Posted by Sarah Hill on Fri, May 17, 2013 @ 08:57 AM
This week MemberClicks is walking through our guide to managing association growth. Each day we'll walk you through a step on the long road to preparing for, managing, and executing some spectacular growth!
Yesterday we talked about growing, changing leadership and how to deal. Today, it's the fun stuff. Events!
How it happens: In order to keep members engaged, you have to do stuff. Also more members mean more connections, more interests, and more personal preferences. Your association may have a team building, fun event at a new restaurant in town or a new venue, or more open-forum brain storming sessions.
What it means: You need a good calendar that you can share with your members and fellow planners/your board can also edit. Your events calendar in your Association Management System could do the job, or you could use a shared calendar online like Google’s calendar feature.
How to deal: If someone suggests a new or different event that would take a little more planning than usual, empower the person who recommended it to pick up some of the slack. If that isn’t possible, open it up to other members as a chance for them to get involved. You can use your AMS’ social community and allow the volunteers to form an event committee and manage the event within the system. You might be surprised at the volunteers and feedback.
Need some help with those events?
Posted by Sarah Hill on Thu, May 16, 2013 @ 09:07 AM
This week MemberClicks is walking through our guide to managing association growth. Each day we'll walk you through a step on the long road to preparing for, managing, and executing some spectacular growth!
Yesterday we talked about growth in events and how that will lead to (and be a result of) more engaged members. Today we're converting those new, engaged members into future association leaders.
Third stop: Growth in leadership
How it happens: More, engaged members usher in the next generation of association leaders, who will take over through normal leadership and board turnover. As non-leadership members step up to help plan and lead events, the natural leaders will emerge and with some encouragement, will step up.
What it means: It could be a changing of the guard, and that could be a great thing. It could also mean just a larger board for now, and eventual, normal turnover in leadership positions.
How to deal: Embrace the emerging leaders. Take on the role of a mentor and share ideas. Also be sure to future-proof your association by establishing a plan for normal leadership turnover. That includes training and troubleshooting for your AMS.
Ready to start embracing some emerging leaders?
Posted by Sarah Hill on Wed, May 15, 2013 @ 07:16 AM
This week MemberClicks is walking through our guide to managing association growth. Each day we'll walk you through a step on the long road to preparing for, managing, and executing some spectacular growth!
Yesterday you heard how to kick off your growth preparations with a good, thorough assessment of your association. Today you're going to get ready for the jump in membership numbers!
Prepare yourself for a stampede of new members! Let's hope they're not ducks, though.
First stop: Growth in members
How it happens: Someone has been knocking it out of the park with outreach by engaging in social media, planning awesome events, or working crowds at networking events.
What it means: Meetings will have larger attendance. Communication will go up: you will be receiving and sending more E-mails, answering and making more phone calls, engaging in more social media, and planning more meetings, and different types of meetings at that.
How to deal: Chances are you’ll need a sharper organization system. You’ll need to have a system in place to keep track of E-mails, dues, and the upcoming, more-frequent events. That means you need an Association Management System, like MemberClicks.
Download our guide to selecting an AMS, and give us a call when you’re ready!
Posted by Sarah Hill on Tue, May 14, 2013 @ 08:29 AM
This week MemberClicks is walking through our guide to managing association growth. Each day we'll walk you through a step on the long road to preparing for, managing, and executing some spectacular growth!
Start: Your Association
Today we're starting with your association. You may be primed for growth and a spike in membership, leadership, and activity, but the first thing you need to do is go Belding-style and assess the situation.
Take stock of your association. How many members do you have? Okay, now how many ACTIVE members do you have? That’s an important distinction. Financially, members are members, but from a leadership point of view the active members are worth double inactive members.
Now look at your board and fellow staff members. Is there room for growth? What kind of growth does your association need? Paid or unpaid?
What about existing communication systems, facilities, budgeting, and other staffing matters? How should those essential items change? How can you afford for them to change, and who would handle those changes?
These are important things to keep in mind when preparing for growth, and really shouldn’t your association always be shooting for and preparing for growth? Before you spin the wheel in this metaphorical game, make sure you are equipped to play.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's installment of managing association growth: Growth in Events!
Posted by Sarah Hill on Mon, May 13, 2013 @ 10:09 AM
Your association’s name is so much more than a business card. Many of you already are in, and are leading, established associations with titles that are years, sometimes decades, old. This blog is still for you. You never know when your association will go through a rebranding, which could go a long way in upping membership numbers (standby for a blog about that in the future.)
