Tips for Growing Your Association Membership

Updated: Sep. 15, 2021  |  Categories: Goal Setting  

Lawns are becoming green and showing signs of growth. Tulips and daffodils are emerging from the soil. Nature begins to flourish.

Spring is a great reminder to revisit your association’s growth. The first quarter of the calendar year has elapsed; is your association on track to meet its membership goals for the year?

Here are four tips for increasing your membership numbers.

Dedicate time and money to growth

Hoping to grow membership is one thing – but what are you actually doing to make it happen? It is important to establish a plan for expansion. Set aside time and money dedicated to activities aimed at membership growth.

We’ve all heard the saying “he who fails to plan, plans to fail.” It may sound cliché, but there’s a reason the adage resonates – it is absolutely true.

If you created a membership plan at the beginning of the year, take time to check out how you are doing. If you don’t have a written membership strategy, take the time now to hash one out.

Create a marketing feedback loop

Now that you’ve created a membership plan, you’ve planted the seeds of growth. Are all the seeds sprouting – that is, bringing in new members?

Knowing what’s working within your plan is critical. In the long run, it can save your association precious hours and budget dollars.

Did that expensive ad in a trade publication attract any new members? If not, eliminate it from future plans. Got lots of prospects attending a specific trade show? Great! Plan to attend next year, and look for similar events.

Adjust your membership plan accordingly.

Aim to get more subscribers

Capture potential members while they are interested so you can market to them down the road.

For those who have found your association online, offer an incentive, such as a free white paper or e-book, to persuade them to join your mailing list.

At events, have a signup sheet or app to capture interested prospects’ email addresses for your subscriber list.

Cultivating your list allows you to repeatedly demonstrate your association’s value to a potential member, increasing the likelihood they will eventually join.

Consider offering incentives for current members to recruit new members

One of your best resources for finding future members is your existing members. Members have connections with others within their industry.

Take advantage of their existing networks by creating an offer that is advantageous to both the recruiting and recruited member. For example, offer $50 off annual membership to both parties when a referral signs up.

The benefits of growing your association’s membership reach beyond the increased revenue. Additional members bring a fresh perspective, additional knowledge, and potential leaders. Dedicating resources to increasing your association membership will benefit the entire organization long term.

TIP:

Specifically target and market to prospective members with StarChapter’s Email Manager.

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