Wild Apricot
OCTOBER 24, 2014
'This month''s free non-profit webinar round-up offers 23+ topics, including: Mission-Driven Volunteering (our first Expert Webinar); online campaigns; donor databases; do-it-yourself PR and much more!
Spark Consulting
OCTOBER 22, 2014
'Want to increase your bulk email open rate? Of course you do! The subject is the most important part of the email. Spend time writing a meaningful one that will ensure your recipient will open and read more. Stay away from wacky typefaces, odd or excessive use of bold and italics, and weird capitalization in an email. Not only do these formats shout “advertisement” they also make it difficult to read.
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Aaron Wolowiec
OCTOBER 28, 2014
'I’ve admitted it before, and I’ll do it again: I’m a social media and technology addict. So when I’m choosing conferences to attend, I look for technology use. Is there a hashtag? Will speakers engage with participants in real time – or afterward – via social media? If something comes up, will the organizer provide content virtually? Also, is there an app that can help me plan where to eat, where to stay and sights to see?
Mariner
OCTOBER 31, 2014
'Halloween can happen any day of the year for some volunteers and for a few it maybe be like living through Ground Hog Day. Oh the tricks we play on volunteers. let''s shift to treating!
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Virtual
OCTOBER 1, 2014
'Before your association starts a social media account on every existing medium, you need to know what you’re trying to accomplish. Simply having a social media account won’t add value to your association, and if not done correctly, social media can actually inhibit progress. So before you get started, you need to answer these four questions: 1.
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Wild Apricot
OCTOBER 3, 2014
'Here is a look at Sarah Sladek''s new book – Knowing Y - Engage the Next Generation Now – that offers powerful insight into how membership organizations need to embrace change in order to engage Gen Y.
Spark Consulting
OCTOBER 28, 2014
'One of the hardest things to do in creating a product or service is to set the price – too high, no one will buy because it’s too expensive; too low, no one will buy because they think what you’re offering isn’t valuable. So how do you determine your pricing strategy? Determine whether this is something that can be a “loss leader” or whether it needs to break even or turn a profit.
Aaron Wolowiec
OCTOBER 7, 2014
'My oldest niece began preschool this fall in North Carolina. As you might expect of any proud uncle, I check-in with my sister frequently for updates on the latest developments in class. What have they discussed? Where have they gone? Is she making friends? Is she a confirmed genius yet? What’s her teacher like? Any funny stories I should know about (secretly hoping that there are)?
Mariner
OCTOBER 25, 2014
'I spoke with KiKi L’Italien about association volunteer models for Aptify’s Association Mavens Series. She asked the question “what can a volunteer in the system do to change the system?” The answer: plenty.
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Ever wonder why brands like Apple, LEGO, and Sephora are going all-in on branded communities? It’s because online community building is the secret sauce to connecting with audiences in ways that ads and emails simply can’t. But here's the best part—it’s not just for big corporations. Associations can create thriving online communities too. GrowthZone’s eBook, "The Power of Community," breaks down exactly why a branded online community can be a game-changer for your association.
Virtual
OCTOBER 7, 2014
'There are two truisms that affect association finances. First, most associations are financed primarily by dues. And second, when a member organization needs to cut its budget, the first line item they often look at is “Dues, fees and subscriptions.” So a diverse revenue stream isn’t just a “nice to have” for associations, it’s often a matter of survival.
Eric Lanke
OCTOBER 27, 2014
'image source I teased this last week when I mentioned that I spent a portion of my weekend reviewing proposals for ASAE''s Innovation Grant Program. It''s one of my volunteer activities, I said, and.like a lot of those functions, I had to find time away from my professional responsibilities in order to get them done. That might be a future blog post--as I''m convinced that many association staff don''t comprehend that the work their volunteers do for their associations is done at night and on w
Wild Apricot
OCTOBER 27, 2014
'Do you have a small group of volunteers that you rely on at your organization? Here are thoughts on recruiting and motivating volunteers from our Small Membership Advisory Community.
Spark Consulting
OCTOBER 1, 2014
'Recently, on ASAE’s Collaborate Community, someone asked for examples of other associations’ marketing plans. The things is, marketing plans are less about taking some other organization’s plan and swapping your acronym for theirs and more about answering some key questions: What do you know about your audiences? Who are they, who are the key decision makers, what and how and when do they buy, etc.?
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Aaron Wolowiec
OCTOBER 21, 2014
'This month’s guest blog post is by Kent Agramonte, a marketing supervisor at Naylor. He has four years’ experience helping associations with member surveys and data. It was originally posted at AssociationAdviser. Are you interested in submitting a guest post? Contact Kristen Parker at kristen@eventgarde.com. Kent Agramonte, marketing supervisor at Naylor LLC.
Jamie Notter
OCTOBER 8, 2014
'I am not going to link to the post, because it’s just so awful, but here is some of the advice that a Baby Boomer author (who describes herself as a “Millennial Whisperer”) gives to Millennials on working with Boomer bosses: Do it their way before you fix it. Millennials must do it the boomer’s way, and make sure you’ve got that down first.
