom letterhead personal letters and/or notes for brothers to use regularly
3. Use your lodge letterhead for printing invoices.
4. Create note cards as letterhead for more informational communication
5. Match your envelopes with your letterhead.
6. Add unusual text on your letterhead and envelopes to make them stand out.
7. Consider larger branded envelopes for presentations.

4. Brochures

1. Of course, match the brochures with your branding design
2. Create a basic brochure but create additional brochures for different age groups of your target audience in your community
3. Add call-to-action information so prospects can order: email, call, visit, or go to your website
4. Include any instructions on how to visit and when to visit your lodge
5. Create an area on the brochure that contains contact info for questions

5. Outdoor Signage

1. If you have an outdoor sign at your blue lodge make sure that it’s in good shape and visible from a distance.
2. If not, have the lodge vote on installing one
3. Keep outdoor signs simple and eye-catching colors
4. Don’t use ALL CAPS for the entire signage and limited your fonts to 2 styles.
5. Define each yard sign’s purpose and stick to it.
6. Consider using door or window decals to clearly display hours of operation.

6. Case Studies

1. Add some on your website
2. Choose examples from ideal local target audience that feature your fraternal benefits
3. Write case studies with a focus on the problem being solved and how your blue lodge solved the problem.
4. Keep your Masonic case studies short and to the point.
5. Use your local speaking style versus canned jargon such as  “ASK1 2B1”
6. Add visuals from your lodge to keep it localized
7. Link to case studies from your content such as your Masonic Blue Lodge officers’ page or about us page or contact us page
8. Rotate your case studies on your lodge’s website home page regularly
9. Pull testimonial quotes from case studies and feature them in your marketing materials and reference the case study is available on your website
10. Create infographics from case studies and post/promote on social media.
11. Create videos from your case studies.

7. Testimonials

1. Use your lodge name and brand name in every testimonial
2. Select those testimonials that speak directly to your targeted predetermined audience
3. Feature relevant testimonials on website pages.
4. Feature testimonials on your Facebook Pages.
5. Take pictures of written testimonials and upload them as images on your “Google My Business” page.

8. Explanation Video

1. Create a 90-second video explaining your local lodge
2. Include a link to your video on your business cards and brochures
3. Share your ‘explanation’ video on social media
4. In the video put yourself in your targeted audience’s shoes. Then, imagine you are the audience

• • What opportunity or solution are you offering?
  • What’s the benefit to your viewer?
  • What action do you want them to take?

9. Flyers

1. Have the lodge agree to create a branded flyer template
2. Print it on quality glossy style paper
3. Design individual flyers for each target audience segment
4. Add testimonials to flyers
5. Create a PDF of your flyer and send links to brothers so they can email it
6. Distribute your flyers to your local small businesses.
7. If you have the time, visit neighborhoods to deliver or leave at the door.
8. Post online on Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin or Pinterest.

10. Postcards

1. Have your lodge agree to create a branded postcard design that complements your brochures, cards, and so on
2. Use postcards as invitations to events.
3. Use testimonials on your postcard.
4. Get new homeowners aware of your lodge by using a targeted mailing list or USPS EveryDoor Direct Mail (EDDM).
5. Distribute postcards to your local businesses.

11. Posters

1. Once again, have your lodge vote on to create posters templates
2. State your message in 5 words or less
3. Highlight your local lodge’s values and mission
4. Feature a Brother of your lodge
5. Feature a testimonial
6. Choose the right location – make it relevant
7. Create posters focused on how you serve the community
8. Remember to put your contact info, lodge address, and website name at the bottom of the poster.
9. Get a highly artistic brother to make the posters

12. T-Shirts

1. Optimize your logo that is easily embroidered or printed on clothing.
2. Select pre-approved clothing styles
3. Agree on the tagline or other branded language on the shirt

13. Promotional Pens, Mugs, Key chains, and more!

1. Spread the visibility of your brand on useful items like mobile phone battery chargers and jump drives
2. Have a collection of branded items when visitors and guests can take home.
3. Have a collection of branded items for special event tables
4. Include your lodge’s website and logo on these items
5. Give out branded promotional products throughout the community such as churches, schools, sports leagues, and other civic clubs too.

Please keep up with the Freemasonry Report

I will be writing more articles to help grow the fraternity and I hope this information was helpful to you. If you want more Freemasonry topics to read? Good news, I am creating plenty for you to enjoy! I have been spending hours creating this information, so take a moment to read each one!  Or maybe you want to find a lodge in your neck of the woods? Good news – I am creating a complete review of each Grand Lodge – it will take time but I wanted you to have this information at your fingertips!  If you want to network with other Freemasons – check out our Facebook Group / Page now!

