Welcome to the newest edition of The Good Marketing Brief — for Associations! We created this newsletter specifically for association marketers because we kept hearing the same challenge: how do you grow membership while also diversifying revenue without doubling your workload?
The answer isn't doing more. It's doing things smarter. The associations thriving right now aren't the ones with the biggest budgets or the largest teams. They're the ones figuring out how to make their marketing work twice as hard, building systems that drive both membership and non-dues revenue at the same time.
This week, we're diving into the small interactions that create genuine engagement, plus strategies you can implement immediately to turn your existing assets into new revenue streams.
Keeping members engaged goes way beyond sending newsletters and hosting an annual conference. This guide breaks down 14 specific strategies associations are using to create year-round engagement, such as gamifying the member journey, launching special-interest groups, and building career centers and referral programs. Each strategy includes implementation steps, KPIs to track, and tips for associations with limited staff.
Associations struggling with member engagement 📖
A new report surveyed 518 association leaders and found that "forgot to renew" consistently ranks in the top five reasons members lapse. Yet most associations don't have a formal process for re-engaging them, or even a written plan to increase engagement. The takeaway: Associations that invest time in nurturing their communities succeed, while those expecting automatic engagement end up with empty platforms.
How associations are solving membership challenges 📖
Many associations think hosting more events will boost engagement, but Reggie Henry from MGI suggests a more effective approach: "More events don't create more engagement. They often just spread the same audience thinner." The smarter strategy is making existing events work harder by extending their impact through follow-up discussions, shared recordings, and post-event conversations in your online community.
The membership model is breaking down 📖
Association members today want to see real results from their membership, whether that's career advancement, new credentials, or measurable growth. One medical society figured this out by redesigning its onboarding as a 30-day sprint, where new members hit a meaningful milestone within weeks, leading to immediate retention improvements.
The Restaurant Association of Maryland figured out how to make money between membership drives by selling what they already had: access to restaurant owners. Instead of just collecting dues, they now sell "flash sales" of 50,000 or 100,000 ad impressions to partners who want to reach that exact audience. Partners get transparent, real-time reporting on campaign performance, and RAM generates year-round revenue while helping members discover relevant services.