Archive for November, 2004

Okay, I’m going off-topic here for a moment …

If your association’s website has a members-only section, make sure that non-members who attempt to log in without the proper credentials are returned an error page that, at the very least, provides a link to your "join" section.

If you are not using a pure database-driven website and are relying on some form of basic httpd authorization (the standard browser "gray box" asking for username and password), remember that the standard "error page" is a very basic webpage announcing "Authorization Failed" in big bold letters. This is a selling opportunity lost.

These error pages are very easy to override and replace with a custom page that points toward membership. Talk to whoever is managing/hosting your website. David Gammel wrote an article on custom error pages for "Page Not Found" (404) errors, and the concept is the same for "Authorization Failed" (401) errors.

If you’re using a pure database-driven website, and resolving credentials through server scripting, make sure failed authorizations get a message about membership. (I’ve seen many such sites simply return the form again with a red "Username or Password Incorrect" line, which is, again, a lost opportunity.)

More non-members are clicking on your members-only links than you think. (I always do.) One more thing: make sure you spell out exactly what’s behind your members-only wall so that non-members know what they do not have access to. If you just put certain items behind a members-only wall without calling them out on your site to non-members, you’re losing potential membership sales.

This, of course, is all predicated upon your having valuable resources reserved for members online. (I just stumbled across a major national organization’s website whose items marked "members-only" are not, in fact, for members only — no password is requested and the pages are freely available.)

Sorry, but had to get all that off my chest. Now back to our regularly-scheduled blog …

Not all blogs are permanent. In fact, "event" blogs have become more and more popular. These are blogs devoted to a specific event, usually including posts before, during, and after the event. If your association has an annual meeting, consider developing a meeting blog. There are three reasons to do this:

Promote attendance at the event. By launching a blog devoted to an event several months prior, you can use the blog to promote attendance. It essentially becomes a "newsletter" about the event. However, don’t make it one long string of "reserve rooms now" type posts. Instead, post about the "meat" of the meeting. Interview workshop presenters, or invite them to post, and encourage interactivity by asking blog readers to post their questions about the subject matter before the conference.

Promote discussion during the event. Invite several members and staff members to post about their experiences at the conference during the event, and promote the blog like hell to attendees. Mention it prominently in all literature and at general sessions, and if you offer a "Cyber-Cafe" or other net-access site at the conference, make sure all browsers are set to default to the conference blog. Encourage attendees to not just visit the blog during the meeting, but to post comments.

Promote the next event. The event blog doesn’t just serve the attendees. It provides a link to the members who didn’t attend. By reading the blog and seeing what they missed, and the types of discussions that took place, non-attendees learn why they should plan to attend the next one. A well-done event blog isn’t "hit-you-over-your-head" marketing; it’s tangible evidence of the value of attendance.

Some examples:

• This past summer, the American Society of Association Executives ran a blog devoted to its annual meeting in Minneapolis. This was a pure event blog, running solely during the meeting, with posts from several ASAE staffers and members. It includes photos and some summaries of speakers and sessions.
• At the Air Conditioning Contractors of America, our ongoing blog, ACCAbuzz , served a dual purpose as an event blog. For the fifteen days prior to the start of our 2004 Annual Conference, we ran a special "Conference Countdown" series of posts, and during the meeting we blogged from New Orleans, with photos, summaries of sessions, "full text" of speeches, and other news. In addition, staffer Lucia Lodato stuck close to a "first-time attendee" of the conference and ran several posts highlighting his impressions of the event.
• This blog, in fact, is an event blog, as it’s being developed primarily in conjunction with a workshop we will be giving at the ASAE Great Ideas Conference in Orlando on December 6. It gets us out of preparing paper handouts, and helps me organize my thoughts as we prepare the presentation.

A "temporary" event blog may also be a way for your association to test the blogging waters.