4 SEO TIPS YOUR FREEMASON LODGE

NEEDS ON IT’S WEBSITE!

Learn the ways you can quickly build or rebuild your Masonic Lodge’s Website.

My goal with this section of the Freemasonry Report is to help brothers make their lodges thrive!  The only way to do that is by sharing tips and tricks that actually matter for creating a healthy Masonic Lodge. Now, be aware, I have been building business brands for over ten years in my entrepreneurial endeavors outside of Freemasonry and I am glad to have the chance to help you now.

This information is totally free to take and use in because I have years of experience helping local Florida Lodges create a community awareness for themselves. Believe it or not, I am often referred to other lodges because I do this as my passion project.

Being a Freemason for many years, I know every dollar counts and I want to make certain if you have spend even a penny it is money well spent.

Here is my SEO Tip that actually works – #1 Use Heading Tags Throughout Your Content

Once again, I am so glad you are reading this ‘SEO tips that actually work’ blog article to improve your Masonic Lodges website or possibly to start building it correctly. While a website’s sitemap is useful for helping search engine crawlers see how your site is organized, it doesn’t help them make sense of the individual content.

Individual content – what is that?  Good question. It is the written text inside your website’s page or blog post.  Generally, it is explaining something relevant to your Masonic pursuits in your local area.  Sometimes, it could be a small passion project that the Worshipful Master has set for the year or maybe it is a local project your lodge has committed to for some special reason.

For that, you’ll need to use heading tags. Okay, Mr. Freemasonry Report Content Creator – Ed Pisani Jr, what is a heading tag exactly?

Great question!  These are formatting options that you can apply to section headings within your lodge’s website pages and posts. Simply stated, a heading breaks up your content to into manageable chunks for the reader and the web crawler to determine how it important to the page’s topic.

If you have a WordPress website building software it is standard with any version. You can see these settings in your WordPress editor, listed as Heading 1, Heading 2, and so on. This can be found under the “Add Media” button, you will see “Paragraph” with an arrow pointing downward. Click on it and you easily find the Heading Tags starting from 1 in large font to 6 in a much smaller font size. Not all website builders come with this – which is unbelievable to think about!

Headings tags – let’s dig deeper to understand why this SEO tip works so well.

Using these headings to structure your content accomplishes two things.

1. It provides a visual benefit, by breaking up your text and making it easier to read. Also, crawlers pay a lot of attention to headings, using them to understand how your content is organized and what it’s about. Okay, you might be wondering, ‘why am I catering to a web crawler?’ It’s actually really easy to explain, a web crawler visits your website on a monthly basis to see what is new about it.
2. While, the web crawlers are going into your website, it determines how you should be found online. Furthermore, it looks at how important your content is the search engines visitors and how high you should rank in a search result. So when creating posts and pages, don’t forget to use the heading options often and consistently.

Another one of my SEO Tips that actually work 

#2 Build Your Content Around Key words, Key phrases, or A Niche Idea

Chances are you’ve encountered the concept of keywords before. It is a really popular talking point in the internet marketing world. But if you are totally new the worldwide web, have no fear, I can help you understand what they are. A Keyword is exactly what it sounds like. It is a word you want to found for. An example would be “Fraternity”; “Freemasons”; and etc. But this really is not good enough.

Why, well a key word is just a word. Alot of people are looking for things online these days in terms of phrases. Such as “Freemasons near me”; “Your City Name Masonic Lodge”;  and so on.   These are short phrases that describe your content’s topic.  It is really important to define what the website’s target is. Is it men?;  Is it Dads or Granddads; or is it young professionals?

But you might choose a niche key phrase to really impact your potential audience. This niche key phrase should dig deeper into who you really want to target on online, here are a few examples to think about “social young professionals fraternity” or “Active Dads that need an evening off from everything” for a blog post that shares simple reading options for beginner readers.

By doing this, you’re predicting that a lot of people will type a related term but your niche key phrase will be shown because it goes into a more intensive web page which Google or Bing thinks their user is looking for. Understanding what a search engine is trying to share is critical and building a website that hits all the check marks helps to show you are the right fraternal organization which should show up when people are looking for this type of post.

