4 Ways to Fill your Newsletter with Content

It’s important to provide your members with content on the regular. They are reminded of their membership and feel like they are getting something useful out of it even when they aren’t attending events. One way to provide that is through newsletters, however, you might find yourself scrambling for something to include each month. Below you can find a list of newsletter content ideas that should spark your creative side!

• Blogs or articles- If your association already has blogs being written and maintained on the website, reuse that material. Put a short blurb, photo, and link back to the original blog. This will draw people to your website as well. If you do not have your own blogs, find stuff on other sites related to your industry and share it with your members. This will keep them in the know and will be appreciated.

• Throwbacks- If you have a box of old photos from past events or a scanned copy of the very first convention program, share it with your members in the newsletter! It can be fun to take a look down memory lane and adds something visually appealing to the newsletter.

• Board Spotlight- Do an interview with a member of the board each month and highlight that in the newsletter. This allows the membership to get to know the board better and gives the board the recognition they deserve.

• Updates- You also want to make sure your newsletter has some meat to it as well. Make sure to share any updates with organization, upcoming events, and any changes with leadership. This is the stuff they will primarily be looking for in the newsletter.

Make the newsletter something your members will not only skim through, but actually enjoy reading by adding some of these ideas to future months!

Grow your Young Professional Membership

Do you ever take a look around at your membership and notice that the group is full of seasoned professionals that are inching closer and closer to retirement? If so, it might be time to start targeting a younger crowd that can stay in the association for years to come. Obtaining young professionals as members, however, can be tricky. The millennial generation is known for wanting experiences rather than material items. That means you truly have to give them an experience and offers they cannot receive elsewhere. Luckily, a new group of college graduates enters the work force every year so you have a new group to target each year.

Reach. In order to convince young professionals to join your organization, you need to reach them where they are. Set up a booth at their college fair, contact the leader of a club that is related to your association, get online. Students at a fair are always looking to get involved in something and students in a club are already involved. These are the perfect types of people to bring in to the association. They are open and willing to learn about something that is more of an extra-curricular. Reaching millennials on social media is also always a good move. When doing this, however, make sure to be relatable and provide useful content. You can’t just have social media and expect someone in a younger generation to follow it.

Membership levels. Students coming out of college are often drowning in their student loans. The last thing they will want to do is put more money into getting a leg up in their career. Some options would be to offer a free membership to students or a free or discounted first year of membership. Offering free membership to students, allows them to get involved in the association early and understand the value the organization holds. They are then more likely to continue paying for their membership after their time in college. If you want to ensure that you hold onto them during that transition period, the free or discounted first year will most likely keep them hooked.

Benefits. When trying to attract a younger crowd, make sure to stress the benefits. Networking is a huge benefit to post grads. They are looking to make connections in the industry and often struggle with finding a place to do that. These connections are great but there is also a chance that they will find real friends among the members. This can also be an incentive to join. Push the people aspect of the association and any other benefits that would specifically apply to someone just entering the work force.

If you make these adjustments and understand your target audience, your association will be booming with young professionals before you know it!

Recharging your Membership: Your Membership Webinar Review

I started to notice lately that one of the associations that I manage was losing their membership’s interest. Less people were showing up for events, emails were being opened up less and less, and nobody was volunteering for committees. Because of this, I decided to watch Your Membership’s webinar, “Recharging your Membership.”

The webinar focused around an idea that is often applied in personal relationships, but should be applied to professional ones as well, including associations. That idea is that, “People remember NOT WHAT YOU DO, but how you MAKE THEM FEEL.” Due to society’s shift to a more experience-driven value proposition, it is important to think of how your members feel rather than what you are providing them.

People are more emotional, expect things to exceed their expectations, and want things that are intangible. This can be challenging for associations to deliver. Each member is different and might have a different expectation that they are looking for you to exceed. Your members, however, should fall into a similar audience. They all chose to join the association for a reason. That reason is something you should focus on when delivering their experience.

