Page 8 - March 2021 Voices

COVER STORY

Is there a better way? I went to the source of a members’ contributions have made an impact
all knowledge (Google) in my quest for answers. on the organization with a request to renew their

I found many had asked the same question and membership. Read more here. . .
What I found was that every association and 2
even provided an answer. They were all very
willing to share their pearls of wisdom for the When it comes to driving more
price of my email address. (Which is probably membership for your Club, start
why my spam folder is bursting at the seams.) with this key question, “why is our

Club worth giving money to?”
volunteer organization, including Toastmasters, Your members need a reason to join your Club.
worried about member churn. There were What exactly will joining do to improve their

plenty of diverse opinions, some even in direct professional life? Why should they choose you
contradiction to each other. My favorite was the instead of another professional organization?
author who was adamant that member incentives If you want to stand out from the competition
were a waste of time and money, while another and convert interest into memberships, make
thought they were the only road to success. I sure you are offering unbeatable value. Whether

found that advice, like Dear Abby opinions, you offer access to a wealth of information,
needed to be filtered. Some would work for us unbeatable discounts on professional events, or
and some would not. up-to-date news they won’t find elsewhere, you

Here are six ideas that you can implement need to offer excellent value. Read more here. . .
in your Club. I’ve included where I got the
information so that you can read the articles for “A robust, vibrant welcome stream is
yourself (note: I changed ‘association’ to ‘Club’ 3 one of the strongest investments an
to make the excerpts more relevant): organization can make in keeping

its members,” says Lowell Aplebaum,
Send your unengaged or lapsed the Senior Director of Membership for The
members something enticing to Society for Neuroscience. It’s essential to onboard

re-engage them. Something as simple your members as a proactive measure to retain
1 as an appreciation letter thanking them. The most popular method of onboarding
someone for their membership can work is through email communication. That’s because
wonders. This is the strategy of Patty Foley, it’s easy to personalize emails and scale them to
membership chair of Friends of Lucy Robbins every single member in a consistent way. The best

Welles Library. She simply sends a yearly email to deliver your onboarding materials in
appreciation letter to her members, which she is your new member confirmation email. Read
attributes to raising their retention rate over 90%. more here. . .

All that’s in the letter is an explanation of how

8 ONE COMMUNITY