Have you asked your members how they prefer to receive information?

Let’s be real. Whether you’re an active participant in social media or not, you’re probably still on information overload. People can get news and updates from more sources now than ever before. There are tons of outlets – it’s overwhelming!

Blogs, RSS, Twitter (including text alerts and all the smartphone apps), Facebook (online and via cell or smartphone), text messages, e-mail, phone call, direct mail, newspaper (online or in print), magazine (online or in print), television, YouTube … I’m exhausted just thinking about it! (And I’m sure I left many, many options off that list!)

Associations don’t have to be everywhere, all the time. It’s so crucial to realize what’s worth your time and what’s just going to waste time.

If your organization audits its communication strategy around this time of year, be sure to ask members how they like to receive information. If a significant portion chooses a certain option (such as Twitter), consider adding it to your organization’s strategy. If there’s no interest, don’t waste your time there. Maybe your association doesn’t even need to have a huge social Web presence. (I would argue that going forward, it will be necessary eventually, but there’s no need to rush it if there’s no demand at the moment.)

Asking your members what they want – it’s as simple as taking a poll – can be very educational for association staffers. Encouraging two-way communication is a great first step to engage members who have become unengaged. Offering information through different online avenues can be somewhat time-consuming, but isn’t it worth it if you can grab the attention of a niche group that previously wasn’t too interested in the organization?

Does your association have a unique method for distributing information to members?

Good morning and happy Friday! I’m not sure how we’re halfway through July, though – doesn’t it seem like 2011 is just flying by? It’s just about time for ASAE’s Annual Meeting again! (Didn’t I just get over my jet lag from LA?!) Seriously, though, it’s been a great year so far here at MemberClicks and we’re excited to meet as many small staff association professionals as possible.

Obviously, it’s time for me to share some of my favorite posts from the association blogosphere to help kick of the weekend. Ready? Set? Go!

1. Valeria Maltoni’s The 5 E’s of Content Marketing is definitely worth a read for association professionals. My personal favorite E? Enthusiasm! I think it’s really obvious when someone’s just not that into what they’re writing about, and being enthusiastic in your writing absolutely makes a difference.

2. Erik Schonher posted some early results from the 2011 Membership Benchmarking Survey and good news! -membership is on the rise compared to 2009 and 2010! New member recruitment also seems to be on the rise, which, according to Erik, accounts for the increase in membership.

3. Elizabeth Engel has been posting insights and learnings from Clay Shirky’s “Here Comes Everybody” for quite awhile now, and this week’s post was examines the quote, “What are we going to do about the negative effects of freedom?”. Through technology, people now have the freedom to form all kinds of groups, which, obviously, can be tough for associations.

4. At the Acronym blog, Joe Rominiecki examines the life cycle of a board – namely, is a year too short? It’s difficult for some board members to get acclimated in that amount of time, and thus, your board could be less effective. What do you think? Do you lower your expectations of the board or train them more?

5. I have really been into Jeffrey Cufaude’s posts in recent months, and it’s likely showing with every Friday Top Five I write. This week, Jeffrey points out that today can be the perfect day to … share a big dream, ask a question to reframe a conversation, give encouraging feedback, clarify perspectives and more.

Good morning and happy Friday! I’m sure for most (if not all) of us in the U.S., it was a short workweek, which always means things are a bit crazy. But hopefully everything is winding down and you’ll be ready for the weekend soon. As usual, there were lots of great resources in the blogosphere for the association community, so here are five of my favorites:

1. Great advice from Keith Johnston: Create an editorial calendar for your conference or event blog. In addition to manning your conference or event blog 24/7, as Keith suggests, it’s crucial to map everything out so you don’t get stuck with a mean case of writer’s block (been there, had that it’s no fun). Keith even shares a great WordPress plugin (that I had no idea existed!) to help you plan your content.

2. Back this week with another great leadership limerick, Jeffrey Cufaude reminds us that traditions do matter in associations. We are constantly looking forward to the next big thing, but it’s important to remember where your association has been in the past and why its traditions are important.