So here are some things to consider when naming your association!
Location, location, location.
Many associations choose to include their region as part of their association title, and this is particularly true for chapters that are off-shoots from a larger, national group. For example, are you a member of the Oregon Mung Bean Growers Alliance, a state group representing the National Mung Bean Growers Alliance?
Even if you aren’t a state or local chapter, perhaps a large part of your association’s mission focuses on your geographic area. Neighborhood watches, for example, are established to protect the safety of one specific area. The Conservation Effort to Protect Virginia’s Swamps cares about and sympathizes for Louisiana’s swamps, I’m sure, but the main focus and mission is Virginia’s swamps.
But one thing to consider: would including a region in your title ever inhibit you? Would it limit your membership or exclude some interested parties? What about expanding one day?
Alliance, association, circle, council, federation, foundation, fraternity, institute, league, society, group, club and all of those other thesaurus words.
Really, there’s a million words for an assembly (there’s another one) of people with something in common, which basically defines “association.” What defines your group? Keep in mind gender assumptions, too. Even though “fraternity” could technically refer to a group of women as well, would people assume you mean a group of men?
How do you describe yourself?
Bee keepers. Bee nurturers. Apiculture Enthusiast. Honey and wax cultivator. How would your members describe themselves, and how would you describe your association’s members to the rest of the world? This is a BIG decision, because it essentially gives your members an identity. “I am a bee keeper, therefore I belong to the Bee Keepers Society of North Podunk” says one thing, and “I am a Apiculture Enthusiast, therefore I am a member of the Apiculture Appreciation Federation” says the same thing, but SOUNDS different.
Watch the acronym!
Remember that the association world is a bowl of Alphabits. If you are the American Society of Specialized Egg Specialists (I know, it’s repetitive, bear with me for the example) you might want to think about reordering your acronym. Think about it.
Although you might not be at a point where your association is considering a rebranding or a name change, this is always great information to keep on the back burner of your brain. Offshoots, rebranding, and new associations pop up all the time! Good luck designing that letterhead!
Posted by Sarah Hill on Fri, May 10, 2013 @ 09:53 AM
Marketing can be a confusing concept, but it is absolutely essential to small staff associations. We're hoping these blogs can help clear things up, and help you get the ball rolling on your association's marketing strategy!
http://www.membershipmarketing.blogspot.com
Note: This whole blog is a good find for association marketing, but here’s a particularly good quote from Tony Rossell about direct mail marketing and why it shouldn’t be abandoned as a marketing tool.
“In my experience, direct mail remains an effective and scalable channel to help organizations get and keep members. Used properly, it is highly targetable, track able, and affordable. If it is not in your marketing portfolio of tools, it probably should be given a try.”
Results indicate that Membership Associations Who Performed Member Research in 2012 Had Higher Acquisition and Renewal Rates by Erik Schonher
“This year we learned that 65% of membership associations that introduced member research in 2012 saw an increase in new members. 59% saw an increase in membership and 45% realized an increase in renewals.”
10 Big Ideas for Marketing Your Association Meetings by Dave Kovalski
“Good marketing does three things… inform, reassure, and inspire. To inform is to let potential attendees know the conference is happening. To reassure is to provide content descriptions and other details about the conference. To inspire is … tricky.”
Do You Budget for Membership Marketing based on the Cost of the Seeds or on the Expected Harvest? By Tony Rossell
“…The correct question should not be how much you are allowed to spend, but how much you can generate in revenue for the organization. In other words, base budgets on the harvest, not on the cost of the seeds.”
Slideshare presentation: Email Marketing Strategy for Associations by Lori Ely for Informz
“Use all of the channels available to you to create awareness and extend the reach of your messages. Use each channel to enhance and compliment each other.”
Posted by Sarah Hill on Thu, May 09, 2013 @ 10:31 AM
Your association management system makes your life as an association executive easier. You should be able to tell that from the second your implementation process starts: easier event planning, membership management, an enhanced social community among members, smoother billing and dues renewal, and increased communication just to name a few. But have you considered how all of those advantages are making you look as a leader?
There’s no question: your selection, implementation, and continued used of an AMS was likely a good decision that was necessary for yourself and your members. Think about it: YOU ARE AN ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP ROCK STAR! Here's why:
One stop shop
Your members have only one place to go for communication, collaboration, and information. Can you imagine how difficult it would be if they had to check multiple E-mails (assuming they were saved) just to find out information about a meeting or event?