The webinar also covered the fact that a member’s last great experience is now their new expectation. You want to leave a good impression in their mind at the end of each time you have with them. If you are hosting a conference, end with a motivational speaker, a concert or a bag full of goodies. Make them feel appreciated and excited!

The first step in giving your member’s a positive experience, however, starts much earlier and often with technology. Make sure your association’s website is easy to navigate and does not cause them any trouble. If they do not enjoy their experience on the website, they may be less likely to sign up for events or look for information in the future on the site. Ensure that it is clean, easy to read, and aesthetically pleasing. The same goes for any emails that are sent to that member. These are all contact points in which you can leave a good impression.

Shifting your association to be more experience-driven is a necessity in order to maintain a competitive advantage nowadays. Being non-member centric is the biggest threat to your organization. Pull members in and retain them by involving them in the conversation. Create an idea box for members to reach you at, thank them after every interaction and simply make them feel welcomed. This actions can go a long way in membership retention! I am excited to take what I learned and apply it to my own association to help them grow and maintain their members.

Who is Managing your Association?

Associations are typically managed in one of three ways, volunteers, an in-house administrator, or an Association Management Company. With volunteers and in-house administrators, you can run into several issues. Volunteers are treasured in associations and appreciated for the work they put in, however, they do not always have the capacity to put in the type of hours that most associations need to run properly and efficiently. They also might lack the knowledge and skills that can help the association grow rather than just staying afloat. In-house administrators can cost you a pretty penny to keep everything in order. They also have a limit to their skills. One person can only do so much and only has so many skills that can be applied to the association's management. 

Association Management Companies, on the other hand, can provide an assortment of benefits to the association while saving you money. Association Management Companies have a group of talented people whose primary focus is to grow and manage nonprofits. By working with a group or small team, you are provided the skill set of multiple people and professionals. In our office, if someone has a financial question, they turn to Heather. If they have an event planning question, they go to Tammy. This team dynamic is beneficial to clients because it allows them to have someone who is an expert on any association related topic at their fingertips. 

AMCs also allow the volunteers to focus on strategy rather than details. Whether it is newsletters, managing financials, or sorting through the admin inbox, your AMC can handle it! This gives volunteers more time to think about the mission of the organization and ensure the group is staying on track. 

Another benefit of working with an AMC is the buying power they have in the industry. Hotels, for example, know that if they provide excellent service and a good deal for a conference, the AMC will be more likely to consider them for future conferences with other clients. Because of this, your association can get room deals and discounts on other event related services. This benefit can expand past hotels; AMCs have connections with insurance providers, nonprofit attorneys, printing companies, and more! 

Step back and look at how your association is currently running. Do you have volunteers up to their ears in work? Are you paying an in-house administrator for a job a team could do more efficiently? Is your current AMC a good fit? Evaluating how your association is being managed is the first step in improving your association, making members and the board happier. 

The Importance of a Mission Statement

All associations have a mission they are working towards whether they put it in writing or not. The putting it in writing part, however, is more important than you might think. One, having your mission in writing will hold your board accountable to making decisions that directly follow that mission. They will have something to refer back to when guiding the group and determining plans. Two, having a mission, allows potential members to have a better understanding of your association’s purpose. They will be more likely to join if they have a full understanding of the group and stand behind the mission. 

When writing your mission statement, there are a few things you want to keep in mind. Your mission statement should: 

• Be clear and simple. The statement should be easily understood by both those in the organization and those who are not. 

• A full explanation of your association’s purpose. Make sure to cover your basis and explain the entire purpose of the organization in the short statement. 

• Avoid fluff. Do the previous two together without adding fluff words and unnecessary jargon. This will only complicate the statement cause some people to skip over reading it all together. 

• Separate from a vision statement. Understand the difference between a mission statement and a vision statement. A vision statement is a declaration of an organization’s objectives rather than an explanation of what the association already does. 

If your board does not already have a mission statement in the books, get together to create a cohesive idea of what your association’s mission truly is. After that, get to writing!