Best Association answers your questions about association membership development, event marketing, member benefits, event registration, non-dues revenue and association jobs. http://www.bestassociation.com Mon, 12 May 2008 18:11:46 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.bestassociation.com/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png http://www.bestassociation.com Best Association answers your questions about association membership development, event marketing, member benefits, event registration, non-dues revenue and association jobs. http://www.bestassociation.com/content/view/71/9/ There are two camps when it comes to identifying the best membership prospects for an association: - Those who believe that you should determine who you are not appealing to - and then go after them. - Those who believe that you should determine who fits the profile of your current members - and go after more of the same. Good arguments can be developed on both sides. Certainly, bringing in fresh blood can add a new, dynamic element to the association. Moreover, it can open new possibilities for the future direction of the association. On the other hand, getting more of the same tends to leverage the existing strengths of the association. Here is a simple rule of thumb. If you are only scratching the surface of your targeted association membership (e.g. you only have 15% of the possible candidates), you'll likely find better results by going after more of the same. Conversely, if you are closing in on the upper limit of a target audience, it may be time to consider expanding your association membership prospect base. The rationale is fairly simple: it's easier to get more of the same. Unless you've exhausted most of that audience, you shouldn't spread the association's resources too thinly by chasing too many groups. Where does your association stand with regard to tapping most or all of your current target audience? QA - Membership Development Tue, 25 Oct 2005 21:21:41 +0100 http://www.bestassociation.com/content/view/47/10/ There are several possible strategies for selling advertising on your association's web site. However, the one that seems to work best is just don't do it. That sounds like odd advice, but what it means is that many associations have found it easier to obtain advertising revenues not by selling advertising specifically for their web site - but instead by selling overall marketing/advertising packages that include web site advertising. Here are three examples: - Sell annual association sponsorship packages that include varying levels of web site advertising as part of each level. - Include association web site advertising in exhibitor packages for your convention. - Include association web site advertising in the cost of print ads that are purchased for your association publications. By including advertising in your association's web site with these other items, you can justify a price increase in your association sponsorship, exhibit and/or print ad rates. This price increase can be equal to the cost of the association web site advertising, or it can be part of an overall price increase of the base items as well. Has your association had success selling advertising for your web site? What methods have been most successful for your association? QA - Non-Dues Revenues Tue, 25 Oct 2005 21:01:04 +0100