Posted by
Daniel Chu on Wed, May 02, 2012 @ 09:59 AM
Membership Directors are surely one of the most important people involved with a member group, especially a non profit organization. These Directors have to be able to effectively communicate with their group, ensure constant signups, and do marketing of internal initiatives all the while.
The good news is, modern non profit membership software can greatly simplify these tasks. If your organization hasn't invested in a non profit membership software system yet, here are five reasons to give it a look:
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Easy communications. Everyone in your membership database can be contacted at a moment's notice electronically. Messages can be sent out instantly to the entire membership, or to any specific sub-range of members you need.
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Simple signups. New members won't get scared off by paperwork; online software reduces signups to a simple web form. Further, if they have social media profiles, such as on LinkedIn or Facebook, the software can pull information from those profiles, making the process even simpler.
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Automated renewal notices. There's no need to manually track renewal dates with non profit membership software. The system automatically sends out reminders when it's time, and can even set up auto-debit payments so reminders aren't needed at all.
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Simplified event management. Important events and fundraisers can be organized online, with notifications sent out to members and RSVPs handled through the system. This gets you quicker, more detailed information on attendance and allows you to focus on putting together the best fundraiser possible.
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Build ties with members. Between the social media integration and the ease of electronic communication, online software makes it far easier to keep in touch with your members. You can remain aware of their concerns, and have enough warning of oncoming problems to be able to work proactively to head them off.
Takeaway
Online non profit membership software can take every duty of a Membership Director and make it easier. From communicating with members to ensuring renewals, it can increase your effectiveness across the board. Times are tough; especially for non profits. These software systems can give you the edge you need to stay in the black.
Posted by
Daniel Chu on Fri, Apr 27, 2012 @ 09:26 AM
Some of you may still be using Microsoft Access for your membership databases. That's understandable; Access is really good at handling databases with a lot of interconnected information. However, if you're using Access for your database, you're probably doing a lot more work than you need to, and not getting all the benefits of a modern online membership software package.
The world has moved on since the time that Microsoft Office was the productivity king. Here are three reasons why online membership software is a better choice for your organization these days.
1) Members can update their own profiles. Undoubtedly, one of the biggest pains of running a membership group is trying to keep tabs on your members. Whenever they move or change their contact information, you have to contact them, get the information, and update it yourself. However, with an online system, your users can just update the information themselves. Any changes automatically propagate throughout the system, so you're always in the loop.
2) Access cannot sync with social media. Modern online membership software can link directly into your members' existing social profiles online. It simplifies the signup process for them, but it also means that whenever they update their contact information on Facebook or LinkedIn, the system notices and updates their profile in your system. This makes life easier for both you and your users.
3) You get online access from anywhere. With any Office product, you're essentially tied to the computer that you've installed Office on. If you're away from the office, doing productive work is difficult or impossible. However, with online membership software, you can access the system from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection, even from your smartphone. This remote access means you're never away from your group, and that whenever you need to access the membership system, it's available to you.
Takeaway
Online membership software gives you flexibility that Access lacks. Access was a good product for its time, but today's online software gives you all of its benefits along with many new features, specific to membership groups, that Office cannot offer.
Posted by
Daniel Chu on Thu, Apr 26, 2012 @ 08:56 AM
When you're shopping around for online membership software, you'll probably discover quickly that they aren't all created equal. There are a lot of options, and some of them unfortunately seem to be designed just to make a quick buck, rather than provide you quality software for the money. Since this can be a significant investment, you need to be able to make an informed choice.
Here are some warning signs to watch out for. If you see most or all of these in a piece of online membership software you're being offered, it's probably best to politely decline.
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Hidden pricing. Unfortunately, a lot of online software tends to tack on charges that they don't tell you about up front. Make sure that when you're signing up, they're fully disclosing all the fees before you make your decision. Don't commit until you're sure you know what the total will be.
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Locked configurations. You need to be able to customize your software to best meet the needs of your association and your members. Don't use a program where you're locked into whatever the developers thought you'd need; make sure it's highly customizable.
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Difficult tech support. Make sure the membership software you choose makes it easy to contact their technical support, and preferably through multiple means. If you have a problem with your software after it goes live, you need assurance that you will be able to get support if there's a problem.
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Proprietary formats. The wired world is moving increasingly towards open formats, and you never know when you may need to export or share your data. Don't pick online membership software that locks you into a format that only the vendor supports.
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No testimonials. The real proof is in the pudding. Any decent piece of software should have a collection of testimonials or case studies showing that it can perform as well as it claims.
Takeaway
Watch out for online membership software that tries to lock you into doing things “their way” or attempts to trick you by hiding significant problems. Keep your eyes open and make an informed choice.
Posted by
Daniel Chu on Wed, Apr 25, 2012 @ 09:08 AM
Most networking associations are at something of a crossroads now. The world is increasingly moving towards electronic networking, through social media, and some are starting to worry that local groups are getting squeezed out. The good news is, as we addressed in a previous blog, that's really not a valid concern. Local issues will still warrant local organization.
However, that brings up the question of how existing member associations can coexist with social media. The short answer is, "embrace it!" Social media isn't a real competitor to established associations, and by making use of it well, you can harness it for your needs.