How can associations use the blog concept for their own purposes? Blogs are such flexible tools that the possibilities are endless. Here are some ideas as food for thought; I’ll offer some more specific thoughts on each of these later, some here on the blog and some at the workshop.

Thought leadership. Association CEOs or other senior executives can cement their reputation as "thought leaders" within their industry or profession by blogging. This is probably one of the trickiest blogs to pull off successfully, but can pay dividends in a number of ways for an association.

News gathering. In the "golden days" of associations, many were seen primarily as a source of collective news and information for their members — a "filter" for important issues. The Internet changed all that. Or did it? Blogs are one tool associations can use to provide a service to their constituency by once again pulling together important information in one place. Whether it’s trade news, government affairs issues, or other items of industry interest, an association can use a blog as a "filter" to provide links to news items of real importance to the organization’s audience. In many cases, you’re already tracking this information anyway.

Internal blogs (staff). Blogs don’t have to be focused on reaching an external audience — in fact, many large organizations are embracing the blog as a way to promote internal discussion and collaboration. For example, you can establish a private blog as your Intranet. In large organizations, different divisions or teams can collaborate on blogs as a way to track projects or engage in frank conversation.

Internal blogs (members). Internal blogs can also be used to promote collaboration between members. For example, active committees can establish blogs to allow ongoing discussion. Since committee members may be far-flung, blogs may become a new method of "meeting" alongside face-to-face, teleconference, and "live" net meetings. The blog becomes an easy way to maintain conversations, documents and ideas in one centralized (and password-protected) place. Or perhaps a board blog — available solely to members of your board — might solve communications problems "between meetings."

Tips and techniques. You can use a blog as a source of quick ideas, tips and techniques for your constituency — sort of a "news gathering" blog with a more practical bent. Consider focusing the blog on very specific types of tips. Two examples off the top of my head: If your association represents an industry composed of interstate companies that have to deal with a wide variety of state laws, develop a blog authored by staff and member experts providing tips on compliance with those laws. If your profession is dealing with a new kind of competition from new entities or business models, develop a blog that tracks developments within the competing sector. The ideas are limitless and unique to each association’s mission.

Small organizations. No matter how small your organization, a blog is a viable (in some cases, free) option. In fact, a small organization with limited website needs — who may only need a method to distribute information to members and other interested parties — could feasibly just use a blog as their website. For example, for a few bucks a month and a small amount of time, a TypePad blog could be set up with categories (news, events, etc.) and you could use the simple interface to easily post additional items.

That’s a start. What other ideas do you have?

Had enough to eat?

While my digestion process continues, and before I get into some of the more nuts-and-bolts issues here later, I thought I’d jot down a few more samples of association blogs in action. Here are some I’ve come across recently:

The National Association of Manufacturers has a new blog penned by NAM Senior Vice President Pat Cleary. The blog already has a pretty well-defined voice of aggressive advocacy on behalf of its audience.

The Association of National Advertisers is hosting two blogs: one from the association’s CEO, Bob Lidoce, and one focused on government and legal issues authored by Dan Jaffe, the ANA’s Executive Vice President for Government Relations.

A number of members contribute to a blog hosted by the National Association of Scholars , a group of university or college professors, students, and administrators.

Another association blog with a definite viewpoint, BoardBuzz, is presented by the National School Boards Association.

The California Manufacturers & Technology Association pulls together links and news items from a variety of sources for its members.

Good examples, all. I’ll add links to them over in the sidebar, too.

I’m writing this while en route to Maryland’s Eastern Shore to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with my parents. The post is being written in the email client on my wireless PDA and will then be sent to a special email address which places it on the blog.

Cool, huh? (Assuming it works.) But "cool" doesn’t cut it, as far as I’m concerned. When looking at any new tool or program, I prefer to shy away from the "gee-whiz" factor. The real question to ask is, "Does it get results?"

If it doesn’t, then it won’t matter how cool it is. (And if it does, it doesn’t matter how low-tech it is.)