Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That’s all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day. That lovely poem is A Drinking Song by W.B. Yeats, one of my favorite poets. I made a pilgrimage to his grave long ago, just because.
Now, onto more mundane things…
Is inbound marketing still a bit perplexing for you? Have no fear. Aptify shows how associations can use inbound marketing for lead generation and, ultimately, membership recruitment. Follow along as a young professional goes from website visitor to new member in a process turbo-charged by inbound marketing content.
In the last few years, I’ve seen many articles in Associations Now about associations rethinking the chapter structure. Billhighway explains why many of them are adopting the joint membership model: the special sauce of the association/chapter experience.
If you want to learn how to use Google Analytics to make better decisions about content, check out this post from Content Marketing Institute – and the ebook it mentions.
Gmail users: beware the latest phishing attack. Be careful what you click!
For those of you who host webinars, pay particular attention below to the webinar about webinars on Wednesday, March 22.
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 3/21 at 12 p.m.* – Maximizing Impact with Minimal Resources
When the U.N. declared 2015 the International Year of Soils, the Soil Science Society of America knew it had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build awareness of the value of one of the Earth’s most important, yet little-understood natural resources. However, SSSA had to maximize its activities and impact with a limited budget. Learn how stakeholders came together to take advantage of this unique opportunity, how goals and objectives were determined, how audiences were selected, how strategies and tactics (including mobilizing members) were developed, and how metrics were tracked to demonstrate the success of the campaign. 1 CAE credit. More info/register. Host: ASAE
Presenters:
- Susan Chapman, CAE, director of member services, Soil Science Society of America
- Susan V. Fisk, director of public and science communications, Soil Science Society of America
*All times are Eastern Daylight Time unless otherwise noted.
Wed 3/22 at 7:30 a.m. – Chapter Roundtable (Alexandria VA)
Join a gathering of like-minded folks from chapter-based associations to discuss ideas and solutions for: measuring and increasing the health of chapters and how it can be done; best practices for chapter operations (volunteer tools, processes, etc.); how to get statistics that help you prevent members, at both the national and chapter level, from leaving; and whatever else is on your mind. This will be a collaborative jam session with real-life solutions and resources provided as takeaways. 1.5 CAE credits. Location: Alexandria, VA. More info/register.
Host: Billhighway
Wed 3/22 at 2 p.m. – The Canadian Anti-Spam Law: Are You Compliant in 2017?
On July 1st, 2017 the Private Right of Action provision of the Canadian Anti-Spam Law (CASL) takes effect. Under this provision, recipients who have received communications that violate CASL can sue the sender for both actual and punitive damages. In order to avoid possible financial penalties, legal entanglements, and issues with disgruntled recipients, senders should ensure their marketing policies and procedures are in compliance with CASL. Learn about the various stipulations of CASL, and hear tips on how you should tweak your email marketing strategies to be in full compliance with the law. More info/register.
Host: Real Magnet
Presenter: Brad Gurley, senior director of deliverability, Real Magnet
Wed 3/22 at 2 p.m. – Best Practices in Complying with State Lobbying Laws
National associations are expanding their advocacy efforts at the state level, but with 50 states, comes 50 sets of rules. Stay on the right side of the law by learning about the newest regulations governing lobbying and gift-giving to state lawmakers. Find out about compliance trends and changes in state lobbying laws, varying gift and pay-to-play rules across states, sound compliance procedures that minimize risk, and best practices for ethically advancing your organization’s lobbying strategy. 1 CAE credit. More info/register.
Host: ASAE
Presenters:
- David Frulla, partner, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
- Jeff Hunter, special counsel, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
- Scott Stetson, counsel and compliance manager, MultiState Associates
- Carrie Castro (moderator), vice president, MultiState Associates
Wed 3/22 at 2 p.m. – Webinar Benchmarks Report 2017
ON24’s Webinar Benchmarks Report, 2017 examined more than 12,000 webinars to find out what successful webinars look like – the results were surprising. Learn about best practices and key industry benchmarks, including webinar registration and attendance, best times and days to deliver webinars, average audience size and viewing times, and on-demand webinar viewing habits. More info/register.