Here are some things your association should keep in mind when working with social media:
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Social media is fundamentally a communications tool. Its usefulness tends to drop off in direct proportion to how much "real world" work has to be done. It's easy for people to sign online petitions or agree to be part of boycotts, but any real work is still done by devoted people in the physical realm.
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The Internet generally has an extremely short attention span. Long-term projects almost always work out best when they have a core group of local people working closely with each other.
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Social media can be a great way to attract members to your organization. Members who garner a large number of social media followers can become very effective at outreach.
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Online membership software often includes features that allow them to directly interface with social media, creating another easy route for getting your messages out into cyberspace.
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Your members should, if anything, be encouraged to join social media and connect with each other, to help reinforce the group's unity, even away from scheduled meetings.
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Making valid and useful contributions to social media discussions can make you friends and allies, which can be useful resources to draw on.
Takeaway
Don't look at social media as competition with your association; look at it as a tool to be harnessed. There's a big world of people out there who may like your ideas, or want to help out once exposed to them.
Posted by
Daniel Chu on Mon, Apr 23, 2012 @ 11:11 AM
There's no doubt, LinkedIn is an excellent tool for networking in just about any sort of business. It's nice being able to find work contacts across the country, or even halfway around the world. Some question, however, whether LinkedIn and other social networks will eventually make local business associations irrelevant. And to that, we answer an emphatic NO.
Online networking is nice, but fundamentally, we're all still physical people living in a physical world. There will always be a need for local associations of people who meet face-to-face. Just to give a few reasons:
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There's no substitute for in-person interactions. Any sort of negotiation is far more difficult online, because text is a limiting form of interaction. Even videoconferencing tends to eliminate subtle cues of attention and body language.
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Local issues will always be important. No matter how "wired" someone is, they still have a real body residing somewhere with local issues that need to be dealt with. Close-knit groups are still one of the best ways of addressing these issues.
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Local is more convenient. Just because you've found someone across the country who'll do work for cheaper, that doesn't mean it's cost efficient to do it where you are. Similarly, when someone is looking for a job, they'll generally start looking locally before moving outwards. If they're a member of an association already, they'll probably look for work there first.
Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, there's simply no reason that business associations and LinkedIn cannot exist side by side, reinforcing each other.
Local business contacts can form connections on LinkedIn, and still meet at a nearby restaurant for discussions. Existing membership groups can branch out into LinkedIn, looking for new members and supporters, while still forming useful external contacts. We'll be talking about this a bit more in an upcoming blog.
Takeaway
In short, LinkedIn really isn't a threat to established business associations. There are just too many benefits to local organization. Smart groups will look to harness LinkedIn to help their own needs, rather than fearing it as an upstart moving in on their turf.
Posted by
Daniel Chu on Fri, Apr 20, 2012 @ 06:01 PM
Managing your membership directory does not have to be a pain!
Yeah, it used to be, but current member directory software makes the process so much easier than in the past. There's no need to keep logs manually or on paper, or to send out membership lists. Often, you don't even need to manually update your membership lists.
Here are just a few reasons why online member directory software is the best way to manage your membership.
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Online means instant access: If your membership directory is kept online, then all of your members can access it whenever they need to, from anywhere. It's more convenient for them, and you don't have to worry about maintaining paper lists to send out.
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Reduce Cost: Making your directory online means you are saving all those thousands of dollars on printing your directory books and mailing them to all your members. In addition, you are also saving all the time you spend on making sure that the information you are sending to your print shop is all up-to-date!
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Automatically update your members' information: Since your software is now tied to their social profiles, that means that whenever they update any of their online profiles, the member directory automatically see the changes and update itself to match. This drastically decreases the amount of time you have to spend maintaining your member logs.
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Encourage social interaction between your members: Having your directory linked to social media also encourages your members to associate with each other outside of the group. It becomes simple for them to become friends/followers of each other, by being able to go straight from the member directory to social media listings.
Takeaway
Basically, once you go online with your member directory software, it's hard to go back. There's little reason to keep maintaining your member rolls by hand, or manually through Excel, when you can have software do most of the work for you.
Posted by
Daniel Chu on Thu, Apr 19, 2012 @ 10:02 AM
There's a world of difference between simply having online membership sites and having a truly all-in-one piece of membership software. Think of it as being the difference between buying an empty house, and one that comes entirely furnished.
With plain online membership sites, all you get is the webpage itself. Everything else is still up to you to provide, from the site layout to whatever tools you need to get your work done. A true membership software package, however, gives you everything you need in one single place, saving you a lot of time and energy.
For example, with a full membership software package, you get:
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Electronic payments: Rather than having to process payments yourself, or set up a contract with a third-party service vendor, membership software automatically does the billing for you. It can accept electronic payments, set up auto-billing, and even send reminders when dues come due.
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Simplified Membership Management: All of your members are automatically members of the site, and they can update and manage their profiles whenever they need. You don't have to maintain separate offline lists or update them manually.
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Social Media Integration: Trying to manually link your membership database into the popular social media outlets can be an extremely tricky process for conventional online membership sites. However, with all-in-one software, it works immediately, right out of the box.
