Association Brain Food: 9.30.22

The weekly list of free educational events and resources for the association community…

Education marketing/sales. Seth Godin said, “People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories, and magic.” WBT Systems examines what learners are really buying and explains how to apply what Godin’s describing to the way you market and sell your association’s educational programs.

Member/customer engagement. Many associations use conversational engagement to draw people into relevant conversations, identify their goals or needs, and respond appropriately—at scale, not individually. PropFuel describes why and how this innovative approach to communicating and engaging with members and customers is so successful.

Growth mindset. I still remember the moment years ago while reading Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, when I realized with horror, I had a fixed, not growth, mindset. It can’t be! But my past showed otherwise. Thankfully, awareness is the first step to change. What about you and your colleagues? At Trade Show News Network, Rachel Wimberly says event planners need a growth mindset now more than ever. Time to check in with yourself and your team to see if you need an attitude adjustment.

Engaging with busy members. Amanda Kaiser says, “Members don’t have the time to devote to their association anymore.” They’re too busy keeping up with the demands of their professional and personal responsibilities. She has a strategy for tackling this problem, but unfortunately the cohort she’s hosting with the Associations Societies Alliance started yesterday. Oops. You should still read her post and check out the cohort for next time.

AMS (r)evolution. Empowered Margins sat down with 70 developers to get their thoughts on all things AMS, such as integration, APIs, security, ecommerce, data visualization, and more. They explain how these factors affect the member experience, how the AMS market is changing, and what you should look for in a new AMS.

A true hero. The whole world should celebrate Petrov Day on September 26—it’s in my calendar now thanks to Alex Tabarrok at Marginal Revolution. The courageous Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov’s “calm actions and general humanity helped to prevent a nuclear war on September 26th, 1983.” I hope Russian and American politicians and military heed his example should that day ever come. It enrages me when people talk about “limited nuclear warfare.” There is no such thing, only mutually assured destruction.

Newsletter engagement. Side note: I subscribe to a ridiculous number of newsletters, but I always open Marginal Revolution because I know it contains only two short posts. It’s an easy open, easy click if I’m interested, and easy delete. Something to remember if you want to increase your email engagement rates—although one person’s experience means nothing, always test.

Good eats

Skip down to the list of free educational events if you prefer takeout.

I often must resist the temptation to enhance my fish, when, as fresh as it is, it really doesn’t need much. I could have simply baked black drum fillets with salt, lemon, and a little butter, but I couldn’t help myself and had to add the red New Mexico chile powder I just bought. On the side, pearl couscous made with onion, garlic, chicken broth, and basil, along with roasted broccoli and orange cauliflower with red onion and garlic.

Comfort food Friday featured blackened catfish, cheesy grits, and leftover veg.

I was in the mood for southwestern on Sunday, so I made a shrimp enchiladas verde recipe but with flounder instead. Since I had 1-1/2 pounds of flounder, I increased all the ingredients and started by pan-frying the fish. My vegetable mix included onion, poblano, red bell, jalapeño, garlic, and corn. But they weren’t really enchiladas, more like lasagna, since I layered the tortillas on the bottom of the baking dish, then spread salsa on top, then the fish mixture, another layer of tortillas, the rest of the fish mixture, a salsa/cream mix, and, finally, cheese. On the side, a sautéed vegetable medley featuring asparagus, carrot, zucchini, broccoli stem, onion, basil, and garlic chives.

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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.

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Fri 9/30 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.

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Mon 10/3 at 1 p.m. – Using Analytics to Drive Event Success

0.5 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: MPI

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Mon 10/3 at 1 p.m. – Moderating Online Conversations (Nonprofit Conversations with Cecilia Sepp, CAE)

Extended episode with exercises. This series of 15- to 20-minute videos covers hot topics and issues related to 501c organization management. New episodes are posted around 1 p.m. every Monday. Check out Cecilia’s Nonprofit Executive Spotlight series too.

Guest: Ed Barks

Host: Cecilia Sepp, CAE, CNAP, principal and founder, Rogue Tulips LLC

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Tue 10/4 at 11 a.m. – Using the Magic of Modern eCommerce to Boost Member Engagement and Diversify Revenue

For decades, AMS systems have focused on usability of association staff first, leading to less-than-desirable member experiences. Meanwhile, eCommerce software has evolved at a tremendous pace and now offers amazing features and benefits for associations. Learn about the evolution of modern eCommerce compared to AMS commerce, real world examples of the shopping cart experience and the features available to associations, and how eCommerce can connect within your ecosystem of software. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers: Jeff Horne, co-founder, and Mel Cowell, general manager, services team, Wicket

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Tue 10/4 at 11 a.m. – Publishing, Societies and Open Access Fireside Chat: Part 1—Societies: What Should We Be Asking of Our Publishing Partners?

