What have you done for your members lately?

Membership drives your association.  Be it from membership dues, paid ads, sponsored events, or some other form of monetization, members are the life blood of every association. The question on the tip of every associations tongue is how to increase membership.  The answer might be reversing the question: how do associations increase their value to their members?

We’ve already talked about some of the ways associations can do this before, but today, we’re going to cover one of the most powerful weapons an association has in their arsenal: promoting career advancement.  This ties into all of the areas we’ve touched on previously: You’ve made your association a heaven of strictly vetted material, you promote live events to foster face to face networking opportunities, and you’re branching out in the varieties of tools you use to reach your members; all of this to serve one end for your members: to give them the resources they need to get a step ahead in their own careers.

The best part?  These are things your association is already doing.  So why not connect the dots and let your members know?  It may seem obvious, and it almost certainly is for your members who are fully utilizing their memberships, but to those coveted members-to-be, this could be the “secret” to getting them off of the fence, and into your associations folds.  Some easy ways to promote this:

1. Front page testimonials: If you’ve helped your current members advance in their own professional life, many of them would be more than happy to write up a quick testimonial.

2. Newsletter campaign: Do you have a general newsletter?  Why not include something about how you help to promote career advancement in your newsletter to get the word out?

3. Campus advertising: College campuses are the perfect recruiting grounds for professional based associations.  And grabbing potential members attention with career opportunities while they’re in their intern phase is a great way to cultivate the millennial audience.

These are just a few ways that you can increase your visibility to potential members.  Next, we’re going to talk about the perfect way to whet the appetite of those not sure if you have the right goods.  Hint: sometimes it’s good to be a tease…

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