3. We’re big fans of Seth Godin’s here at MemberClicks, and one of his posts this week really struck a chord with me: The overwhelming fear of being wrong. Often back in school, I wouldn’t raise my hand to answer a question because I was so afraid of being wrong. But, in both our work and personal lives, it’s important to not let the fear of failure from holding us back.

4. ASAE’s Acronym blog has started a series posing questions to Annual Meeting speakers, and this week, Michael Gardner, CAE and Lydia Middleton, CAE, weighed in on the building blocks of a small staff association’s staff. They have a great discussion about what’s more important: someone to handle financial services or someone to provide members with service.

5. Do you know what your staff members complain about? It’s important to know what your staffers, board members and members have gripes with. One thing to remember: you and your members are on the same team (although you may not always feel that way). Read more at the Hourglass Blog.

Good morning and happy Friday! What’s one thing you’re looking forward to this weekend? I’m looking forward to a 5-mile race and a friend’s birthday party. It should be a good one!

Of course, it would hardly feel like a Friday if I didn’t share a few of my favorite association blog posts from this past week. Ready? Set … Go!

1. I shared this post on Twitter this morning already, but I really liked Kerry Stackpole’s recent contribution to ASAE’s Acronym blog: How do you make sure failure only happens once? To me, it’s OK to fail or make a mistake – as long as you learn from it and don’t repeat the same mistake.

2. Do you recognize past leaders in your association at meetings? David M. Patt shares an example of one association who didn’t, and to him, it was a big mistake. Recognizing past leaders keeps them connected to the organization, which was probably a big part of their lives for quite awhile.

3. Becky Rasmussen at the Drake & Company blog shared five great lessons learned at last week’s Drake Invitational Forum for Association Leaders. My personal favorite? Don’t do something just because everyone else is. Just like bandwagon fans in sports, bandwagon associations are also making a mistake.

4. In a guest post at AE on the Verge, Marcia Bartol asks association professionals if working from home is right for them. She points out one big advantage, which is that there are no overheard costs associated with working in an office. That can be a huge plus for small staff associations, many of which share office space with other organizations.

5. How do you measure success? Wes Trochlil shares how not to measure it – by effort. Can you measure effort? Does mere effort accomplish goals? Or do you measure success by other, more cut-and-dry metrics?

Happy Friday, everyone!

I’m more than ready for the weekend – somehow this was my first full five-day week in the office in about a month (thanks to a stint working from home and a quick trip out of town) and I’m definitely feeling it. Is anyone else ready for awesome, summery weekend?

As per usual, there were tons of great resources in the association management blogosphere this week. Which posts were your favorites? I want to hear about them – I love discovering new blogs!

For now, though, here’s my Friday Top Five:

1. Does your association benefit from strategic planning? Bunnie Riedel shares how to prevent your organization’s strategic plans from collecting dust: create actionable plans. As the old adage goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Bunnie shares that piece of advice and a few more in this great blog post.

2. In a nice link round-up, Maddie Grant shares some awesome social media resources for association professionals. In particular, I like the piece she shares about community managers. Are they really necessary for associations? Something to consider before hiring one!

3. At the Association Marketing Insights blog, Kevin Whorton shares a great example of how to learn how often is too often when it comes to communication. Although the study he shares wasn’t scientific, it gives great insight into how members want to be communicated with. Read on to find out more!

4. Joe Rominiecki at the Acronym blog, inspired by a post by Maggie McGary, asks, what good is governance without influencers? He gives three options for evolving the governance process, including the possibilities of bringing in new influencers, ditching the governance system or developing a hybrid.

5. Have you ever included certain things in your association’s events just because the audience preferred them? Have you ever not included things because you didn’t like them? David M. Patt encourages association professionals to “do it anyway” when it comes to certain aspects of your event.

From everyone at MemberClicks, have a great weekend!

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