Join us in conversation with societies about their journals program, discussing the challenges that the changing publications landscape brings them, with a particular focus on the impact of transformative agreements on those who are working with commercial publishing partners. More info/register.

Host: Society Street

Speakers:

• Heather Staines, Director of Community Engagement and Senior Consultant at Delta Think
• Matthew Giampoala, Vice President, Publications at the American Geophysical Union
• Kevin Murphy, Executive Director at Mineralogical Society of the UK & Ireland
• Kathryn Spiller, Head of Publishing at the Society for Applied Microbiology
• Simon Inger, Chief Revenue Officer at Cadmore Media

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Tue 10/4 from 12 to 7 p.m. – Growth Summit

Get real, gritty, tactical growth insights from the world’s best operators—no fluffy theory, no presentations, just experts and founders sharing how they’re actually growing their businesses. This is as close as you’ll get to 10+ hours of consulting from today’s top growth marketers. More info/register.

Host: Demand Curve

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Tue 10/4 at 12 p.m. – Data Success Stories (Data Analytics Network)

Join association professionals in peer-led discussions on topics related to data and analytics. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Association Analytics

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Tue 10/4 at 12 p.m. – Storytelling and Pathways to Clarity with Dear World

How do you tell a story? We all have our own stories and they are all important but how are we telling them? Are we telling them? There is a power in storytelling. Join us as we hit on the pathways to clarity. From your personal story to the story your attendees tell, the story your event tells. There are stories all around us. 1 CMP credit. More info/register.

Host: PCMA

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Tue 10/4 at 1 p.m. – Best Budgeting Practices: Beginning to End

Review the best practices for establishing corporate wide budgets, forecasting, controlling and monitoring budgets. Learn about budgeting terminology, general enterprise level budgeting processes, forecasting options for creating budgets, typical budget reporting such as budget vs actual report, and budgeting data flows and integration technology. 1.5 CAE credits. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Mike Canniff, CEO at PyanGo

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Tue 10/4 at 3 p.m. – How to Capture Fresh Member Profile Data and Make It Actionable

That stale and missing member data sitting in your association systems… what do you do about it? Explore the various types of association data, where it is stored, and how to bring it together to drive meaningful action. Learn how member data gets stale over time, what you can do to keep it current, and how to approach profile data collection and updates as an ongoing process instead of a static activity. More info/register.

Host: Association Analytics

Speakers:

• Brianne Wheeler, PropFuel
• Greg Pollack, Association Analytics

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Wed 10/5 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Digital Future of Events

Hear industry leaders forecasting, explaining, and debating how digital technologies will continue to shape your events in 2023. More info/register.

Host: PCMA Digital Event Strategist Certification

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Wed 10/5 at 11 a.m. – How To Digitally Nurture Prospective Members

Do all buyer journeys organically convert or do they need a little “push” to move along the funnel? The “middle of the marketing funnel” can be notoriously long and arduous for digital marketers as prospects take their time “considering” if they want to further engage and eventually convert. Learn how to pull those future members deeper down into the funnel so they reach the “decision” stage a little quicker. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Aimee Pagano, director of programming, HighRoad Solutions

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Wed 10/5 from 12 to 7 p.m. – Growth Summit

Get real, gritty, tactical growth insights from the world’s best operators—no fluffy theory, no presentations, just experts and founders sharing how they’re actually growing their businesses. This is as close as you’ll get to 10+ hours of consulting from today’s top growth marketers. More info/register.

Host: Demand Curve

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Wed 10/5 at 12 p.m. – Write, Copy, Rinse, Repeat: Making Tons of Content in a Single Day

Making content can be time consuming. Knowing what to post and where can be difficult. Learn how to create gobs of high-value, engaging content from a single source in less than 15 minutes a day. This introductory workshop focuses on social media, member engagement, and creativity. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Association Insights in Old Town

Speaker: Alan DeYoung, Executive Director, Wisconsin Emergency Medical Services Association

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Wed 10/5 at 12 p.m. – State of Email Live: Testing Times

Testing is the backbone of any strong email program. It can make the difference between a high-performing campaign, and one that fails to stand out in the inbox and drive engagement (or even worse—gets banished to the spam folder. Learn highly effective testing practices proven to boost email performance, how to adapt testing programs for a post-MPP world, how to optimize for perfect personalization, essential metrics for identifying testing winners, and what email marketers should prioritize for testing during this business-critical period. More info/register.

