Blog
Membership Q&A: How Long Should Our Grace Period Be?
Ah, the grace period, the bane of the membership profession’s experience. Should we have a grace period at all? How long should it be? I will admit to being a hard-ass about grace periods. My…
Read More →
Membership Q&A: Calendar v. Anniversary Renewals?
Which is more member-centric? In most cases, an anniversary renewal cycle – that is, I renew at same time as I joined (or renewed) last year – is going to make the most sense to…
Read More →
Partnership v. Membership: What Behavior Do You Want to Encourage?
That question is not rhetorical. Corporate membership can be complicated. To being with, there are at least two main types: Companies that are your core audience (i.e., trade associations’ typical members). Companies that are NOT…
Read More →
Partnership v. Membership: Is There a Membership Role for Suppliers?
In my previous post in this series, I concluded with the question: What role, if any, does supplier membership play in this ecosystem? Lewis responded with a strong statement that suppliers should NOT be association…
Read More →What Should We Do to Get Ready for Blockchain?
One of the key elements of blockchain networks is the network. This technology is a system-level technology. What that means is that its true power lies in the network effect, in the system. Any one…
Read More →How Will Blockchain Affect My Members?
As you may recall from my previous post on my new whitepaper, Blockchain for Associations: Separating the Hype from the Promise, my co-author Shelly Alcorn and I think that this is the REAL question association execs…
Read More →Influence Across America
Thanks to the generosity of my friend and colleague Ed Barks, I had the opportunity to attend Influence Across America: The Rise of State and Local Power and the Impact of Digital Media, a National…
Read More →Should Associations Care About Blockchain?
And if so, why? Blockchain for Dummies offers some qualifying questions when you’re trying to figure out whether blockchain is an appropriate solution for your association and for which projects: Do we need to track…
Read More →What IS Blockchain?
At it’s most basic level, blockchain is a ledger-style database. “Wait a second!” you might say. “There are PLENTY of database options out there. Why do we need ANOTHER one?” Blockchain allows two people who…
Read More →Blockchain for Associations
In the spring of 2018, I had the opportunity to attend one of my favorite conferences in the association year: digitalNOW. At that event, among all the cutting-edge content, I heard one word over and…
Read More →