The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community…
Manager training. Bad bosses are a leading contributor to the Great Resignation (or Transition). Because managers are facing a host of new issues and challenges in the post-pandemic workplace, WBT Systems says associations can help industry employers and employees by offering manager training programs. Their post also provides advice on essential topics and marketing for these programs.
Sponsorship strategy. In this comprehensive guide to tiered and à la carte sponsorship models for in-person, virtual and hybrid events, EventMobi describes how to price, sell and deliver sponsorships, measure ROI, and craft a post-event report for corporate partners.
Virtual networking discussions. At Associations Now, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Jack Coursen tells Rasheeda Childress how staff-guided conversations engage virtual coffee session attendees by giving them a chance to connect with peers and earn CE credits.
Email open rates. Andy Crestodina at Orbit Media Studios shares 13 excellent tips for increasing your email open rates along with examples showing you how it’s done. Sure, clicks matter most but first you’ve got to get them to open your email.
Online learning tips. In honor of the back-to-school season, WBT Systems offers advice for anyone taking an online course—tips you can share with your members. They cover everything from time management, procrastination, distraction and motivation to accountability and learning habits.
Membership value of an AMS. Nimble AMS describes how an AMS helps membership directors better understand members, anticipate their needs, and deliver an optimal online experience and personalized communications and content. If your AMS doesn’t help you recruit, engage and retain members, you better start shopping for a new one.
Quick hits
Why thinking hard wears you out. (Diana Kwon, Scientific American)
Four clues to help you identify a prospective employee with real emotional intelligence. (Marcel Schwantes, Inc.)
Why virtue signaling isn’t the same as virtue—and actually furthers the partisan divide. (Christopher Beem, The Conversation)
Good eats
Skip down to the list of free educational events if you prefer takeout.
If you want to treat yourself, try this Mexican shrimp cocktail. It’s like a cross between regular shrimp cocktail and gazpacho but more satisfying. On the side, we had quesadillas filled with mushroom, onion, red bell pepper, poblano, jalapeño, smoked paprika, cilantro and ‘quesadilla’ cheese. I also made calabacitas—a southwestern vegetable sauté of zucchini, yellow squash, corn, tomatoes, poblano, jalapeño, garlic and fresh oregano.
We had one of our favorites a few other nights: southern pan-friend catfish and speckled trout. You’ve seen this one here before: dredge the fillets in flour, then in egg mixed with a lot of hot sauce, and then cornmeal and panko with ancho chile powder. On the side, creamed collards with mushrooms, so good.
I tried a new sauce for Spanish mackerel: hot sauce vinaigrette—3 tablespoons hot sauce, 2 tablespoons lime juice and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil mixed with cilantro and chives. The next night, an old regular—blackened black drum fillets.
Here are the educational events scheduled for next week. If you have a free webinar or event coming up, please send me the link by Wednesday afternoon the week before it’s scheduled. I’ll be happy to feature it as long as it’s not too product-centric.
Fri 9/2 at 12 p.m.* – EventTech Chat
A weekly conversation about meeting and event technology, including software, hardware, and audiovisual for in-person and online events. More info/register.
Host: Brandt Krueger, founder Event Technology Consulting
*All events are online at Eastern Daylight Time unless otherwise noted.
Tue 9/6 at 12 p.m. – Data Analytics Network: Middleware/iPaaS Use in Associations
Learn about the many uses of an iPaaS, their benefits, and their challenges. ASHA and ASAE will explain how they’re leveraging iPaaS-driven solutions to streamline their data ecosystems, and Association Analytics will lay out their views on iPaaS landscape.1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: Association Analytics
Tue 9/6 at 12 p.m. – Picket Fences or Brick Walls? | Discovering Different Types of Boundaries
Hear about the picket fence or brick wall boundaries model, and learn about the different types of boundaries, where they work best, how to maintain them, and more. Why? Because holding space for yourself and enhancing the way you live and work helps to make you a fuller, more robust person and professional. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: MPI
Presenter: Nancy Snowden, M.A., Manager of Educational Experiences, MPI
Tue 9/6 at 1 p.m. – The Future of SEO: Planning for 2023 and Beyond
Hear how to plan for a sustainable inbound marketing strategy beyond blue titles and black site descriptions. Learn how to worry less about algorithm updates, predict and measure change, and adapt to ever-changing search engine results. More info/register.
