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No One Joins To Network
“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?…
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Are There Members in TikTok?
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.…
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Risk Sabotages Membership Offers
In behavioral psychology there’s a concept called “loss aversion.” Loss aversion is the tendency we have as humans to prefer avoiding losses over equivalent gains. Of course we all prefer avoiding losses, but loss aversion says that our response to potential losses is more dramatic than to gains. The potential of losing creates more avoidance than…
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Differentiating Membership Offers
“They’re not the only game in town anymore,” a peer recently told me, “I bet they’re having to learn how to compete like most private companies do.” We were discussing associations and the challenges of pitching membership. We live in a time of great abundance. The people that you’d like to become members have more…
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Relevance & Membership Offers
A common marketing mistake that association executives make is that their messages have low relevance to a member or potential member. The messages don’t stick in their minds because it doesn’t connect with their situation. Critically important marketing where this low relevance issue manifests is in your membership offer. Rather than being intrigued by a…
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The Mirror Fallacy
Many associations struggle with communicating the value of membership. The staff know that membership is valuable, but they can’t seem to put it into words in a way that potential members “get it.” This is a symptom of what I call the Mirror Fallacy, where fixating on our perspective impairs our ability to communicate effectively…
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AMCOMP Teardown
In this teardown, we review the website of the American Society of Workers Compensation Professionals and discuss how to make it more effective.
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Genghis Khan, Recessions, and Member Growth
Many historians argue that Genghis Khan changed the world for the better. Under the Khan’s control, all of Asia was united, crime was non-existent, trade flourished, technologies were exchanged, and citizens were able to freely practice whatever religion they wanted. Historians call it the Pax Mongolica- the Mongolian peace. However, his conquest of Asia was…
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The Member Magnet Framework
Why does one person sign up with your association and another doesn’t? One person says, “Yes, I want that,” and another says, “No thanks.” Not everyone is a good fit for your association. But it would be a mistake to assume that all those potential members that don’t join are in this category.
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Membership Offer Redesign Case Study
Leadership in the Endourological Society approached us about a website redesign. After a few conversations, it became clear that they were facing similar challenges to most societies and associations around engaging members and communicating value.
