The Joy of Membership Blog
Our Blog Has Moved!
The Joy of Membership Podcast just published Episode #52, which means we’ve spanned an entire calendar year. Over this past year, I hope you’ve enjoyed meeting the guests and membership leaders who have shared how they channel their commitment into being truly helpful for their members, their industries, and the causes that they care about.
It’s a Milestone Moment for The Joy of Membership Podcast
The Joy of Membership Podcast just published Episode #52, which means we’ve spanned an entire calendar year. Over this past year, I hope you’ve enjoyed meeting the guests and membership leaders who have shared how they channel their commitment into being truly helpful for their members, their industries, and the causes that they care about.
Using Content to Build Value Anticipation for Members
Thinking about content that leads people into membership brings up the question of WHY people buy a product or (in our case) join a membership.
I can sum it up in TWO words: VALUE ANTICIPATION. Prospective members have to believe that something will happen as a result of their participation.
Yet creating that sense of anticipation can be challenging.
Read this blog for some suggestions on how your content can create that value anticipation!
Using Personalized Videos to Boost Connection with Members
Video seems to be the current top-dog when it comes to digital content. I love the impact of using video with my customers, including creating a personal connection and increasing member engagement. Although I've never met many of the people who go through my programs, I've noticed the impact that simple video messages have on increased two-way communication and follow through!
When Members Do THIS, Can I Automatically Do THAT?
Every membership organization – large or small, staffed or volunteer-run, with any industry focus – has some kind of wish list for things they’d love to do automatically…if only it were possible.
In many cases, JourneyCARE can make a lot of those wishes come true. Take a read to learn about *some* of the automated processes your organization can benefit from with JourneyCARE.
Do You Have to Sell Members Something They Don’t Want?
Have you ever stepped back from a situation and realized, after some outside perspective, that you may have been standing in the way of an awesome service or project for your members? Last week's podcast episode had me reflecting on the ways that it may be part of our role as membership leaders to deliver that outside perspective to our members. The challenge? Framing that perspective in a way that still attracts and captivates our audience.
Flexibility: One Key to Success in Membership
After a particularly windy day, parks and yards are often littered with twigs and branches that have snapped off of trees. They weren't strong enough or flexible enough to survive the pressure these winds placed on them.
The same thing can happen within your organization or association: without flexibility and the willingness to adapt, you may find yourself lying in the yard instead of thriving on the tree.
The Race for Relevance Revisited
When was the last time you asked yourself, “What do our members need from us, right now, in this exact moment in time?”
If it's been awhile, you may find your organization falling behind in the race toward relevance.
Membership Organizations as Amplifiers
Many of your members may already have robust marketing departments. They might not need their trade association to replicate those efforts, but instead to AMPLIFY those efforts.
Are Your Members Creating Value – or Just Consuming Value?
In my work, I often see that organizations have inadvertently created a culture of value consumption vs. value contribution.
But it's important for members to FEEL valued as well as receive it.
Read the blog for suggestions on how you can encourage member-contributed value.
Why is Creating Change in Membership Organization so Difficult?
Change, regardless of the circumstance, is challenging for several reasons. Your organization (and your members) faces these same challenges, and it's our responsibility to help guide our communities toward change for the better.
Taking the Worry Out of Selling (to Members, Donors, or Sponsors)
There are some things that can happen in a sales conversation that will either attract people toward you or repel them away and the same holds true for the entirety of the member experience.
There are plenty of things you can do that will either attract members, donors, or sponsors toward you or repel them away.
Try Personalization to Make Membership Building Easier
Often, membership-based organizations have very different people who enter as members.
So, how do you make a membership feel completely appropriate at an individual level in situations where you have such varied interests in your organization’s work? This is a common challenge for many organizations.
The Importance of Direct Mail in Nonprofit Fundraising
Direct mail is one of the most successful methods of fundraising for nonprofit organizations in the United States to date, especially if you want to directly pursue your members. Which, as you know, having supporters is an important part of fundraising.
A Double-Dose of Difference-Making
Have you stopped lately to celebrate the difference that YOU are making in the world? It’s so easy to get caught up in doing the work and in battling the challenges that come along with membership that we often forget to pause and remember how special the work is that we do every day.