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Built-in Reporting: A simple membership site cannot help you manage your books or create reports on your member rolls and marketing efforts. You'd have to do it separately, in Excel or such, rather than having it all in one place.
Takeaway
Plain online membership sites are simply too bare-bones to be effective for today's membership associations. An all-in-one software suite simplifies all aspects of managing your group, and gives you a website as part of the package.
Posted by
Daniel Chu on Wed, Apr 18, 2012 @ 01:42 PM
There are a lot of options out there if you're looking for membership software. If you're on a budget, chances are that some of the free or "open source" options might sound pretty appealing. However, the problem with open source membership software is that you honestly tend to get what you pay for.
That's not to say that there aren't any cases where an open source software solution can work, especially if you happen to have a programmer on staff who could actually make use of the open code. However, in most situations, open source membership software is still a bad idea.
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Poor support: This is probably reason #1 to avoid open source software. There is usually no technical support from the developers, besides requests that you read the manual and/or post questions on a public forum. Being told to fix a problem yourself (since the code is open) is also not uncommon.
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Lack of polish: Open source software tends to be rich in features, and rather lacking in polish. It's easy for an enthusiastic contributor to add new features, but people rarely go in and make sure they're working well and integrated into a consumer-friendly interface. Error messages, especially, tend to be inscrutable.
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No accountability or warranty: Pretty much all open source products have no warranties or any liability attached to them. You generally have to agree in the licenses to the idea that any harm potentially caused by the software is solely your own problem. Even if a piece of software went haywire and ruined your data, you wouldn't have any sort of legal path to get redress.
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Constant disruption: Open source software usually gets updated a lot to fix its bugs, meaning you would have to be constantly pushing new upgrades on your users to be able to keep all the bugs fixed in the software. This quickly becomes annoying and disruptive.
Takeaway
Don't skimp when it comes to your membership software. You want a product that's polished and professional, to impress your members. Resist the temptation to use open source membership software and spend a little extra where it matters.
Posted by
Daniel Chu on Tue, Apr 17, 2012 @ 11:49 AM
Chances are, when it comes to creating membership forms, you don't do them entirely from scratch. You probably start with a membership form template, then fill in the details for yourself. Most membership software packages also come with a selection of form templates. The trick, then, is to make sure you select the right template to do the job.
So, here are some things to consider when you're choosing a membership form template.
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Sleek or Informative? The layout of the template is going to dictate its use. Does it have just a few fields to fill out, or does it have a lot of room for text? Think about your customer base and decide if they'd respond better to a form without too much detail that can be filled out quickly, or if they'd prefer an extra level of explanation.
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Header Space. If you're going to include your association's logo, make sure you pick one with room at the top for it to show up legibly. A bigger header also makes room for a bigger, more inviting form title.
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Font. Fonts matter, especially depending on the sort of image you're looking to project. Select a typography that matches the tone of the form, fun or serious or officious. Fonts are one of those things that readers will notice subliminally, even if they don't consciously notice them.
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Number of Questions: Many membership form templates come with the standard questions pre-filled. Make sure it covers everything you need, and has room to expand if you have some of your own to include. Try to have as few questions as possible; overly long forms annoy users.
Takeaway
Every detail in your presentations to customers should be taken as seriously as possible. While a great signup form might not convince anyone on the fence to sign up, a bad form will cause potential members to abandon it. You need to consider what sort of form your potential members would find appealing and easy to use. A better match between form and customer means fewer abandoned forms.
Posted by
Daniel Chu on Mon, Apr 16, 2012 @ 10:25 AM
A few weeks ago, we did a blog on good design principles in membership forms. So, we thought that we'd follow that up with a few good examples of membership form samples on the web. This isn't an exhaustive list, but if you're looking for some guidance, these membership form samples should give you a place to start.
Less is More
The less information you can get away with asking your members for, the better. While most of you probably cannot go the Tumblr route and ask for nothing but a user's email, username, and password, it's still a good idea to pare it down as much as possible. The Hello Bar has a really nice example of how to get all the relevant business details in a smooth, eye-friendly format.
Indicate How Long the Process Is
If you need to have more than one page of signup forms, or if it's a multi-step process, include information on where the user is in the process. The blogging platform Typepad has a great example of this, with the header giving the information. A sidebar with tabs also works well.
Give a Small Sales Pitch
Don't underestimate the value of microcopy! If you're going to put additional text on your form, try to gear it towards further engaging (and maintaining) your visitor's enthusiasm. Poll Daddy has a really nice bit of copy going into why you'd want to sign up for their polling service. Mindflash similarly uses whitespace for a few blurbs aimed at indecisive visitors.
Give Instructions
If you're going to put more text on your form, make it useful. Wordpress has a great signup form that has little tooltips after every form that addresses a common question one might have about the field. The time-tracking program Freckle has a more businesslike variation on the theme, and the box at the bottom summarizing the order is a nice touch.
Takeaway
Hopefully, these membership form samples convey the idea that it's all about the user experience. A membership form that's simple, straightforward, and prevents confusion is going to bring the most conversions.