There are many needs that come with running an association. Whether it’s creating an impactful environment for your members to flourish or utilizing the right content to emphasize industry ethics, there is always a need to address for your association.
Perhaps the biggest need of all is the need for sustainable growth through new memberships. When an association’s growth has plateaued, it is often due to a decrease in association membership sign-ups.
To help you bridge this gap, here are our five tips on how you can start attracting new members into your association today:
Host New Association Events
A great way to start increasing your membership is to host events for professionals. Incorporating events that heighten the knowledge of current members will help them remember industry best practices. Some ideas for events include:
- Lunch and Learns
- Webinars
- Industry Forums
When hosting events, consider bringing in key speakers and industry leaders that can provide sage advice to your attendees. This way, you will entice your current members to attend future events and encourage others to join the association.
Ask for Association Membership Feedback
One of the best ways to encourage others to join your association is to keep your current members happy. To do so, you must listen to what they have to say.
Set up items such as surveys to gather the feedback of your members and review their responses to look for ways to improve their experience. Ask questions like:
- What do you like most about our association?
- What do you think could be better?
- Would you recommend someone to join our association?
Use this tactic to get a proper gauge of where you currently stand with your members. Engagement will encourage them to recommend your association to others.
Create an Association Referral Program
Speaking of recommendations, creating a referral program for your current members to recommend others to your association is a great tactic for gaining new memberships.
Start by offering discounts and promo codes to current members for each recommendation. For each individual that completes a new membership, offer a bonus reward (ex: gift card) to the member that recommended them. This will show your appreciation for their support.
Not only does a referral program encourage your members to recruit for you, but it makes their experience with your association all the more valuable.
Craft an Association Welcome Package
In similar fashion to your referral program, crafting a welcome package for your new members will provide them with rewards that celebrate their membership.
This is the perfect opportunity for your association to roll out the welcome mat for your new members by showing them how grateful you are for their membership. Be sure to include branded merchandise such as shirts, towels, and desk items that they can use.
You only get one chance to make a first impression, so make it count for your new members.
Stay Active on Your Association’s Social Media
Take advantage of your social media and use it to communicate with other industry leaders. By engaging in conversation with keynote specialists about their areas of expertise, you draw interest to your association through connection to those that hold influence over prospective members.
Further your strategy by emphasizing the events and opportunities offered by your association. Show followers just how engaging your association can be by posting relevant content that can be shared with others to get them interested in joining.
Social media is one of the best ways to reach an active audience. Be sure to take the time to set up your channels so you can start to engage.
Using these tips, you will have greater influence in the growth of your association. Memberships are the driving force of every association and garnering more of them will ensure a bright future for yours. Get started with these new ideas to bring in new members today.
Want to create new member kits? Check out our Guide to SWAG to see what works best for your association!
