Three Tips for Membership Organizations

Good advice is timeless, right? Thank goodness. Now I don’t feel quite so bad digging up this post that appeared on Katya Andresen’s Non-profit Marketing Blog earlier this year:

“I often get questions from membership organizations about how certain marketing principles apply to them — the benefit exchange, call to action, etc. So, for any membership-based nonprofits out there, here are some useful questions to ask yourself and three quick tips for staying on track.

1) Do your marketing materials (brochure, Web site, appeals, etc.) start by talking about what your organization does or what you do for the people who join? Make it about your members, not you, and you’ll get more people to join.

2) When you talk about what you do for members, do you talk about process or results? Are you talking about far-off goals like advocacy, policy, preserving the arts, etc., or immediate benefits like passage of a certain bill, help preparing taxes or great programs people can listen to now? Focus on the things you do for your members in there here and now, rather than lofty goals that might not be achieved in our lifetimes.

3) Are you promising or are you previewing what membership gets you? Don’t simply ask people to join — send them free resources, invite them to useful workshops or fun events, and prove you do something valuable for them. Then hit them up for money.”

— Feb. 6, “Three Quick Tips for Membership Organizations” (www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com)