Master of organization
Calendars are hard to manage for one person, not to mention hundreds or thousands of people, several committees and an executive board. For you to be the head of a shared calendar that is centrally located that everyone can see and contribute to… that just makes you a calendar general. Go you!
Billing like a pro
Dues renewal can be a pain on both ends of the process. It’s easy to forget about! How is a member who may not be quite as engaged supposed to remember when they signed up last year? Your function in sending reminders, invoices, or simply making the renewal process easier is not only good for the health and budget of your association, but is great for your members as well.
Create a creative space
It’s easy to brainstorm and work together when creative minds are face-to-face, but that’s just not convenient. Your members have jobs, families, and lives that usually dictate that they can’t just take time away to get together with association colleagues and come up with great ideas for a few hours. By hooking your association up with an AMS, you are giving your members space to collaborate online, from the convenience of their office or home.
In the know
One of the best ways to be a respected, authentic leader is to know your followers. An Association Management System is a great way to establish those relationships. After an event, you have contact information at your fingertips to reach out, say hello, and solidify that connection.
Getting your AMS was a good move for invoicing, social community, membership management, event planning, and membership engagement. But have you taken a moment to recognize yourself as the awesome leader that put all of that convenience into place? We applaud you!
Posted by Sarah Hill on Wed, May 08, 2013 @ 11:47 AM
It’s easy for an association to see social media “groups” as competition. In new member recruitment, for example, potential new members can (and often do) use the excuse that they get plenty of networking and interaction with various online social communities.
First of all, there are so many ways to answer that statement. It’s absolutely true that since its creation, the Internet is a very powerful tool for interaction, both personal and professional. But your association offers a deeper kind of connection. Online communication can certainly result in close connection, but an association facilitates hand shaking, eye contact, collaboration, and personal and professional development. And probably quicker than what would go down online.
But secondly, that potential member has a good point. So the bigger question is, “Why aren’t you using online social communities to promote your association?” Potential members, meaning qualified people who share genuine interests with your association and who will spend their spare time engaging in such topics. Make a profile for your association and join the conversation on social media!
Don’t see any groups out there? No LinkedIn groups, no Facebook groups, no Google+ communities? Make one!
Also consider Meetup groups. Don’t necessarily create a meetup group, but if you see a group already out there that syncs up with your association’s mission and whose events seem similar to your own, reach out! E-mail the planners and recommend an event your association is putting on, offer yourself or another expert in your association as a speaker or collaborator, or offer reduced membership fees.
The point is that your association and online communities shouldn’t compete for attention. They should be working together!
Posted by Sarah Hill on Tue, May 07, 2013 @ 09:58 AM
Your association has a mission. In fact, it was probably established before your association was officially formed. It’s upon the principles of your mission that your association was founded, and any new members or involvement with your industry/rest of the world comes from that mission. An association executive could even say that his or her association's mission is a “brand story.”
It’s was with that in mind when I took interest of Katya’s Nonprofit Marketing Blog titled “The Good and Bad of Brand Storytelling.”
In her blog, Katya says,
Bad brand storytelling is:
1. Simply stating a vision or mission statement
2. Spewing jargon that describes what you do - rather than why it matters to someone else
3. Not interesting
She has a point. When I worked in news, I was encouraged to find the heart of the story. Find the people, find the emotion, find that quote or element of the story that resonates with heartstrings.
Here's an example: instead of, “We are the Society of Amateur Botanists, brought together to collaborate on growing techniques, share ideas, and exchange plants.” Try, “The Society of Amateur Botanists strives to bring beauty to the global community, one blossom at a time.”
Think about it. True, the members of the Society of Amateur Botanists share ideas, techniques, and plants, but not everyone would be interested in that. What people are interested in is a beautiful community. Flowers and plants beautify, and amateur botanists can make that happen.
Kayta goes on to show a spectacular example of brand storytelling using an ad from Google Chrome. It’s a tear-jerker, so beware.
The question that I (and Katya) want to leave you with is this: what is your association’s brand, and how can you tell a story that people will want to read?
Posted by Sarah Hill on Mon, May 06, 2013 @ 09:38 AM
Every once in awhile, Clickers shut down their computers, call their spouses, boyfriends, and girlfriends and friends and gather to enjoy each other's company outside of the office. This May, we ate, drank, and gamed at one of Atlanta's newest "barcades" Game-X.
Check out the pictures!
Clickers love to have fun and relax, and happy, relaxed Clickers provide the most refreshing Association Management Software experience out there!