4 SEO TIPS THAT ACTUALLY WORK FOR A FREEMASON WEBSITE!

 Choosing a ‘niche key phrase’ for each post or page and using it in various places — such as the title, the headings, and the content itself — is a common way to communicate your topic to search engine crawlers and increase the chances of showing your content in relevant searches. I strongly recommend to if you are using WordPress for your website, download the Yoast Plugin.  Yoast SEO is simply one of the strongest search engine optimization tools and I used it for all my clients. If you are a newbie and don’t have a ton of money to invest in a website – Yoast SEO offers a free version.  But, I highly suggest looking at investing in their premium version if possible. Please note, I am not making any money from Yoast SEO when recommending this plugin, so if your budget is tight – don’t buy it.

2 More Important SEO Tips to remember when building or rebuilding your Lodge’s website…

Keep in mind that these SEO tips will help grow your website’s authority online over time. Generally, overtime is 6 months to 24 months and it is based on the quality of your website overall. So really take time to volunteer to build up the website. Remember great SEO happens overtime not overnight – you can find ways to cut corners or cheat when it comes to SEO but once the Search Engine Bots/Crawlers figure it out – your website and all the work you put into it is toast. Literally, you will be on the front page one day and the 61st page the following day – be careful to do things that would not hurt your lodge’s website.

Search Engine Optimization Tip #1: Change Your ‘Permalink’ Structure

Permalinks are the permanent URLs that point to your site’s individual posts, pages, and other content. This is important because it helps your Masonic Lodge’s website visitors understand why they should visit the page.

Furthermore, it allows them to decide what other pages might be helpful for them while visiting your website. Think about it this way, they’re what people will use to reference and link back to your site.

The permalink URL appearance matters because attracts “the right” visitors to your site. Clear, descriptive links that describe the content available at the permalink. Thus it makes it easier for search engines to make sense of and tend to get a ranking boost. WordPress offers a number of automatic permalink plugins – so take time to really think using WordPress.  If you do move forward with WordPress, there are a number of website ready theme to take advantage of to help speed up getting your lodge’s web presence launched quickly.

Generally, permalinks are based around numbers (such as the Plain and Numeric). Using numbers isn’t the best way to get the attention of anyone or any bot simply because it conveys very little useful information to search engines. Instead, you’re best off with the Post Name (or Custom Name) structure since it communicates clearly what the linked content is about. You can easily change your permalink structure in WordPress by visiting your site’s back end and navigating to Settings > Permalink. Again, that is mainly for WordPress Websites and not the many other website builder programs that may or may not allow you to do this.

SEO Tip #2: Create a ‘Sitemap’ 

Why is a sitemap so important? A sitemap is a list of all the pages and other content on your Masonic Blue Lodge website. It usually is organized into a hierarchy similar to a table of contents in a book. It provides a quick way to see how your site is laid out and what it includes. While these sitemaps were once designed to help users navigate websites.

Today, they have a primary purpose to communicate information to search engine bots (also known as crawlers). The web crawlers or bots will report back their findings on to the search engine to determine your content’s value to the visitor. The less value that can reported back – the lower your search engine ranking.

While the debate rages about if a sitemap actually boosts your ranking on search engines . Most professionals building websites recommend or automatically do this step because ‘why chance it’ – they are interested in hurting your search engine ranking(s). If you are volunteering to do this for your blue lodge and are the official ‘webmaster’ – then just do it.

It’s still a valuable SEO tool most specifically with Google, Bing, and numerous other smaller search engines because they want to have it uploaded to their database to track the website’s updates and changes – Google calls this the ‘Google Search Console’ platform. It enables crawlers to see all of the pages on your site and understand how they relate to one another.

Hopefully by adding a sitemap, you and your local blue lodge are making it easier for search engines to index your site. Therefore, it helps to present relevant content in user searches. Adding a sitemap to WordPress is simple — you can do so with a targeted plugin such as Google XML Sitemaps, or through a comprehensive SEO tool such as Yoast SEO, Math Rank, or Meta SEO. But don’t worry, there are numerous plugins that offer this so select one to find easy to use.

Of course, you want to be smart about the way you use these SEO tips when it comes to your blue lodge. That is why I wanted to write this article and share the benefits it can make for your online presence. For example, it’s best to avoid ‘keyword stuffing’, or forcing your keyword into too many places so that it appears unnatural or spammy. I bet you are getting worried – don’t my brother because Freemasonry is loaded with professionals willing and able to help you out. Just take a moment to look at your lodge’s roster and find a local Mason that can help you if necessary. You never know, he may even get fired up to start attending lodge meetings more if you reach out for help.

