Association Marketing for Member Groups

A typical association sells several things at once. Membership is the core, sold to individuals, companies or both. The annual conference is often the largest source of non-dues revenue. Education, certification and continuing education credits bring steady income. Sponsors and exhibitors want access to your members.

Each of those has its own buyer and calendar. A young professional deciding whether to join needs a different message from a vendor buying a booth. We map each audience and product, then build campaigns that do not compete for the same inbox on the same day.

Many associations find that first-year members renew at lower rates than long-time members. The fix usually starts the day someone joins. We build an onboarding series that points new members to the benefits they are most likely to use, such as a webinar, a local chapter event or a member directory.

We also use activity data from your AMS to flag members who have not engaged. A member who has not logged in, attended or opened an email in months gets a different message before renewal time. Lapsed members get a win-back series. Auto-renew options and clear dues invoices help too.

Some people who search this topic want a group for marketers, such as the Mobile Marketing Association, the Performance Marketing Association or an internet marketing association in their region. We are not one of those groups and are not affiliated with them. We are an agency that markets associations.

That said, marketing-industry groups face the same challenges as any other association. A mobile marketing association chapter or a performance marketing association still needs members, sponsors and event attendees. We are glad to talk with groups like these about their own marketing.