Virtual
OCTOBER 20, 2014
'Every day, the Boston Globe sports section brings me a seemingly unending array of stats. I know how the New England Patriots perform on the road, in night games, in games after a loss, against certain opponents, you name it. But many organizations don’t have a comparable scoreboard. They’re playing the game, but not sure how to keep score.
Eric Lanke
OCTOBER 20, 2014
'image source I spent some time this weekend reviewing proposals for ASAE''s Innovation Grant Program. It''s one of my volunteer activities, and like a lot of those functions, I had to find time away from my professional responsibilities in order to get it done. That might be a future blog post--as I''m convinced that many association staff don''t comprehend that the work their volunteers do for their associations is done at night and on weekends.
Speaker: Radhika Samant and Todd Wuestenberg
Employee recognition has often been deemed a "feel-good" initiative, tied closely to rewards. While we understand its importance, we tend to associate recognition with intangible outcomes like engagement and sentiment, rather than direct impacts on retention and high performance. In today’s workplace, the true ROI of recognition lies in its ability to regenerate tangible, business-driven results.
Wild Apricot
OCTOBER 7, 2014
'We''re offering a new free webinar on Nov 4th – Mission-Driven Volunteering – presented by Peggy Hoffman, CAE and Elizabeth Weaver Engel, CAE. Here is an overview of the program and registration details.
Spark Consulting
OCTOBER 14, 2014
'There’s a dark side to Word of Mouth, too. Negative reviews are inevitable. So what should you do in response? Develop serenity to accept the things you can’t change : You WILL get negative reviews. Expect them. You can make some of the people happy some of the time, but there’s always that one guy who just wants to complain. Realize what’s actually going on : People who are taking the time to complain share another trait – they actually CARE enough to share their feedback.
Mariner
OCTOBER 20, 2014
'Then let’s make it meaningful and fun. Down with boring meetings and down with meetings that we don’t leave with more energy than we started.
Association Navigator
OCTOBER 31, 2014
'I’m thinking about innovation in the context of managing associations and non-profit enterprises. Innovation is a corporate buzz word, but it’s also a fundamental element in any successful and growing organization. This summer I discovered a book about innovation strategy for corporate product launches and I can’t stop thinking about applying these concepts to associations.
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Optimist Consulting
OCTOBER 30, 2014
'I recently read on PARN’s LinkedIn Group that research they’d carried out had discovered that the average membership turnout for board elections was only 11.3%. What this depressingly-low figure highlights is the importance of putting effort into encouraging engagement in an election process. In light of PARN’s findings I was interested to see the approach of the Association for Project Management (APM) ahead of their upcoming board elections.
Aaron Wolowiec
OCTOBER 14, 2014
'Last year, I attended a conference at a venue that shall remain nameless. During the two-day event, similar to most professional events, live tweeting was encouraged. So imagine my frustration when I couldn’t connect to Wi-Fi. Worse yet, imagine the frustration when no one in the room could connect. No one, that is, except for the person at the back of the room using his mobile hotspot.
Wild Apricot
OCTOBER 9, 2014
'Here''s a look at one organization that created a terrific, professional website design using Wild Apricot''s web builder templates.
Spark Consulting
OCTOBER 8, 2014
'Want to increase your sales, market impact, and online search? According to MarketShare/Keller Fay , word of mouth has a significant, measurable impact on your marketing. A 10% lift in WOM leads directly to a 1.5% increase in sales and up to a 54% increase in marketing impact. That’s big. But what makes a great Word of Mouth topic? It’s emotional – it connects with people.
Speaker: Joe Sharpe and James Carlson
Payroll optimization can be one of the most time-consuming and complex factors of small business management. Yet, organizations that crack the code on streamlining employee compensation often discover innovative avenues for growth. With the right strategies in place, outsourcing and streamlining payroll processes can result in substantial time and resource savings.
Eric Lanke
OCTOBER 13, 2014
'image source Like a lot of associations, mine is in the habit of surveying our members. We do a fair number of small, ad hoc surveys, but we also put a lot of time and energy into a biennial satisfaction survey. It gives us a wealth of information about what responders think about our strategic direction and our programs and services. One of the things I insist on is sharing the results of this satisfaction survey with our membership.
Jamie Notter
OCTOBER 6, 2014
'You may not want to hear about this, but it is an absolute fact that sometimes you will trust people, and they will let you down. It has to happen. If it didn’t happen, then trust would not really be an issue. As I heard someone say once, if you caught a fish every time, they would call it catching, not fishing, now wouldn’t they? Having trust violated is hard.
Virtual
OCTOBER 28, 2014
'You only get one chance to make a first impression. This isn’t just for people, it’s for organizations as well. And that’s why it’s so critical to set your dues at the correct level right out of the box. In my mind, there are three things to think about in setting dues levels. First, consider what you’re trying to accomplish.
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