Host: Validity

Speakers:

• Deborah O’Malley, founder, GuessTheTest
• Johanna Morlock-Abbasi, assistant director of email marketing, Bradford Exchange
• Julie Stuck, email strategist, Validity
• Guy Hanson, VP of customer engagement, Validity

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Wed 10/5 at 1 p.m. – Using Futures-Thinking to Make Better Decisions Today

How can you and your volunteer leaders best prepare for environmental ambiguity and unexpected developments? By constantly scanning for weak signals and adopting a future-oriented mindset. Hear from four experienced association executives who have benefited from embracing and integrating futures-thinking throughout their associations. Learn how to proactively lead your board toward a futures mindset; the power and importance of scenario planning; contingency planning and risk mitigation; and much more. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

• Kristine Metter, CAE, President at Crystal Lake Partners LLC
• Donté P. Shannon, FASAE, CAE, Non-profit Exec. | Strategist | Public Speaker | Author, PMA Nonprofit Leadership and Vista Cova
• Lindsay Currie, CAE, Executive Officer, Council on Undergraduate Research
• Melody Jordan-Carr, Vice President, Member Relations at ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership

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Wed 10/5 at 3 p.m. – Is Your Messaging Killing Your Business?

Boost engagement and revenue by learning the C.P.R test for marketing messages, how to do this one thing to improve your copy right now, how to avoid Bores and Snores, write headlines that beg to be read. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: Diane Saeger, CEO, Markeetry

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Thu 10/6 at 11 a.m. – Keynote Speaker Series: Your 5 Options for Growth

Hear about the current state of the M&A market, the five growth options for your company, and why external growth (acquisitions, joint ventures, etc.) may be the best option for your company. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speaker: David Braun, CEO and founder of Capstone Strategic

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Thu 10/6 from 12 to 4 p.m. – RECONVENE Summit

Learn how to create impactful experiences and grow thriving businesses from the marketing experts, artists, and entrepreneurs behind some of our favorite events. More info/register.

Host: Eventbrite

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Thu 10/6 from 12 to 7 p.m. – Growth Summit

Get real, gritty, tactical growth insights from the world’s best operators—no fluffy theory, no presentations, just experts and founders sharing how they’re actually growing their businesses. This is as close as you’ll get to 10+ hours of consulting from today’s top growth marketers. More info/register.

Host: Demand Curve

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Thu 10/6 at 12 p.m. – Communicating the Value of Membership

If you’ve ever been frustrated by the lack of response to surveys, programs, events, and even renewals, this session will shed light on what’s wrong and how to fix it. Learn about the differences between relationship and conversion marketing—and which to use when, the two marketing stages you need to move through before people can take action, how to discover what your key audiences consider a benefit, and which audiences to research to uncover answers. More info/register.

Host: GrowthZone

Speaker: Beth Brodovsky, president of Iris Creative Group

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Thu 10/6 at 12 p.m. – The Community Check-In

A weekly community chat on Slack for black professionals working in the events industry. More info/register.

Host: Black In Events Network

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Thu 10/6 at 1 p.m. – Level Up Your Event Game: Event Tech

Event tech used to be a nice-to-have element and now it’s critical to event success. Hear tips and tricks on how to better use event tech to reach your goals and create connected events. More info/register.

Host: Webex Events

Speakers: Yvonne deFuria, Event Production Manager, and Riley Sawyers, CSM, Webex Events

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Thu 10/6 at 2 p.m. – Expert Series: Can You Solve Your Member Communication Challenges in 2023?

Learn how to incorporate text messaging in your communication outreach programs. Find out how associations are starting to use text messaging and text to pay to send broadcast messages for dues reminders to improve renewal rates, create groups for event promotions and updates, offer a non-dues revenue program to members or corporate sponsors, and modernize their site with text us widget to encourage more member interaction. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Non Dues-a-Palooza

Speakers: AffiniPay and Kenect

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Thu 10/6 at 2 p.m. – Reimagine Your Marketing: 5 Digital Strategies To Get You There

Learn about the digital strategies needed to transform your organization’s communications and streamline acquisition efforts. To adapt to the ever-changing digital landscape post-pandemic, your approach to engagement through SEO, SEM, and other digital marketing tactics has to change as well. Hear about the five most anticipated digital marketing strategies in 2023 (including GA4!), and how to harness the power of the latest digital tools to impact your organization’s engagement and marketing efforts. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Mighty Citizen

Speakers: Jarrett Way, Content & Digital Marketing Manager, and Cassandra Hansen, Digital Marketing Strategist, Mighty Citizen

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Thu 10/6 at 2 p.m. – Legal Unease In Technology

What you don’t know can hurt you. Learn how key components in an IT contract can keep you and your association out of hot water. Hear what an association CEO, experienced in contract law and a software contracts attorney have to say about IT contracts and what you need to know before signing on the dotted line. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: 501 Works

Speakers:

• Mark Roberts, CEO, TechServe Alliance
• David E. Zerbee, Esq., Co-Founder, Executive Counsel

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Thu 10/6 at 2 p.m. – Year-End Reporting and 2023 Strategy: Tips for Getting Buy-In and Budget

To get the investment you need for 2023, you need to present all your efforts this year in the best light and have a solid strategy for moving forward. Learn about the best metrics and data you can pull to showcase your work in 2022, tips for building a strategy and presenting a solid 2023 advocacy plan for your organization, key advocacy metrics you should track and report on starting January, and real-life examples from experts getting reporting and strategy right. More info/register.

