Focus: Blog

Newsletter Content and Your Association Strategy

  

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Last week I wrote about the importance of “getting in touch” with your members. Whether it’s a monthly or weekly communication, showing your members activity within and an eye on the outside world conveys your position as a leader - and a good organization to belong to.

But the next question is always – what do I communicate? Where do I get my content? I’d love to do a newsletter but I have nothing to say. Really? Here are some ideas of content we’ve either seen or used:

• Identify new members – this can be a simple list with a thank you for joining message, OR TAKE IT FURTHER
• Interview a new member about what they do, their role in the industry, how they got there, what their challenges are, how the changes in our economy are affecting them and how they are working through it.

• There should always be a link to join, a link to your upcoming meeting and a link to any other priority your association maintains. USE IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY
• To get their feedback on their favorite session or their burning platform issues.

• Got an upcoming conference this fall? Ask one of your speakers to write a short article on the topic of their session. It’s a good advertisement for your meeting and the speaker will appreciate the extra advertising (consider a link to their website).
• Just about to start your spring conference? Recruit volunteers to write a summary of the session – be a “reporter from the floor.” Or,
• If you have tweets going during the session, summarize those or at minimum use some for quotes from the session.
• What else is happening in the industry/economy that relates to your session? Is there an article you can share?

• Are there other priorities for the organization? They should be regularly included in your content. For example, if you have an active policy and advocacy committee, suggest they contribute on a regular basis. Supporting research? Report on that.
• Is there an overriding theme of, say, connecting, this year? consider articles that talk about the many ways people are connecting with each other - even if it's outside your organization.

• Consider your members as people – what are the challenges they face in life? Balance? Budgeting? HR? Financial planning? Consider pulling articles from other areas that might be of interest.
• Finally, there is so much happing in our world, from fighting and civil unrest in the Middle East to the tragedies in Japan, to our continued effort to master healthcare here at home. Sometimes it’s tough to translate how it affects us now and the future. Your ability to interpret these major events tells your members you have their best interests in mind.