The final place I inquired was the local tourism and business development council. This is just one more place to double check for any mention of a club, or if anyone else has inquired about starting or wanting to join a photography club.

Generating interest
Once you've exhausted all your options of inquiry, your next step is generating interest to see if it would be worth starting a club. There's no point creating a club of one member. But if you can find at least four or five other people with an interest in joining a club, you've got a good start.

The best way to do this is to hold a Club Information Night. Put up some posters and advertisements around town to invite potential members to an information night. Make sure you've included the specifics on date, time, and location. Also include your own contact information like name, phone number, and email so that if someone is interested but can't make the meeting they have a way of letting you know or asking more questions.

Go back to the places you originally inquired to see if you can put up a poster or bulletin. The photo shop will likely let you hang something in their window, and if you're really lucky, they might tell customers about it.

When I went back to the Arts Council to inquire about hanging a poster on the bulletin board of the Art Gallery I got a big break. If a club forms and wants to become part of the Arts Council (for a very low fee) then we could use the meeting room in the Art Gallery free of charge for whatever nights we chose to meet.

Often I've noticed that many Photography Clubs meet in an Arts building, so this can be very convenient. Not only is it a free meeting room, but it's in a well-located public place. I was able to create posters and notices with instructions that the information meeting would be held at the Art Gallery.

You could also put an announcement in the local newspapers with the same information, so that a wider audience will be able to see it, rather than just the few that might notice the posters around town.

Prepare for the meeting
You'll want to do some preparation ahead of time for the informational meeting. Because you're the main contact for the photography club, when people show up, they'll expect you to have some ideas. Discuss your vision and purpose for wanting a photography club in town. Have questions prepared to ask what others want or hope to find in a club.

I made up small questionnaire sheets for people to fill out with their contact information. On it, I asked questions like "Have you ever been part of a club before?" "What do you hope to get out of a photography club?" and general questions like whether they would like to go on club outings, whether or not they would like to share and critique photos, and what level of photographer they would classify themselves as. Make sure you bring enough pens for everyone.

Also, be prepared to ask questions about how often the group would like to meet, what time and days suit the majority best, and what level of formality they would like the group to be. Some groups have full executive boards with a club president, and choose to vote on all their decisions. Others choose to remain more informal.