Attracting Engagement vs. Being Engaged
We are clearly an industry that is hungry for engagement. We recognize the importance. We recruit countless positions around it.
And yet, many organizations still struggle to grow. They struggle to understand what their audience wants and how to deliver it.
Using Data to Inform Your Membership Decisions
Both quantitative and qualitative data play a role in understanding what members need from your organization, but it’s often the qualitative feedback that interjects the human element of member services and engagement.
Along with studying the data, you must also LISTEN to your members to make the best decisions regarding your membership!
Creating a Safe Space for Members to Share
Imagine what a powerful thing it would be to create an inclusive experience for members.
We could all benefit from infusing our member experiences with a little more listening, a little more alignment and a little more compassion.
Serving the Perfect Slice of Cake to Members
Do you ever feel like your organization seems a bit…uneven? Sometimes when we focus a bit too much on certain aspects of our membership, we neglect others.
The key to all things in life, including membership, is balance. Check out my advice on serving up the perfect member experience to your audience.
Timing Is Everything In Member Experience
In reflecting upon one of my previous podcast episodes, I found myself reflecting on how my guest, Brian Fried, is able to attract so many like-minded people to his club.
By paying particular attention to the wants and needs of his audience, he has been able to capture a foundational component of generating membership.
This is What Happens When You Truly Understand Your Members
In reflecting upon one of my previous podcast episodes, I found myself reflecting on how my guest, Brian Fried, is able to attract so many like-minded people to his club.
By paying particular attention to the wants and needs of his audience, he has been able to capture a foundational component of generating membership.
Finding the Right Words to Sell Your Membership
One of the things that can make membership challenging to “sell” is the fact that you literally have to sell it over-and-over-and over, every time someone renews – unlike when someone makes a one-time purchase. That’s why the words that we use to describe what we’re providing to members are so very important.
Sometimes All You Need is a Great Analogy
I love a great analogy. Sometimes simply giving the brain enough of a split away from the usual way of thinking about a topic is enough to spark a break-through idea.
Jess Cooper's analogy of an organization being like the human body was exactly the same thing for me.
Dreaming About What's Possible for Your Membership
If your organization fails to change while the entire world changes around you, it won’t be long before members will legitimately find you to be “out-of-touch” or, even worse “irrelevant” which is the last thing that you want to be.
Membership Isn’t About You (Oh, but it IS!)
While a membership-based organization should strive to satisfy its members, if the person or people running the membership are struggling to keep things aligned, it may be time for a look at the who and what of the membership!
“Membership can either define you or just make you crazy.”
Running a membership-based organization is more work than many people outside the industry can image. With a membership-based organization, repeat customers ARE the business. The digital marketing your organization engages in can play a role in keeping the association’s existence and activities front-and-center where people are naturally hanging out.
Do You Use Digital Marketing Tools to Find Members?
Chances are good that your organization is using digital marketing tools, but you may not even think of it in that context. If you’re producing content that you put online, sending out emails, posting on social media, etc., you are actively engaging in digital marketing.
And if you’re going to be investing your time into producing digital content, why wouldn’t you want to get it in front of as many people as possible who might have an interest in seeing it?
Podcasting as Part of the Member Journey
Last week's podcast episode marked my 6-month podcasting milestone! Podcasts have exploded in popularity, and with the insane number of podcasts that have aired in just two years, it's tempting to jump head-first into a new content platform.
Take a read on how (and if) podcasts can be beneficial to your organization at different points in the member experience.
That’s a Wrap on the Board Development Series (Part 3)
This week's Joy of Membership Podcast episode is the final in a 3-part collaborative series on board development with Sean Kosofsky, the “NonProfit Fixer.” In the episode, we hear from two more of Sean's clients on how their intention with developing a strong board has paid off in their organization. Read about this week's guests and then go take a listen to the series if you haven't already!
Membership Leaders Share About Board Development (Part 2)
We’re in the middle of my 3-part series about Board Development featuring Sean Kosofsky, “The Nonprofit Fixer.” Last week on the podcast, I had the chance to chat with two of Sean’s clients and hear about their experiences with developing a well-balanced and effective group of board members for their organizations. Read about these two podcast guests and then head over and take a listen!