Your association’s website is a 24/7 digital ambassador. It’s your members’ very first impression, it’s a guide, and also your primary gateway to engagement. Its importance cannot be overstressed. But too often, association websites are structured based on internal department silos rather than how members actually think and search. The result? Confusion. Missed opportunities. And…
Michael Bay’s filmography on Rotten Tomatoes is a long list of movies categorized as rotten by both critics and audiences. If you’ve watched one of his movies, you’ll quickly realize that he substitutes spectacular visual effects for plot or character development. The thirty-second trailer looks amazing, but the movie length barrage of explosions and one-liners…
“I don’t think it’s any mystery why people join,” Matt said. Then he began ticking off reasons with his finger, “They join to improve their business network, make friends, see the speakers for Tuesday lunches, and engage in service.” I had just proposed that our Rotary Club membership committee gather data on our members to…
Most organizations we work with want their website to be intuitive and easy-to-use, but how do you actually accomplish that in a design? There are two strategies to make a tool intuitive: Match experience Remove choices Match Experience Imagine that you bought a new car and when you went to drive it off the lot…
I have a friend, Mike, who is a part-time lawyer and part-time university professor. He loves teaching and he has often told me he would happily stop “lawyering” and teach full- time if he could. “Why don’t you?” I asked him the first time he mentioned this. “Because I have a JD (jurors doctorate) and…
This Halloween, I’m heading down to New Orleans for a vampire themed costume ball. While I was doing research on where I might go and what I might attend, I realized that I could use ChatGPT to help. I quickly generated information on exactly what I was looking for. This poses a problem for many…
There’s a famous mansion in San Jose, California called the Winchester Mystery House. The legend is that Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester Rifles fortune, was haunted by the ghosts of people killed by the rifles. She saw a psychic who told her that she had to build a house for the ghosts and she…
“Join for networking,” is a clause I’ve found at the top of many associations’ membership offers. It’s an interesting benefit to focus on, because I’ve never met someone who actually likes networking. It’s sort of like saying to a potential member, “Come to a party where you don’t know anyone.” So why is networking highlighted?…
Yesterday, I joined a meeting on membership and marketing with CalSAE. The facilitator posed a question to the group asking how people were using video like TikTok to reach potential members. No one had a successful strategy. One of the executives on the call insinuated that it was a distraction. “Members join for a reason….
What belongs on an association website’s homepage? It’s the most important page on your site because it’s the most visited page. The challenge is determining what you should say, how much information you should provide, and what the order that information should be displayed in. It’s Tetris for experience design. Your organization is unique and…