The Joy of Membership Podcast

How is your year going?  Hitting all your metrics?  Have you even paused for a moment to look? In this episode, I share the 3 major areas that I think warrant a mid-year check-in. Take a listen and let me know your thoughts! Connect with Joy Website: joyofmembership.com journeycare.app

In this episode, we're continuing a special series during which we're exploring how to use technology to help you grow things that are NOT membership. In the work that I do with clients, I'm most often talking about membership growth, but in the quest for that, organizations often find themselves needing more people power. Questions begin to bubble up about who will help with outrea...

If you've been listening to this podcast for any length of time at all, you know that we talk about membership growth a lot, but there are actually LOTS of other things that membership organizations want to grow, too:  donations, sponsorships, volunteers, event attendees, certification holders, non-dues revenue, and more. With this episode, we're kicking off a special series during which...

We're solidly into the 4th month of the year, which means there's an entire first quarter of progress in the rearview mirror. Often, the metrics that organizations look at most closely throughout the year is the number of members who have signed on or renewed. After all, these are the numbers that seem most directly connected to revenue. Today, we're talking about a different number...

This past week, I had the opportunity to be a guest on an episode of Radio-Free 501c with host Cecilia Sepp as part of her special series focused on the 21st Century Membership. As I contemplated what being a "21st Century Membership" means in advance of the show, a few things came to mind. I'll be curious to hear what you think. Connect with Joy Website: joyofmembership.com journey...

Last week, I spent some time consulting with a small membership organization about their tech options. They've been operating primarily on paper but are now exploring how to up-level in the coming year. Their new membership chair was a flurry of ideas and optimistic about possibilities. It was an exciting conversation. As I stepped away from the conversation, I had to remind myself that, desp...

This week is another guest episode. This time, I’m joined by Amanda Lea Kaiser from Kaiser Insights. If Amanda’s name sounds familiar, it’s probably because she’s pretty well known in association circles, but it could also be because she appeared here on this podcast back in Episode 64. So if you listen today and want to hear more from her, you might scroll on back about 50 episodes and listen to...

This past week, Wild Apricot clients learned that a 25% price increase was coming to all pricing tiers in April. It's not unusual for companies to have to increase prices periodically, so this is to be expected.  Yet, every time the price of technology goes up, boards start to wonder if they need to look around at what else is out there. If yours is feeling that urge, you'll likely be in...

Today, I have a special guest with me. It’s been a while since we’ve had a guest episode, so I hope you enjoy this conversation with Aron Murch. Aron is the Co-Owner of 2H Media. Aron works with nonprofits in Ontario, focusing especially on building video-driven websites that reduce confusion and encourage engagement. He believes that you can increase your signups and improve member satisfaction b...

Do you have contacts who have just been sitting in your database for months, maybe even years, without ever becoming a member? Some organizations keep those old contacts on their list forever. Other organizations are constantly trying to clear their databases out because the cost of their membership software is based on the number of contacts. My recommendation for clients lies in-between those tw...

Raise your hand if you’ve ever wondered why the heck people think that what your organization does is brilliant, but they still don’t become a member. Go ahead, raise those hands. I’ll wait. If your hand is now raised, you are in good company. In fact, getting interested people to decide “yes” is something that challenges a lot of membership-based organizations. There may be hundreds of potential...

For many organizations, this time of year is when things get "real". You can see whether revenue went up or down. You can see whether you have more members or less.  This means that this is the time of year when it makes sense to consider if these are the same results that you want next year.  In this episode, I share 3 questions that organizations should be asking as one year winds down...

Recently, my team and I provided event support for a client that was hosting its first "back-to-live" Conference after a pandemic hiatus.  Along the way, I noted a few things that could be woven into the experience next time that will likely  have an impact on membership growth. Listen in to catch what those are. Connect with Joy Website: joyofmembership.com journeycare.app 25 CAREpoints...

In this week's episode of The Joy of Membership Podcast, we're diving into how you can turn a seemingly dead-end opportunity for new members into a membership growth opportunity. All you have to do? A little follow-up! Take a listen and let me know if you're interested in adding some automation features to your membership practices. Connect with Joy Website: joyofmembership.com jour...

New members: We all want them. But when it comes to attracting new potential members, is your organization falling short? In this week's episode of The Joy of Membership Podcast, I dive into five types Discovery Magnets (more commonly known as lead magnets) that can drive reach and new member leads for your organization. As always, after you tune in, feel free to reach out with any questions....

This week, I'm wrapping up the 3-part series called "The Roadmap to Membership Growth". This has officially served as the kick-off for Season 3 of the podcast, and this is Episode 103! If you missed the first six growth practices in The Roadmap to Membership Growth, be sure to flip back and listen to Episode 101 and 102. It's not that the practices have to be implemented in any...

Ready for the next leg of our Membership Growth Itinerary?! Today's podcast is a brief overview of the second grouping of growth practices (remember - there are 9!) to achieve membership growth. If you missed last week's episode, listen in here , then come back and dive into ways your organization can improve member experience to achieve growth! Connect with Joy Website: joyofmembership....

It's your official welcome to Season 3 of the Joy of Membership Podcast! In Season 1, you heard many interviews with membership leaders, exploring why they’re here, how they are being helpful to their audience, and what they’ve learned along the way.  In Season 2, we explored lots of different CAREpoints...where what you do and how you do it makes a difference. And now, in Season 3, we’re emb...

This week, Cecilia Sepp (founder of Rogue Tulips Nonprofit Consulting & Association Management Services) chats with us about how relations between local chapters and national organizations can and SHOULD work together.  Cecilia has spent her entire career in the nonprofit arena - in association staff positions, as a high-level consultant, and volunteer. AKA she knows what she's talking ab...

As Fall approaches (here in the US), it's the time of year that many organizations turn their focus to member recruitment. Whether it's an annual membership drive, a member-to-member referral campaign, or a growth effort conducted alongside conference registration, it's typically all-hands on-deck to work toward growing the organization's membership for the new calendar year. W...

Although your members share a common interest or passion, that doesn't mean they share the same brain. Every person is different, so making sure you address member preferences within your member experience will help your current (and future) members feel at home within your organization. Connect with Joy: Website: joyofmembership.com journeycare.app 25 CAREpoints Checklist: https://journeycar...

On this week's episode of The Joy of Membership Podcast, I'm diving into some different ways that technology benefits your organization. While your website is undoubtedly important to the work you do, there are other elements of technology that could potentially make a HUGE impact within your membership. Take a listen and let me know what you think! Connect with Joy: Website: joyofmember...

No matter how great your membership software is, without reliable and honest customer service, you'll be left dissatisfied. I've been listening to many issues from clients and new inquiries about their current software vendor, and it makes me sad that a tool (designed to HELP) is truly causing more issues within an organization. If you think you may be in a bad relationship with your mem...

Remember how great it was when the cell phone went mainstream, and you could, for the most part, get ahold of anyone anywhere? Now with smartphones, there's a boom in ways to get ahold of people without needing to use your voice. Super convenient, if you're into that sort of thing...but what about your members? As always, when developing tools to best serve your organization, you should...

 Let me ask an obvious question... do you ever wish that it was easier to grow your membership?  Today, I share five things that might be making growth more difficult to achieve than it should be.  Connect with Joy: Website: joyofmembership.com journeycare.app The Fastest Path to Growth Challenge Boost Your Member Recruitment in Less Than 90 Days... without Getting Bogged Down by Internal Discussi...