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 outreach and follow-up.

So listen in as I share 9 specific ways that technology can make it easier to grow your volunteer base.

Connect with Joy
Website:
joyofmembership.com
journeycare.app

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'll explore how to use technology to help you grow things that are NOT membership.

We're starting this week with growing your donor program - attracting, engaging, and retaining more donors.

I'll be curious to hear what you think.

Connect with Joy
Website:
joyofmembership.com
journeycare.app

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. How many PROSPECTS did you gain this quarter?

In this episode, we'll cover a few reasons why your organization should keep an eye on this metric.

I'll be curious to hear what you think.

Connect with Joy
Website:
joyofmembership.com
journeycare.app

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
journeycare.app

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, despite the energy of the moment, we had to be realistic about where this organization currently sits in their journey into technology and be cautious about jumping into something that could overwhelm their small team of volunteers.

That conversation was the inspiration for this week's episode. You see, there's a natural progression that typically needs to happen when organizations are considering new tech. If you skip over stages, you'll risk not having the necessary foundation in place to make the more advanced work successful. 

I'll be curious to hear what you think.

Connect with Joy
Website:
joyofmembership.com
journeycare.app

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 that initial conversation, too.

Amanda is a member engagement speaker and she came on this episode to talk about her brand new book titled, Elevating Engagement: Uncommon Strategies for Creating a Thriving Member Community. If you’re listening to this episode when it airs, you can actually get the book today because it’s officially being released today, February 14th.

Amanda and I share a passion for member engagement, so that’s the focus of today’s conversation.

Connect with Amanda
Website:  https://amandaleakaiser.com/book
Buy the Book:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1774583267/ref=sr_1_1

Connect with Joy
Website:
joyofmembership.com
journeycare.app

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 interested in this article that I first published back in January of 2022. It's just as relevant and timely this year.

If you are a Wild Apricot customer who is beginning to look at options, I encourage you to add JourneyCARE to your list of possibilities. I did a demonstration on Friday specifically highlighting the similarities and differences between the two platforms.

You can watch it here: https://joyofmembership.com/wild2023 (no registration required)

Connect with Joy
Website:
joyofmembership.com
journeycare.app

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 by understanding what you members value… and that’s so true, isn’t it?

Because he’s a marketing expert, you might assume that he’d be here talking about what you should be doing in your marketing, but we actually talked about what you should do BEFORE you ramp up your marketing.

He clearly loves what he does and I think you’ll really enjoy this conversation. So let’s jump in…

Connect with Aron
Website:  https://2h.media/non-profits/
Email:  [email protected]

Connect with Joy
Website:
joyofmembership.com
journeycare.app

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 two approaches. In this week's episode, I share the 3 options I suggest for handling old, inactive contacts.

Connect with Joy
Website:
joyofmembership.com
journeycare.app