Host: ON24
Presenter: Mark Bornstein, vice president, content marketing, ON24, Inc.
Thu 3/23 at 7:30 a.m. – Chapter Roundtable (Washington DC)
Join a gathering of like-minded folks from chapter-based associations to discuss ideas and solutions for: measuring and increasing the health of chapters and how it can be done; best practices for chapter operations (volunteer tools, processes, etc.); how to get statistics that help you prevent members, at both the national and chapter level, from leaving; and whatever else is on your mind. This will be a collaborative jam session with real-life solutions and resources provided as takeaways. 1.5 CAE credits. Location: Washington, DC. More info/register.
Host: Billhighway
Thu 3/23 from 12 to 4 p.m. – Association Palooza V: How Digital Will Transform Your Association (Washington DC)
Association Palooza is bringing leading DC-area association executives back to the table for provocative conversations about digital transformation. Association executives attend for free. Enjoy lunch, learning, networking—and earn CAE credits. Location: Washington, DC. Register.
Hosts: DelCor, Results Direct, Expo Logic, and HighRoad Solution
Presenters: Speakers and experts from the association community
Thu 3/23 at 12 p.m. – Most Harmful SEO Mistakes and How to Fix Them
Get an in-depth look at the top most harmful SEO mistakes for your website’s health and what steps to take to fix them. The webinar will cover necessary due diligence/research, user experience issues, link building, slow-loading sites, and hidden technical issues. More info/register.
Host: SEMrush
Presenters:
- Andy Drinkwater, founder, iQSEO
- Eric Enge, CEO, Stone Temple Consulting
- Bastian Grimm, CEO, Peak Ace
- Nick Wilsdon, lead SEO, group optimization, Vodafone Group
Thu 3/23 at 2 p.m. – Turn Your Website into a Membership Growth Engine
Even someone without any tech experience can turn their website into a new member recruiter — in just an afternoon. Learn about three website changes that will start attracting new members right away; how to get volunteers to easily make updates by themselves (even if they don’t have any tech experience); and how other organizations use their website to drive membership growth. More info/register.
Host: Wild Apricot
Presenter: Terry Ibele, growth specialist, Wild Apricot
Thu 3/23 at 2 p.m. – Contact Clauses: Unraveling the Big Three
Learn why the typical wording for the Big Three clauses – attrition, cancellation, and force majeure – can be problematic, and how a small change in wording can reap big benefits in protecting your organization and your event. Find out how to evaluate attrition clauses for potential challenges, apply the principle of mitigation to performance clauses, and find ways to modify force majeure clauses that could prove beneficial should an event-cancelling situation arise. 0.5 CMP credit. More info/register.
Host: MeetingsNet
Presenters:
- Sue Pelletier (moderator), content director, MeetingsNet
- Tyra Hilliard, JD, CMP, speaker, professor, and writer
Fri 3/24 at 1 p.m. – Create and Communicate a Compelling Value Proposition to Win More New Members and Customers
Your ability to clearly uncover your organization’s full value and to then communicate your relevant and compelling value proposition makes your website sticky, gets your emails answered, your phone calls returned, and prospects converted to new members/customers. Learn a genuine way to express your value that will resonate with your prospects and members/customers and result in more new members/customers. More info/register.
Host: Blue Sky eLearn
Presenter: Bill Cates, author of Get More Referrals Now!, Beyond Referrals, and Radical Relevance
Save the date: Fri 3/31 at 1 p.m. – Using Digital Credentials to Close the Skills Gap
Employers are desperate to find qualified talent among candidates who lack sufficient technical know-how and business competence to drive organizations forward. How can associations help turn the tide? The most effective solutions may emerge from lifelong learning initiatives based on micro-credentials. But first, you must know how to translate the promise of digital badges into practical strategies that engage members in relevant and meaningful ways. More info/register.
Host: WBT Systems
Presenters:
- John Leh, CEO and lead analyst, Talented Learning
- Linda Bowers, CTO, WBT Systems
That’s it for this week. 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 by Daniel Gillaspia.
Association Brain Food 