Bold idea? This association got rid of its annual conference
When John Bridges took over the Arkansas State Employees Association as executive director about two years ago, he had big ideas. But big ideas cost money, and that was something Bridges didn’t have: The organization hasn’t raised membership dues since the 1980s — while just $52 per year, that can go a long way in […]
What content metrics actually matter?
If you take a moment to head to the analytics page for your Twitter profile, you’ll find tons of data: How many tweets you posted in the past 28 days, how many impressions they got, the number of profile visits your account received, the top follower you gained and exactly how popular your most popular […]
This is the most valuable kind of marketing you can get
Think about the last great product, new restaurant or fun show you found, one so helpful or interesting you truly enjoyed sharing it with someone you care about. For me, it was something simple: A transparent lip liner that goes with any shade of lipstick. Not exactly a life-changing product, but for $5, I found […]
See the top 10 articles from AssociationSuccess.org in 2019
As we wrap up an exciting year of publishing blog posts with challenging ideas and innovative solutions, we hoped to take a look back at some of the most engaging content we at AssociationSuccess.org have published in 2019. And while we were pulling all of these articles together, by looking at our web traffic, social […]
Connecting chapter conversations with national audience is key
Soon after joining the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities as executive director, it was clear to Ken Schoppmann there was a big asset the organization wasn’t taking advantage of in the right way. Each of the organization’s five regional chapters host annual meetings, which bring together about 100 to 150 participants each around the country. […]
Ready to grow your organization? Listen to Verne Harnish on SURGEcast
As the author of “Mastering the Rockefeller Habits” and its follow-up, “Scaling Up: Mastering the Rockefeller Habits 2.0,” few are in position to offer advice on how to grow your organization quite like Verne Harnish. The founder of the Entrepreneur’s Organization and the founder and CEO of the executive coaching company Scaling Up, Harnish sat […]
Are association chapters worth the effort?
Ask Peggy Hoffman and Peter Houstle what kind of reaction they get when they start asking about whether association chapters are still relevant, and they both start laughing. “There are a lot of people who are intimidated by that question,” Houstle said. “Sometimes, I wonder if there are people who don’t want to do (the […]
Here’s a big idea: Innovation can be small
Let’s make a bet. I bet that if you pull any association’s job posting for a leadership opening, you will find the word “innovation” at least half the time, either as a requirement of the type of person or a descriptor of where the organization is going. I also would bet that if you walk […]
Are you creating content you don’t actually need?
When Hilary Marsh was at the National Association of Realtors, she remembers taking a look at all the newsletters that went out to their members. The newsletters, which went out to about a million people, were being opened by fewer and fewer people. Why? They were sending too many. NAR’s staff of about 300 people […]
This worksheet helped 1 association trim its website by 95%
When Courtney Reyers first started working at the American Society for Microbiology nearly five years ago, she was faced with a 20,000-page website. It was untagged, unstructured and the search was, in her words, “a complete nightmare.” Something had to be done. As the senior manager for digital strategy at the American Society for Microbiology, […]