Well, I will be writing more articles to help grow the fraternity and I hope this information was helpful to you. If you want more Freemasonry topics to read? Good news, I am creating plenty for you to enjoy! I have been spending hours creating this information, so take a moment to read each one!  Or maybe you want to find a lodge in your neck of the woods? Good news – I am creating a complete review of each Grand Lodge – it will take time but I wanted you to have this information at your fingertips!  If you want to network with other Freemasons – check out our Facebook Group / Page now!

Fundraisers that don’t require frying anything!

Are you tired on Fried Chicken Fundraisers? Here are 20 fundraisers that don’t require frying anything!

I think over the years, decades, darn I say centuries… Freemasons have become interconnected with Fried Chicken Fundraisers. Well my brothers – today is the day it ends!  Yes, I am giving you some fundraising ideas that don’t include deep frying a chicken. Enjoy and share this post if you want and also include this post to your meeting minutes – just keep the meeting going a little longer. (Just kidding.)

But, I want to introduce myself and why you should consider reading this blog article.  First off, I am a Master Mason for over 15 years and Past Master as well. My Masonic experiences include helping with District functions, being a 32nd Degree Mason, also being involved in the Tall Cedars, and I am a York Rite Mason too. Furthermore, my experiences in Freemasonry doesn’t make me “Superman” but it does mean that I have useful knowledge that can help possibly your Masonic Lodge.

Okay so let’s get started.

1. Fashion show

Yup, I just went there – got a local high school or college in the area? Well, hit up the Goodwill and do a fundraiser with them. You buy and supply the clothing for the volunteers models. Auction off the clothing to guests you invite and also the brothers too. This is a great holiday fundraiser or theater group fundraiser. You can donate the clothing to theater groups for costumes purposes and the money raised can go to the local high school or college. It’s a win-win-win!

Don’t have a catwalk? No biggie – just open up an area in the lodge and roll out an old red carpet. Done!

Got some fake fashion jewelry or odd looking couture? You actually don’t need any of that to pull off this fundraiser fashion show. Many times, the school will make certain the student models are ready before the event happens. All you need is floor space, which you have within your local blue lodge.  Maybe you can make some one-of-a-kind fashion show benefit t-shirts for sell and bring in even more money for the school.

You would be surprised how a theater staff members and theater students would be very willing to put themselves out there and be goofy. You’ll be selling tickets, auction fashion styles and selling the t-shirts merchandise in no time.  It’s a lot of work but it’s for the right purpose.

So bring it before the craft for them to vote on at your next stated communication and get the ball rolling.

2. Auction a Handyman or Have a Silent Auction

So, do you have a lot of handy brothers in your local lodge?  Maybe they would be willing to auction themselves as a ‘handyman for a day’ to someone in the community. Many people need things fixed and might be willing to show up to an auction that helps a local youth charity. The Freemasons are one of the premier fundraising go to groups when we want to help local kids programs.  This works great if the ‘handyman’ in question is someone well known or beloved in the community.

Think outside the box on this one. Your Handyman might get dressed up for the auction in his best working clothes and tools to show the bidders his preferred skills. The winner’s choice handyman can help them fix something and also their donation impacts the youth locally too  So get your willing volunteer brothers to get into character to really sell the bidding process.

Also, you can a host a silent auction on the same night too.  Get some auction gift baskets and gift cards from local stores. Get creative with the auction items, make some based on sports and others on other things that people would want to buy.

Have a few hotel getaways too, try to think about experiences instead of things. Perhaps you have a donor willing to grant access to his vacation home for the weekend. Or maybe you have a donor who would cook a home cooked meal for the a few auction winners.  Both are easy and some people really are great cooks and people know they are going to get a great experience out of it.

3. Treasure Hunt

This is a great way to show off all the Masons in the community. Ask your brothers to participate in a town wide treasure hunt fundraiser for the community to get involved in.  Different brothers need to allow visitors to come to their office or storefront looks for treasure hunt clues.

Have a group of places for people to find and get clues at the end of the treasure hunt, have a great big reception at the Masonic Lodge. Spaghetti is easy and salad is always a safe bet too.  Both are inexpensive to purchase. Make a trophy for the winners and a plaque for the group that took the longest too. Appreciate everyone the participates in the fundraiser.

This fundraiser is great for pet rescues, service dog groups, and pet foster groups as the recipients of the money raised.  Half of the population are pet friendly and having a dog walking with a group of participants is a great way for them to see the good the money they are donating are going to.