Host: American Marketing Association
Presenter: Steve Wiideman, Writer, Scientist, Professor, and Practitioner of Search Optimization
Tue 9/6 at 2 p.m. – Independent Planner Emergency Kit
The role of independent planners has evolved as lean planning teams call on experts for everything from finding venue availability to understanding local protocols and strategy. Explore new ways to work together so everyone can contribute at the highest level and deliver fabulous meetings and events. Hear tips for sourcing in a tight market, strategies for managing changing requirements, and ideas for inspiring attendees today. More info/register.
Host: Smart Meetings
Presenters:
- Patricia F. Zollman, Pandemic Compliance Advisor, and senior director of global accounts, HelmsBriscoe
- Tracy Judge, founder & CEO, Soundings
- Mahoganey Jones, founder and CEO, Event Specialists Inc.
Wed 9/7 at 11 a.m. – How to Write an RFP (Request for Proposal) for Merchant Services
When releasing an RFP to evaluate new merchant service providers, knowing how the credit card industry works is crucial. Your fiduciary obligation and reputation are on the line. We will demystify the credit card processing flow, players, terminology, and musts to consider so you feel prepared to write your RFP and evaluate your perspective merchant service providers based on the criteria most important for your organization. Learn how to identify the gaps in your current payments ecosystem and the questions to ask to reduce these issues in your future state. 1.5 CAE credits. More info/register.
Host: U.S. Transactions Corp. (UST)
Presenters: Julie Duncan, VP Sales, Association Practice Leader, and Wade Tetsuka, CPA, President, UST
Wed 9/7 at 11 a.m. – Event Design Summit
The way we’ve always done things may not be the best way of doing things. There’s no time like now to stop and reimagine what is possible. Participant expectations have changed and technology has opened new possibilities. Now it’s up to event designers to break the molds and create dazzling event experiences. Hear from a formidable lineup of event design experts who will expand your event design thinking and share their insight on what participants really want from events today. 3 CMP credits. More info/register.
Host: Skift Meetings
Wed 9/7 at 11 a.m. – Data Trends: The Alchemy of Turning Your Disparate Data into Gold
As scholarly publishing organizations unite their content, editorial, member, platform, and web analytics data they’re facing a wealth of ways to deliver truly actionable insights, such as: using zero- and first-party data to provide higher-quality engagement and future-proof against the decline of the third-party cookie, analyzing data to inform platform development and user journeys, employing machine learning and natural language processing to aid in content/data tagging, generating revenue through new content and collection development, and supporting OA models. Hear from a group of industry data experts and publishers currently on this journey to data unification and what they’ve learned along the way. More info/register.
Host: Silverchair
Presenters:
- Melanie Dolechek, Executive Director, Society for Scholarly Publishing
- Joe Haddock, Chief Digital Officer, CyberRisk Alliance
- Michael Hardesty, Digital Product Manager, National Academy of Sciences
- Margarita Lygizou, Head of Sales & Marketing, IWA Publishing
- Dustin Smith, President & Co-Founder, Hum
Wed 9/7 at 11 a.m. – Leadership for Exponential Impact in the Digital Age
We are in the early stages of a Big Shift in the global economy that is creating both exponentially expanding opportunity and mounting performance pressures. Our institutions and leadership models were designed for a previous era. Leaders will have to become the catalyst for profound institutional change. Take the opportunity to create growth in the shifting environments of change while other hesitate in fear. More info/register.
