Archive for December, 2004

Why would an association publish e-newsletters for its members, but none for non-members? I’ve come across several that operate this way.

I can see how some e-newsletters would have content that should be restricted to paying members. But if an association has the capability to create e-newsletters in the first place, why wouldn’t they also have at least one that is available to whoever wants it?

Our flagship newsletter is available for free. Many of the external links are for members only (requires log-in), but most of the newsletter content itself is open. The result? Non-member subscribers join online.

You can’t give everything away for free (and definitely shouldn’t), but restricting everything is even worse. E-newsletters are a tremendous tool. That’s why pretty much every company on the web offers them — but you don’t see them restricting all their subscriptions to paying customers.

I’m putting together a small, informal group of association execs who are in the process of evaluating new database/AMS solutions for their organizations, or who are frustrated with their exisiting system and are looking to begin the process. Talking with others in the same boat might help all of us focus a little better on the right things to consider and come up with better ideas of our own.

Several folks responded to a message I sent to the ASAE membership listserv last month, and we’re planning a lunch get-together in the DC area later in January. If you’re interested in an invite, send me an email and tell me a little bit about your organization and where you stand with your system(s).

Please, no responses from vendors or consultants.

First of all, take a look at this website:

Subscription Website Publishers Association (SWEPA)

Now, ask yourself: Is this an "association" as most association executives might define the term?

At first blush, the answer is no, right? This doesn’t appear to really be an "organization." As far as I can tell, it’s just a for-profit website owned by an individual.

Take a closer look. They charge dues. Members get access to information and knowledge resources that are otherwise closed. There’s a very active discussion forum where members interact with each other, ask questions, get answers. SWEPA sponsors training, which members get discounts on. There are products members can buy at a discount.

How is this any different from associations as we know them?

Well, they don’t do "advocacy" — but there’s no reason why they couldn’t if they felt there was a reason to get involved. (And lots of old-school associations don’t really do advocacy, either.) There’s no "governance" structure — no board, no committees. (For this site’s purposes of efficiently providing information its members want to pay for, do you think that’s a hindrance?)

Of course, what really caught my eye about this site is its whole reason for being — and the people who join. People who run "subscription websites" (including self-styled "associations") for niche industries and professions.

SWEPA even offers a couple sample business plans for "membership association websites."

Set aside SWEPA and its resources. The fact is it’s incredibly easy for just about anyone to form a dues-based website that costs next to nothing — and if that individual happens to know a lot about whatever industry or profession niche he/she’s targeting, it’s just as easy to create useful and interesting content.

(Just out of curiosity, I spent about half-a-day researching this, and realized that if I wanted to I could create a fully-integrated paid membership website, using some low-cost software and my own basic html design skills, for less than $500 and some sweat equity.)

While many of these subscription sites remain "pie-in-the-sky" ideas for their owners, there are many successful ones — dues-based for-profit sites that have figured out how to provide engaging content, interactive communities, and useful resources that members want to pay for.

Anybody can do it.

Including your association.

Or people who want to compete with you.

Are you providing the same kinds of resources on your organization’s website? Making it easy for members to join and get the information they want? Providing the "virtual" experience that more and more of your customers/members want today? (Is "networking" as it used to be defined by associations dying or dead? I think it is.)

I’m really curious about other people’s thoughts on this topic.

I’m actually out of town on a little extended holiday break, which explains the paucity of postings here, though the poor people who work back in our office get no such break as I’ve been pelting them with emails ever since I left.

But had to stop in here to point out the new Fortune cover story on "Top 10 Tech Trends" for 2005 — and of course, one of them is blogging. Money quote:

"Of course, it’s difficult to take the phenomenon seriously when most blogs involve kids talking about their dates, people posting pictures of their cats, or lefties raging about the right (and vice versa). But whatever the topic, the discussion of business isn’t usually too far behind: from bad experiences with a product to good customer service somewhere else. Suddenly everyone’s a publisher and everyone’s a critic. Says Jeff Jarvis, author of the blog BuzzMachine, and president and creative director of newspaper publisher Advance Publications’ Internet division: ‘There should be someone at every company whose job is to put into Google and blog search engines the name of the company or the brand, followed by the word ’sucks,’ just to see what customers are saying.’

"It all used to be so easy; the adage went ‘never pick a fight with anyone who buys ink by the barrel.’ But now everyone can get ink for free, launch a diatribe, and—if what they have to say is interesting to enough people—expect web-enabled word of mouth to carry it around the world. Unlike earlier promises of self-publishing revolutions, the blog movement seems to be the real thing. A big reason for that is a tiny innovation called the permalink: a unique web address for each posting on every blog. Instead of linking to web pages, which can change, bloggers link to one another’s posts, which typically remain accessible indefinitely. This style of linking also gives blogs a viral quality, so a pertinent post can gain broad attention amazingly fast—and reputations can get taken down just as quickly."

Rick Bruner interviews the blogger employed by organic yogurt company Stonyfield Farm, which actually maintains four blogs. A good example of how to use blogs to reach diverse audiences with your message. Quote:

"With growth, we fear losing touch with what is a very loyal and committed customer base, and so our CEO, Gary Hirshberg, saw the blogs as a way to continue to personalize our relationship with our customers. He wants to ‘be real’ and saw the blogs as a way to do that …"

Followed my usual morning ritual today of reading through the NYTimes on my way into work via the Metro (on a Red Line that moves in fits and starts, if at all, which has unfortunately become another ritual). Read through an article about how publishers are moving quickly to sign book contracts with prominent bloggers — the latest in the Gray Lady’s ongoing discovery of the blogosphere, further proof of how mainstream the concept has become.

As I said in a comment to an earlier post, 2005 is definitely shaping up as "The Year of the Blog," so look for 2006 to be "The Year of the Inevitable Blog Backlash!"

In the interim, though, where’s my book contract? You’ll find my contact info to the right …