Think Outside the Box: Unconventional Ideas for Boosting Your Association’s Membership
1. Hold an Event at Member’s Rate
If your association typically charges a different rate for non-members, organize a signature event when non-members pay member rates to attend. This allows non-members to experience the kind of value your membership offers.
2. Include a Members-Only Section
Intrigue non-member visitors browsing your website with a members-only section. It’s an effective technique to make normal visitors more curious about the additional perks your association offers to members.
3. Make Your Events Family-Friendly
By enabling your members to bring along their spouses, parents, siblings, and adult children, you can tap into a larger pool of potential members. Not to mention, showing the family-inclined side of your association can attract new family-oriented members.
4. Host a Plus One Event
Operating on a similar concept to “bring your child to work,” hold events that encourage members to have a friend or colleague tag along.
5. Provide Members with Association Business Cards
A simple technique to boost your association’s membership is to give current members business cards that they can share with other people when pointing them to your association. These can be physical and/or digital cards. Either way, they’re great for networking.
6. Connect with Former Members
Reaching out to previous members helps you understand why they decided to leave. Sharing how you improved certain pitfalls or how you plan to address their pain points offers a possibility to regain those members. Remind them of your association’s values and mission, after all, it appealed to them before. Emphasize the value of their membership and why they should give the association another chance.
7. Implement Content Marketing Strategies
Spread the word about your association by sharing quality content that targets the needs of your target audience. Write blogs, create webinars, or start a podcast that could interest potential members.
8. Add a Sponsorship Program
Not all members who want to join your association can pay for a membership, but you still need to make money. In this case, a sponsorship program is a great solution that allows more fortunate members to help others by paying for their membership.
9. Focus on Existing Members
Your current members can be the best investment to increase your association’s membership. Creating a positive member experience can easily turn members into advocates for your organization.
10. Support Online Registration and Payment
Make joining your association as convenient as possible. A hiccup during registration or payment can quickly change people’s minds, so try to avoid that as best as possible.
Final Thoughts
Boosting membership enrollments helps support a solid membership base for your association. But don’t forget the vital role that member retention plays in maintaining the growth of your association.