Host: Rendanheyi Silicon Valley Center
Presenters:
- John Hagel, Founder, Deloitte’s Center for the Edge, and Researcher, Author, & Director, Rendanheyi Silicon Valley Center
- Annika Steiber, Director, Rendanheyi Silicon Valley Center
Wed 9/7 at 12 p.m. – Increase Conference Attendance: Co-Locating, Co-Hosting and Partnerships
Learn how you can engage organizations within your community to increase conference attendance and enhance the attendee experience for all stakeholders. Hear how the International Erosion Control Association (IECA) increased their conference attendance. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: Association Insights in Old Town
Presenter: Joanna Fetherolf, CMP, Managing Director, Conferences & Education, IECA
Thu 9/8 at 12 p.m. – Member Scoring: The Compass to Your Association’s Member Engagement
The 2022 Association Trends Study by Community Brands shows that the top two priorities for associations are: developing or improving member engagement opportunities and providing a seamless member experience. Learn how to determine your association’s goals for member engagement scoring, identify which member actions are most important for scoring engagement, determine value for member (and non-member) actions, and increase retention by becoming data-driven. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: Community Brands
Presenters: Michelle Schweitz, Marketing Director, and Tirrah Switzer, Director, Product Marketing, Community Brands
Thu 9/8 at 2 p.m. – Anatomy of a Breach
Hear how an association COO and CIO navigated the rough waters of a security breach. Find out the first critical steps you need to take to protect your organization. Discover why it’s important to have a cybersecurity insurance and what types of insurance are necessary to protect you and your association. Learn how to create an effective breach communication plan to address your staff, board, and members. Hear tips and tactics to fortifying your current systems. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: 501Works
Presenters:
- Villy Savino, VP Technology Transformation, CoreNet Global
- Larry Bazrod, COO, CoreNet Global
- James Marquis, CIO, 501Works
Fri 9/9 at 12 p.m. – AWTC Mindful Networking
Held the second Friday of each month, these intimate, virtual conversations are a chance to form meaningful connections with other women and allies in the association technology community. Each Mindful Networking will feature one of our amazing AWTC award winners, followed by breakout rooms with changing topics (selected by our featured guest). More info/register.
Host: Association Women Technology Champions
Guest: Lisa Lockman, Assistant Director, Data Analysis and AMS Administration, Association for Psychological Science
Fri 9/9 at 12 p.m. – EventTech Chat
A weekly conversation about meeting and event technology, including software, hardware, and audiovisual for in-person and online events. More info/register.
Host: Brandt Krueger, founder Event Technology Consulting
Mon 9/12 at 12 p.m. – Membership Mondays: Communicating Your Value Proposition
A discussion on ASAE Collaborate grew into a productive Zoom call for dozens of ASAE members months ago so the group decided to keep the conversations going. We meet on the second Monday of every month to discuss membership topics based on the group’s current needs. More info/register (members only).
Host: ASAE
Tue 9/13 at 11 a.m. – Your Members Are Individuals, Not Just a Demographic
Often, associations are quick to attribute changing membership numbers, participation levels, and overall engagement to generational and cultural characteristics. Have we missed the mark? Studies show that—more than generational and cultural differences—the beliefs, values, and behaviors of individuals are better indicators of association participation than the typical generational explanations. Explore how the unique characteristics of individual members factor into association membership, find out what associations should be looking at to understand their members and prospects, and how to incorporate the voices of all members to create a more representative organization. 1.5 CAE credits. More info/register.
Host: U.S. Transactions Corp.
Presenter: Brianne Wheeler, Director, Marketing, PropFuel
Tue 9/13 at 12 p.m. – Get Recognized: Applying for AWTC Awards and More
You get notified about an industry award. You think about applying, but then those internal roadblocks show up. You second guess your qualifications. You aren’t sure who to ask for references. You worry about the time it will take to complete the application or where to start. We are here to demystify industry awards in the association community and give you a roadmap for receiving recognition. More info/register.