Your Masonic Lodge can be the go-to for Pet Rescues and other animal programs that need support. And it is good to be seen as the fraternity that speaks up for our four legged buddies.  Who knows maybe a few people that donating will get excited about Freemasonry and recommend a few good men to your local lodge.

4. Balloon Pop Challenge

This idea is inexpensive and family friendly. Sell tickets for people to pop balloons.  Yup, that’s the concept for the fundraiser and it works great for the local sporting teams that need money. You sell tickets and give the money to a little league style program in your community.  These groups always need money for away games or basic supplies like bats and gloves for the kids.

Your Masonic Lodge can host the event at sports field or at your Blue Lodge.  The idea is when you fill the balloons hide prizes inside a select few, and sell the chance to pop a consider number of balloons to event-goers for a chance to “pop for prizes.”  It’s simple as writing the prize on a slip of paper and putting it in the balloon before you blow it up.

Make it fun for everyone – bring a few ear muffins for the little ones that don’t like the popping sound.  Your Masonic Lodge can raise a bunch of money for the sports team and the coaches will be interested in learning more about the fraternity.

5. Open House Fundraiser

Invite the public to tour your charity grounds and see what happens behind the scenes. From showing off your Masonic Aprons to walking people around the lodge room – this is an easy way to show off the fraternity a little.  Give a history of famous masons and how the fraternity has been a positive impact on the local community.  Talk about local business owners and elect officials that have links to your lodge too. Those who buy tickets to the tour feel involved at the ground level.

After the tour, host a cocktail reception and have participants buy their reception goblets prior to the tour. Make certain the goblets are a collectors addition and that are also a wildly inflated price to be donated to your cause. If your Grand Lodge does not allow for alcohol to be served in the lodge, then make it a ‘Designated Driver Celebration’. Where everyone is the Designated Driver and everyone is going to get home safe.  Light refreshments such as cheeses, crackers, and veggies platters are good to offer too.

An open house fundraiser is great for charities that don’t have a physical location or maybe so new that they can’t afford to host a big expensive fundraiser. Trust me it is not hard to find these groups and some actually have hundreds or even thousands of fans wanting to support them too.

6. Pamper-Them festival

How many times have we had a terrible ladies program at an official visit or nothing at all?  What if your Masonic District hosted a pamper-them party for the ladies, the lodges and brothers support their lady to get pampered for a few hours while the official visit is happening. yup, the district brethren are dropping the dollars to pamper their spouses and your district is also making money for a charity at the same time. Bragging rights – so many other districts would not do this.

The Grand Master and his party will be amazed to see your Masonic District is so generous and civic minded too.

Here is what you need to do – get students from the local Massage School and Cosmetology School to donate their time to the fundraiser.  Every lady will receive a massage, roses, fruit juices, tasty chocolates, and a manicure or pedicure (maybe both if the husband drops some extra donation dollars).

Make certain the schools bring the stalls for offering luxury beauty treatments, chair massage, and makeovers.  You can up-sell wellness items and jewelry or clothing from local boutiques.  This is a great way to show off for the Grand Master and I recommend raising money for ‘ local orphans’ because it’s hard to say no to children without parents to raise them.

7. And finally my favorite – the Ugly Sweater Fundraiser

We all have that one horrible sweater hidden in our closet. And I know it’s fun to break out a ‘holiday’ ugly sweater once a year. What if you can turn this awkward fashion statement into a fundraiser?

The concept is pretty easy – you challenge your lodge brothers to wear an ugly sweater all day and take selfies of themselves in town. They need to add hashtags and every selfie is a pledge to donate to the worthy cause selected.  The community will get excited about seeing the odd challenge pop up in their social media feed and get a good chuckle as well.

But, they will also see the well intention-ed purpose behind it. The worthy cause will be put in their minds and give them an idea of how Masons help the world and their community. So, it’s time to put the ugly sweaters to good use and make an awareness fundraiser with it.

Well, I will be writing more articles to help grow the fraternity and I hope this information was helpful to you. If you want more Freemasonry topics to read? Good news, I am creating plenty for you to enjoy! I have been spending hours creating this information, so take a moment to read each one!  Or maybe you want to find a lodge in your neck of the woods? Good news – I am creating a complete review of each Grand Lodge – it will take time but I wanted you to have this information at your fingertips!  If you want to network with other Freemasons – check out our Facebook Group / Page now!