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3 Tailored Engagement Strategies to Welcome New Members

October 28, 2024 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

In 2023, 50% of individual membership organizations (IMOs) saw an increase in their membership base. This indicates stability in the membership space, which was shaken by the pandemic and economic shifts. But is your organization doing everything it can to go beyond stability and foster growth?

Whether you run an association that holds 501(c)(3) status or operate a nonprofit with a membership program, attracting new members is a key part of growing your organization. However, the work doesn’t stop when these new members enroll. In this guide, we’ll cover what you need to do to welcome them and start building deep relationships—let’s begin.

Why Personalization Is Key

Personalization is now ubiquitous in the marketing industry, and for good reason. This strategy ensures each message your potential and current members receive from your organization relates to their interests, affinities, geographic location, and more.

Fonteva’s guide to member engagement highlights the importance of tailored communications, recommending that membership organizations structure personalization around these phases in the membership lifecycle:

New members: These members fall into the recruitment and early engagement stages of the membership lifecycle. Consider using a welcome email series, onboarding webinar, and mentorship program to engage them. We’ll discuss more ways to welcome them later.
Current members: These are your current members who have passed the initial onboarding stage, and they are best engaged with options like advanced learning courses or leadership opportunities.
Members at risk of lapsing: These members are nearing their renewal period. Engage them and promote renewals by providing customized value propositions, exclusive discounts, or member benefits.

By tailoring your communications to each of these different audiences, your organization can build more personal relationships, show that it values members as individuals, and effectively engage and retain more members.

Welcome & Engage New Members

As you work to engage new members, make sure you have a powerful association management system (AMS) by your side—ideally a CRM-based AMS. A CRM will help you leverage and understand your member data so you can better personalize these efforts. After all, even though all of these members are new to your organization, they are still individuals with unique interests, preferences, and goals.

Here are some top strategies you can use to kick off deep relationships with your new members:

Promptly share welcome materials.

Welcome your new members to your organization with materials that introduce them to your leadership team, core mission and values, and the work you do. In these welcome materials, include:

A personalized welcome letter that expresses gratitude and outlines member benefits
A membership handbook containing basic information about your organization, its mission, and opportunities available to members
An upcoming events calendar
A list of member resources with links (if applicable)
Details on how to access the membership portal and any gated resources
A list of frequently asked questions
A discount or voucher for branded merchandise

Additionally, remember to include or link to relevant educational resources and provide a staff member’s contact information in case they have questions.

Share these materials using communication features included in your membership management system. This way, you can get them to members quickly or even automate the process so that the messages are triggered to send when a new member joins.

Organize a guided onboarding experience.

Onboarding new members involves many moving parts that can quickly become overwhelming. Offering a streamlined, guided experience will give members a more positive experience and help them absorb all the information they need to know about your organization.

A few ways to make your onboarding experience more organized and streamlined include:

Building custom, guided digital experiences. Depending on the technology you use, your organization may be able to build custom digital experiences without the need for extensive coding. For example, Fíonta highlights the power of Salesforce Omnistudio, which offers drag-and-drop configuration capabilities that help quickly create guided experiences.

Pairing new members with a guide. Assign a mentor or staff member to each new member to give them a personal touchpoint to help guide them through onboarding. Have these guides reach out often to check in and answer any questions they have along the way.
Offering interactive sessions. Remote onboarding can feel isolating. To engage new members, consider offering live webinars or meetings to cover the basics and troubleshoot technical issues, like struggling to access the member portal, in real time. This will also give them a chance to interact with staff, leadership, and peers.

Recommend ways to engage.

To keep these members engaged beyond onboarding, you’ll need to nudge them toward other ways to get involved. Based on what you’ve learned about them, make tailored recommendations for other ways they can engage with your organization. This may include:

Events: Promote events that are relevant to members’ interests, take place near their geographic locations, or are designed for newer members. For example, you might invite members from the southeastern U.S. to a conference in Nashville. Or, you might make them aware of your monthly virtual coffee hours used for networking.
Learning courses: Recommend learning opportunities based on members’ career paths, interests, level of experience, and affinities. Perhaps those who are interested in environmental activism would be interested in a course or session about boosting sustainability in the workplace.
Fundraisers and volunteer opportunities: Whether you run a nonprofit membership program or a professional association, you likely engage in fundraisers and volunteer opportunities. Give members the chance to give back by sharing about campaigns and causes they are likely to support.

Additionally, promote any involvement opportunities or benefits that make your association stand out to boost members’ perception of the value of their membership.

Making a strong first impression is key. When you learn about your new recruits, appeal to their interests, and refer them to the programs and opportunities they’re most interested in, you’ll significantly increase the chance that they renew in the future. This is why data is so important when you are welcoming new members—after all, your membership base isn’t a monolith but a set of individuals with unique preferences.

Erin Lemons, VP of Marketing at Fonteva

Erin Lemons joins Togetherwork Association Solutions with over 15 years serving as a marketing director, event producer, and project manager creating robust marketing campaigns and initiatives that focus on the growing and ever-changing technology needs of the association industry.