Host: VoterVoice/FiscalNote

Speakers:

• Joshua Habursky, deputy executive director and chief lobbyist at the Premium Cigar Association
• Mike Fulton, public affairs & advocacy at The Asher Agency
• Sherry Whitworth (moderator), managing director, public affairs and advocacy, FiscalNote

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Thu 10/6 at 3 p.m. – Why Associations Should Stop Planning Events and Start Designing Experiences

Learn what it takes to design experiences rather than simply planning events, how the landscape has changed from meeting design to stakeholder engagement, and how to not fall back on history and habits now that we are returning to in-person events. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

• Katie Riggs, CAE, CMP, CMM, HMCC, CED, Chief Event Strategist, Riggs & Co.
• Emilie Perkins, CMP, CAE, CMM, PMP, CED, Director of Client and Conference Services at Raybourn Group International

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Fri 10/7 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

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Fri 10/7 at 4 p.m. – The Roots of Inclusive Communication

Learn essential elements to create an environment in which inclusion can thrive, including trust and transparency, a framework used to deepen understanding of cultures in support of a deeper relationship with stakeholders, and actionable integrations participants can make between the impact of cultivating an inclusive environment and their daily functions. More info/register.

Host: Fridays@4

Speaker: Emani Richmond, associate consultant and facilitator

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Tue 10/11 from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Wonk Week

Join thousands of public affairs professionals to wonk out with one another in crash courses, issue area deep dives, networking, and trivia. More info/register.

Host: Quorum

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Tue 10/11 at 11 a.m. – Why Online Community Is Your Association’s Future: Changing How We Work & Connect

Association members are emerging from the pandemic with a significantly higher level of technical proficiency, giving membership-based organizations the opportunity to reassess and reimagine how online community can become a predictable core growth engine. Learn techniques to foster a spirit of generosity within your online community, options to transform mentorship in your industry, and how to create year-round engagement opportunities for your exhibitors and partners. 1.5 CAE credits. More info/register.

Host: UST Education

Speakers:

• Barbara J. Armentrout, CAE, managing partner, Mesa Group
• Lucas Cioffi, principal and lead software engineer, QiqoChat
• Sandra Nam, chief executive officer, QiqoChat

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Tue 10/11 at 11:30 a.m. – How to Bridge the Gap and Overcome Barriers to Become a Data-Driven Association

Data doesn’t have to be overwhelming for association leaders and executives to shy away from. To fully harness and thrive in the power of data, associations need to identify and overcome the barriers that prevent them from becoming an organization with a data-driven mindset and culture. This webinar will walk you through the pathway toward becoming a data-driven association. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Hosts: ReviewMyAMS and IntelliData

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Wed 10/12 from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Wonk Week

Join thousands of public affairs professionals to wonk out with one another in crash courses, issue area deep dives, networking, and trivia. More info/register.

Host: Quorum

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Wed 10/12 at 1 p.m. – A Tale of Three Hybrids

What if there were creative ways of blending face-to-face and virtual experiences that yielded different results? Three event organizers, who executed very different “hybrid” models from each other, will contrast their varieties of event models, share the reasoning behind their decisions, reflect on their successes, and consider new additions for their future hybrid events. More info/register.

Host: Matchbox Virtual Media

Speakers:

• Reggie Henry, American Society of Association Executives
• Jen Evers, International Coalition of Girls’ Schools
• Ellen Haus, American Association of Community Colleges
• Arianna Rehak, Matchbox Virtual Media

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Thu 10/13 from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Wonk Week

Join thousands of public affairs professionals to wonk out with one another in crash courses, issue area deep dives, networking, and trivia. More info/register.

Host: Quorum

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Thu 10/13 at 1 p.m. – Building Your Blended Learning Playbook

Blended learning isn’t new, but it’s newly relevant in a world emerging from the pivot to fully online instruction caused by COVID-19. It appeals powerfully to learners by combining the social benefits of in-person learning with the convenience of online learning. And learning businesses have an opportunity to leverage individuals’ increased comfort with online learning to create learning experiences that integrate the best of both e-learning and place-based instruction. Learn about various models for blended learning, including the rotation, flex, a la carte, and enriched virtual models; and examples of what learning businesses have tried. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.

Host: Leading Learning

Speakers:

• Jeff Cobb and Celisa Steele, co-founders, Tagoras and Leading Learning,
• Michelle Brien, VP of marketing and product strategy, WBT Systems

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Fri 10/14 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: Megan Cottrell, director of digital strategy, CREW Network

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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 the week before it’s scheduled.

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Creative Commons licensed photo by Roman Melnychuk via Unsplash

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