The emails we are receiving offering lists for sale for some of the events we are attending are arriving in our inbox at an unprecedented rate. Just last week we received nearly two dozen emails offering to sell us lists, including our own member list. These are scam emails, usually selling fake lists, with a goal of getting money from you. Here is a great article about the “Eight Reasons Why You Should Never Buy an Email List”. 

AMCI reached out to Hugh Webster, Partner, Webster, Chamberlain & Bean, LLC, to see what we could do as an organization to try to put a stop to the person offering our member list for sale. The long and short of it is, sadly, not much. Hugh did issue a cease and desist on behalf of the Institute and AMCI did report the email to the US Department of Homeland Security Cyber and Infrastructure Division. He also mentioned that more often than not, the scammer is from outside of the US and is not concerned about complying with US laws. Frequently they will simply change their email address and continue their illicit practice.

A lot has been written about the benefits of content marketing for associations lately. But even if you understand how effective it is, that doesn’t mean you know how to launch a strategy. You might think you need a background in marketing or experience with online advertising before you begin. This isn’t the case. Content marketing doesn’t need to be difficult, especially for associations with existing content. There are, however, some preconceived roadblocks that prevent associations from getting started.

Here are three preconceived roadblocks that can prevent an association from starting an effective content marketing program.

In the era of “Me Too”, association managers and meeting planners have increased responsibility in ensuring that they have developed -- and are enforcing -- a code of conduct for behavior of the attendees at their meetings. Meetings must be an enjoyable experience for all attendees, free of any kind of harassment. 

While there is no current case law of an association being sued for misconduct of an attendee at their meeting, I understand from a recent conversation with a lawyer colleague that it is just a matter of time before such a case will arise. That means each association has a responsibility to develop a code of expected conduct at society events and then ask each attendee to attest to the code as they are registering for the event. 

We are excited to announce the release of the 3rd annual Training Trends Report. The report compiles data from an online survey of 100 training and education professionals to understand how education is currently being delivered to learners, and what changes lie ahead. Thank you to those who participated in the survey several months ago! Like our companion State of the Conference Industry Report, the goal of this report is to shed light on common trends and help spark a strategic conversation within your organization. Download the report, and feel free to share with your peers.

Associations with small staffs still face big challenges. They must attract and engage new members and plan for their organizations’ futures. But, what are their top priorities? Are they expecting growth? How are they preparing for the future?

These are just some of the questions Community Brands set out to answer in a recent survey of professionals from associations with small staffs (10 or fewer). These associations are referred to as “small associations” throughout this report.

The survey was conducted between January and February 2019, and responses came in from more than 350 association professionals.

Of the respondents:
*  Most are in a leadership position at their association
*  About 70 percent of their associations have annual revenue of $1 million or less
*  Most of the associations represented have 5,000 or fewer members
*  About half of the associations’ revenue comes from membership dues

By Brian Sugarman, Senior Marketing Manager, Association Analytics

A recent Aberdeen Group report, entitled “Getting Ahead in Customer Analytics: Which Technologies Do You Need to Succeed,” outlined how many organizations struggle because data is captured and stored in disparate, disconnected systems. The problem is that the association tech stack includes numerous tools designed to meet the needs of members that collect data including AMS, websites, email marketing platforms, learning management systems, etc. and these resources are rapidly expanding. On top of these tools, networking and social media services that collect data such as Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter are also being used to connect with members.

1. Reduce Waste, Increase Conversions
   Marketing effectiveness is dramatically improved when using data to influence strategy. One example of this is employing predictive analytics to examine which member segments are most likely to register for your event. This enables you to target your marketing resources to your best prospects and avoid expending effort on those that are unlikely to attend the event. For example, using predictive analytics associations can segment members that have a very high percentage to attend this year (based on historical data) and therefore, might need to see different advertisements than those who are on the fence about coming to an event. Likewise, if a member is in a segment that has a very low percentage of attending, you should allocate marketing spend on segments with a higher conversion opportunity. Associations want to find the segments in the middle, those who have the highest likelihood of being influenced by advertising to come to the event. This strategy has helped associations to reduce their marketing spend, while increasing event registrations.
2. Improve content relevancy
   How do we know which content is most relevant to our members? The best way is to look at the data and see which topics are most relevant to each of our member segments. Associations are using things like sentiment analysis from channels like Twitter to better understand which event sessions or topics are well-received by their members. They’re using this data to then improve on the member experience by providing more targeted and relevant information.
3. Improve the registration experience
   Is your organization performing deep analysis of the event registration process? Another way to grow more revenue for your event is to analyze data on the registration experience to better understand where members are frustrated in the process. Associations have found that by analyzing this information they can make changes to the registration process to reduce friction and increase participation.

Non-dues revenue is considered revenue from any source other than membership fees. Non-dues revenue has always been an important factor in any association’s financial health, but in the current economic climate, it is even more important. The type of non-dues revenue you want to pursue depends on the nature of your association. It’s key to find ways to generate this additional revenue that fit into your brand and mission. Our teams at Community Brands have assembled ten of the best sources of non-dues revenue to consider for your association. Download the whitepaper today.