Today is the birthday of Alexander Graham Bell. Imagine what he would think of our phones now. I like this quote of his:
“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
By the way, his old house in Georgetown is for sale if you’ve got a few million hanging around.
I found a few good reads for you this week…
You don’t see many posts about recruiting small businesses for membership, so I was excited to read this one by J.P. Moery. He quickly takes on benefits, recruitment tactics and dues for small or start-up businesses. It’s a must read for anyone in an association membership, marketing or executive position.
Phishing attacks are on the rise and getting more sophisticated – it’s increasingly difficult to tell a regular email from a fake one. Dan Lautman at DelCor shares advice on how to identify phishing emails and websites so you can outfox hackers and their phishing malware.
One of the saddest sights on the web is an abandoned blog. Don’t let that happen to you! If your blog is gathering dust, these 9 tips will help you get your blog back on track. And I’ll add the obvious self-promoting tip #10: hire someone like me to help.
I definitely agree with the #1 blogging tip: create a content strategy. A content strategy doesn’t have to be a complicated project. I’ve seen strategies of only a few lines that can keep people focused on goals, audiences and audience’s needs. The Content Marketing Institute is a great resource if you’re ready to develop a strategy, or check out these 8 steps to creating a content marketing strategy from Rep Cap.
The ASAE Great Ideas Conference kicks off this weekend — Sunday, March 5. Watch the #ideas17 hashtag on Twitter to vicariously enjoy the learning.
Now, onto the list of this week’s free webinars and learning events. If your organization has a webinar scheduled in the next few weeks, please send me the link. I’ll be happy to feature it as long as it’s not too product-centric.
Tue 3/7 at 1 p.m.* – Revenue Generation through Your Mobile Event App
Learn how leading organizations are generating revenue through their mobile apps and moving sponsors from doubting the value of supporting an app to asking a year in advance for the sponsorship. Hear why mobile trends are influencing member engagement with your organization. Understand how to leverage mobile apps to reduce costs, and learn best practices for generating non-dues revenue from your apps. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: ACGI Software
Presenter: Michael Jones, director of mobile technologies, Results Direct
*All times are Eastern Standard Time unless otherwise noted.
Tue 3/7 at 2 p.m. – Going Viral: How #cuteanimaltweetoff Captured the World (Association Chat)
Sarah Hill created a tweet and hashtag that has taken the world by storm. Find out how she navigated internet fame and leveraged a viral moment. Hear why she was uniquely positioned for this to happen and what she learned from the process. Watch/participate live or view the recording.
Host: KiKi L’Italien, founder, Amplified Growth
Guest: Sarah Hill, content strategist for distance learning, Old Dominion University
Tue 3/7 at 2 p.m. – Walking the Walk: Engage Volunteers in your Volunteer Engagement Program
Learn how to evaluate your program for volunteer engagement, determine how best to deploy volunteers, create a communication plan, and screen and train volunteers to be an important part of your volunteer recruiting, retention and recognition plans. More info/register.
Host: VolunteerMatch
Presenter: Jennifer Bennett, senior manager of education & training, VolunteerMatch
Tue 3/7 at 2 p.m. – How Millennials and Baby Boomers Can Work Together
Although millennials and baby boomers can be very different in their interests and values, a few simple strategies will help you facilitate communication and collaboration between these influential generations. More info/register.
Host: Smart Meetings
Presenter: Adam Smiley Poswolsky, millennial workplace expert and author of The Quarter-Life Breakthrough.
Wed 3/8 at 1 p.m. – Engaging Your Board & Others in Difficult Decisions
Learn key principles and tools for building dialogue and alignment among your board and other stakeholders. Find out how to create effective dialogue on difficult decisions, generate constructive input on plans and proposals, and improve alignment and commitment to any decisions reached. You’ll leave with specific tools you can put to use in upcoming meetings. More info/register.
Host: 4Good
Presenter: Rick Lent, founder, Meeting for Results
Wed 3/8 at 3 p.m. – Idea Swap: Newest Trends in PR and Marketing for Associations (Silver Spring MD)
Today’s communication strategies are a mix of media relations, social media, original content and paid advertising. How are associations using PR and marketing to get their message across, and how are things changing? Get insight into how to use the news media to get your message across, even in the age of declining newspapers and print media. Location: Silver Spring, MD. More info/register.
Host: Association Networking Exchange
Facilitator: David Harrison, founder, Harrison Communications
Wed 3/8 at 3 p.m. – HighRoad U Office Hours
There’s so much going on in associations today around digital that we are offering a weekly 1-hour office hour program with an expert. Bring your specific challenges, questions or current work to get expert feedback and guidance. More info/register.
Host: HighRoad Solution
Thu 3/9 at 2 p.m. – Tips for Hybrid Meeting Success
The event of the future leverages technology to support engagement for in-person and remote audiences before, during and after the event. And more than ever, meeting planners are required to create content strategies that encapsulate ROI, metrics, video capture and more. Learn how to select the right technology partner to help you execute a successful hybrid event, and hear real-life success stories on how to put video content to work for you long after the event is over. More info/register.
Host: Sonic Foundry
Presenters: Kevin O’Connor, North American sales for Mediasite Events, Sonic Foundry and Tammy Jackson, director of communications, Sonic Foundry
Save the date – Wed 3/15 at 12 p.m. – Get Your Dues Process Under Control: Small Steps Toward Solving a Big Chapter Challenge
If your chapter dues process takes too long, costs too much money, or is a nightmare to manage, this webinar is for you. Find out what steps you can take to improve your situation and take away a template of questions to point you in the right direction. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: Billhighway
That’s it for this week – not as many as usual, probably due to Great Ideas. If you can’t attend a live webinar, go ahead and register if the topic interests you. Most webinar hosts send registrants a link to the recording.
Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If your organization offers professional development for the association community, please send me the link via email or Twitter.
Creative Commons licensed image of the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend NP by Gary Nored
Association Brain Food 