She leads the marketing teams and strategy at Fonteva and Protech.

Understanding Nonprofit Membership Programs: An FAQ Guide

November 6, 2023 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

A guest post by Marleena Moore for Wild Apricot

We live in a subscription economy. From video streaming services like Netflix to monthly coffee clubs, membership models are a common way to engage with consumers.

Nonprofits of all sizes can leverage this same approach to catapult into a new stage of growth and long-term success. By tapping into nonprofit membership programs, organizations have the potential to expand their supporter base and develop a reliable source of revenue to support their mission.

New to the nonprofit membership realm? No worries! In this guide, we’ll answer some frequently asked questions about membership programs for nonprofits so you can make the most of this impactful opportunity. You’ll learn what makes a successful nonprofit membership program, how to set yours up, and ways to promote it. Let’s dive in!

What is a nonprofit membership program?

Membership programs for nonprofits involve providing incentives to supporters in exchange for ongoing charitable contributions. For example, a supporter may donate a $30 monthly membership fee to your nonprofit, which gives them special access to benefits like discounted event tickets, a members-only newsletter, and quarterly networking meet-ups.

A number of different groups can create membership programs, including:

Professional associations
Trade associations
Clubs
Parks and recreation agencies

Your nonprofit membership program fee structure and corresponding membership benefits will be unique to your organization and program goals.

What are the benefits of a membership program?

A nonprofit membership program provides tangible benefits to your supporters, but it also comes with several bonuses for your organization. Membership programs for nonprofits can allow your organization to:

Generate steady, predictable revenue: Membership dues are paid in consistent intervals. Whether your members pay monthly, quarterly, or annually, a membership program lets your nonprofit better estimate its budget at any point during the year.
Build a stream of unrestricted funds: Many grants or donations to nonprofits come with strings attached. You have to spend them on specific programs or activities. While a portion of your nonprofit membership program fees will go back into the program, you can use the remainder toward whatever your nonprofit most needs.
Attract new supporters: In a world where people are inundated with advertisements and donation requests, a nonprofit membership program can stand out from the crowd. It offers a fun way for new supporters to get to know your work, find belonging within a like-minded community, and give back in a meaningful way.
Strengthen existing supporter relationships: Retaining donors is far more cost-effective than recruiting new ones. A nonprofit membership program can lead to increased engagement from your current supporters that encourages their continued support and lowers your recruitment costs.

How do I create a nonprofit membership program?

Nonprofit membership programs have several key components. Below, we’ll walk through the three key elements to consider when getting yours started.

Membership Pricing

Determine how much and how frequently you’ll charge membership fees based on your understanding of existing supporters. For example, if your main audience is recent graduates, your membership fees should be lower than if you’re targeting CEO-level professionals.

Consider adding tiers to your membership program to add more flexibility for members. An easy way to think of this is having bronze, silver, and gold plans; bronze being the cheapest but most limited benefit-wise, and gold with the highest cost but also the most benefits. A tiered membership model can help boost engagement by meeting supporters at their current giving abilities while also offering opportunities for future upsells. Employing an online payment service will help you collect these dues with ease while also being convenient for your members.

Member Benefits

To encourage supporters to sign up for your nonprofit membership program, you need to provide benefits that make the membership cost worth it. Some common member benefits include:

Online membership discussion boards
Members-only newsletters and other updates
Special branded membership merchandise
Discounts to your events or at partner businesses
Networking events and conferences

Use your event software to make providing these virtual and in-person membership benefits like webinars, galas, and mixers a breeze.

Membership Management Software

Comprehensive membership management software empowers nonprofits to manage their membership programs with ease and efficiency. When selecting the right membership software for your nonprofit, look for these essential features:

Membership database: This helps you keep track of members’ engagement levels and improve membership recruitment and retention rates.
Dues processing: Aim to make membership payments as easy as possible with automatic processing and online management.
Website builder: A strong membership website builder helps prospective members learn about your program and current members connect with one another.
Data analytics and reporting: Be able to pull quick reports to gauge your program’s growth, see what’s working, and identify areas for improvement.

How can I promote my nonprofit membership program?

Once you’re ready to launch your nonprofit membership program, hit the ground running by promoting it on social media and in your email newsletter. You can even tease it a few weeks before your official announcement to build momentum for new membership sign-ups.

Additionally, it’s essential to create a nonprofit membership website so that prospective members can learn more about the program, sign up, and pay their membership dues online. New and current members can also use it to:

Learn about your upcoming events
Access exclusive member resources and benefits
Network with each other
Update their membership information

Using a Membership Program to Increase Engagement

Nonprofit membership programs are an excellent way to build a strong community of support that keeps your budget resilient despite the inevitable ebbs and flows of the industry. Remember that, to develop a long-lasting and successful membership program, it’s critical to prioritize the member experience. Plan to communicate regularly with members, show appreciation for their support, and refine your program to best fit their needs and interests.

Marleena Moore

Marleena Moore is the Marketing Manager at Personify for the WildApricot brand. Her goal is to create impactful content to empower nonprofits and associations in their mission-driven work.