Host: Association Women Technology Champions
Wed 9/14 at 12 p.m. – 20 Things You Can Do for Chapters in 2023
2022 was a big year for moving forward with “the new normal,” but are you ready to take your chapters to the next level in 2023? How will you make your volunteers’ lives easier? What tools can you use to better support chapter leaders? Hear about our top 20 resources, tools, and tips for CRPs, how to support your chapters now so they can plan for the future, and bring your questions for an “Ask Me Anything” chat with Mariner Management’s Peggy Hoffman. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Hosts: Billhighway and Mariner Management
Thu 9/15 at 11 a.m. – Website Redesign and Project Management: Straight Talk to Get You on the Right Path for Your Next Project
Join us for an interactive “ask the vendor” session to get straight talk, best practices and things to know or avoid before taking on your next website redesign project (or if you’re in the middle of one). Hear an overview of the redesign process and insight into key areas to make sure you get the advice you need to develop a project timeline, manage expectations for your new site, work effectively with your vendor, project manage your website redesign, launch your site on time and on budget, and plan for ongoing management and optimization. 1.5 CAE credits. More info/register.
Host: U.S. Transactions Corp.
Presenter: Ray Van Hilst, Director of Client Results, Yoko Consulting
Thu 9/15 at 11 a.m. – Looking Forward DEI 2022: Insights Into the Association Sector’s Approach to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Association Laboratory’s Looking Forward® DEI study is the association sector’s most current, comprehensive and relevant study of DEI issues in associations. This webinar is the first opportunity to review the data from more than 300 association leaders across 20 industry and professional sectors and gain insight into how other associations are dealing with this complicated and often controversial topic. 1.5 CAE credits. More info/register.
Host: Association Laboratory
Presenters: Dean West, FASAE, president, Nikki Golden, CAE, strategist, Nikki Haton Shanks, MBA, CAE, strategist, and Meg Whedbee, MPP, senior analyst, Association Laboratory
Thu 9/15 at 12 p.m. – Members: How to Get ‘Em How to Keep ‘Em
Hear about key concepts in member recruitment and retention, like lead generation, the welcome series, the member value proposition, ladders of engagement, the difference between features and benefits, collection and use of data, and best practices in renewal cycles. Learn how to create an effective membership campaign, efficiently welcome new members and renew members. More info/register.
Host: GrowthZone
Presenter: Elizabeth Engel, chief strategist, Spark Consulting
Thu 9/15 at 1 p.m. – 3 Paths to Tapping the Full Potential of Your Learning Business
Get a closer look at three specific areas of opportunity for your learning business: business-to-business (B2B) selling (e.g., to corporations, chapters); globalization of content; and mobile delivery. Learn how you can assess each opportunity and put the right resources in place to pursue them. Get actionable insights into how you might capitalize on B2B selling, globalization, and mobile delivery to dramatically expand the reach—and, by extension, the revenue and impact—of your learning business. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: Leading Learning
Presenters:
- Jeff Cobb and Celisa Steele, co-founders, Tagoras and Leading Learning
- Matt Peterson, relationship director, MapleLMS
Thu 9/15 at 2 p.m. – Measure and Improve Your Marketing Effectiveness in 2023
Learn how to measure marketing effectiveness across six key categories—research and analytics, branding and strategy, marketing and SEO, UX design and content, technology, and team dynamics—and hear recommendations for each to improve your marketing effectiveness. Find out how one organization on how they’ve used the marketing maturity assessment, The Mighty GPS, to adjust, budget, and improve their marketing efforts. More info/register.
Host: Mighty Citizen
Presenter: Rachel Clemens, Chief Marketing Officer, Mighty Citizen
Association Brain Food Weekly is published Friday mornings. If your organization offers free professional development for the association community, please send me the link via email or Twitter by Wednesday afternoon.
Creative Commons licensed photo by Lenstravelier via Unsplash
Association Brain Food 