Fundraising Tuesday: Should Your Nonprofit Have Members?

April 16, 2019 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

Amy Hufford

A guest post by Amy Hufford of MembershipWorks

In a time where people spend more time isolated in front of a screen than interacting with other humans, isn’t the idea of membership a more interesting and compelling proposition?

Just about every type of nonprofit can have members. Think about public radio and television stations. You might consider their contributors to be donors, but calling them members adds meaning.

Memberships add value for donors

Some public television and radio stations have made donors feel more like members by holding events.

KLRU, Austin’s public television station, has created premium member events such as Downton Abbey watch parties.
They also offer member only access to PBS’s Passport product, which is essentially Netflix for public television programming.
NPR affiliate KUT has created a leadership circle sustaining membership that offers members special event invitations, tours and the opportunity to meet famous personalities.

But even if a nonprofit does not host in-person gatherings of members, the suggestion of community is psychologically attractive. It’s a benefit to the member!

What’s in it for you: increased revenue, stable budget

There are real financial reasons for your nonprofit to have members. Membership is understood to be something that is renewed on a regular basis, implying more of an ongoing relationship than a donation suggests.

Consider a donor inspired by your mission who wants to donate $50. But what if you presented an ongoing option, such as a $10 per month sustaining membership that is promoted as “the cost of one lunch each month.” That offer will collect $120 over the course of a year (and even more, if the member doesn’t disable their monthly auto-recurring credit card payments the next year).

This is also a win for budgeting, as these types of memberships can help the organization better predict monthly fundraising income.

How to move toward memberships

Be sure your donation platform offers membership management software.
Why do you need specific software to handle memberships? You’ll need the ability to:
- - Automatically bill members on an recurring basis
  - Classify members in different ways to keep track of their involvement
  - Set up multiple past due notices and failed payment reminders in your member CRM, to account for today’s distracted members. (The notices should mention the things that the members will miss out on if they don’t renew!)
Check to be sure your payment gateway is set up to accept auto-recurring payments.
For example, PayPal Pro requires an add on to handle automated member billing. Stripe handles recurring payments by default.
Create membership levels or add-ons.
You may be surprised by the number of people who pick a higher level, given the chance! Consider how you are going to create value for each level of membership. The benefits package should justify the increased cost of higher priced memberships.

Promote your new membership levels
To help them feel special, your current donors and volunteers should be offered the opportunity to join as a member before you promote membership to others.
- - You can even offer a discount code to encourage them to join.
  - Spread the word about memberships on your website, enewsletter and social media.
  - Consider holding an event to either kickoff your membership drive or to reward those who join by a certain date.

The magic of membership

Here’s a success story that might encourage you to invite donors to become members.

One neighborhood association had a PayPal button for dues payments on their website, but no one was automatically reminded to renew. The association was running out of money. After they set up membership software with automatic recurring credit card payments, the association quickly doubled its renewal rate.

The board of directors were also shocked to see that many members opted to make significant additional recurring donations beyond their dues payment. These donations made it possible for the group to prevent commercial development from negatively impacting the neighborhood. Making the shift from single donations to membership payments with add-ons possibly saved the association from extinction.

More ways to create value for members

We’ve already talked about member events, but some donors may not enjoy the crowds. They may want another way to feel like they belong. Here are six ways you can give them that happy feeling.

Member only content – Your membership plugin can help you restrict content to pages that only members have access to. For instance: create a list of businesses that offer discounts to your members–and only members get to see the list.
Member directory – Offer your business members the chance to be listed in a member directory that is promoted to non-business members or available to the public on your website.
Member event discounts – Tying your events calendar to your membership database through your membership software will allow you to offer special ticket prices just for members.
Early event registration – Many event registration systems will allow you to have a private event page that isn’t listed on your main calendar until you activate it. Use this private link within an email message to your members. Tell them that registration is only open to them until a certain date when it becomes available to the general public.
Member only emails or data – MLS systems and Realtor associations often send out or make available valuable statistics about market trends to their members. Consider if you have data that would be attractive for your members to receive regularly. If you don’t have stats to share, consider conducting a survey of members or those you serve, so that you do have information to share. Or perhaps there is a thought leader in your space who would be willing to write a guest blog post or newsletter column that is only available for your members?
Member only listserves or social media groups – Popular platforms for groups include LinkedIn and Facebook. Trade associations have used listserves to share information between members about job openings and best practices. But first consider:
- What type of information will be meaningful to share among members in this group? Will it support your mission or feel like a stretch in terms of relating to your nonprofit’s goals?
- Are you on a solid footing with your members and donors before starting a group? (It could unintentionally become a platform for members to complain about you.)
- How much staff time will be spent moderating such a group?

Do you have other ideas about creating value for your members or reasons to offer memberships? Let us know in the comments.

Amy Hufford is a Technologist at MembershipWorks. She has worked in membership technology for more than 20 years and has experience building membership websites with a variety of membership software platforms.

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3 Tailored Engagement Strategies to Welcome New Members

Why Personalization Is Key