Hello from the West Coast! The MemberClicks team has been basking in the excitement of ASAE’s Annual Conference and Expo here in Los Angeles, meeting some great people and learning a lot. I’m psyched for today’s afternoon sessions and Tuesday’s learning labs. I can’t wait to be inspired and learn tons of new information and relate it all back to our readers — through the small staff lens, of course.

Just for fun, here’s some photos of the conference so far. (All taken on my iPhone — I’ll be sharing better-quality photos in the next few days.)

Ryan Seacrest introducing Melissa Etheridge at the Opening Celebration

Melissa Etheridge performing at the Opening Celebration

The team — Duncan, Hannae, Mark and Elyse — ready to go with their iPads on day one of the expo hall

More Clickers — Elyse, Kevin, Thomas and Mark — prepping on day two

For those of you in Los Angeles at the conference, we’re honored to be hosting the Small Staff Reception this evening at 5 at the JW Marriott, right around the corner from the conference center. We would love for any small staff professionals to attend!

In other, non-ASAE-related news, the Splash blog is nominated for an #eventprofs award! We’re honored to be included in the “Best Corporate Blog” category, and would be thrilled for you all to vote for us (if you think we are indeed the best corporate blog) by taking the survey found here. Voting is open until Sept. 9, so spread the word!

Stay tuned for more updates from ASAE10, and definitely follow us on Twitter for the live scoop!

I came across this infographic someplace — I don’t remember where, to be honest — and wanted to share it with readers. I think it’s a good summation of some of the more popular social media networks. To have a well-rounded social media strategy, it’s important to include aspects of each use: Traffic Generation, Social Networking and Branding. It can certainly be argued that those three are the main goals of social media, and when the various platforms are used correctly, social media can produce incredible results for your organization.

I think it’s interesting that Ning and LinkedIn are smack dab in the middle. Although Ning is now a paid service, many associations are turning toward a custom social network for their members to engage with one another. And of course, LinkedIn is by far the most professional of the social networks, so many organizations are taking advantage of its Group features.

What social media platforms has your association experimented with? Social media is so trial-and-error, which can be nerve-wracking when you’re just starting out. But with the right mix of platforms and engaged members, it can be a great addition to your communication arsenal.

Image source

Wednesday night was the Second Annual Clickies, an employee awards and appreciation night for the MemberClicks team. We have a few methods of employee appreciation (one is our Clicker of the Month program), and we also wind down the workweek together at our Friday Gobble and Gabs, but it was fun to go out to a restaurant, laugh and reminisce about the past year. Thanks to Kevin Patrick, MemberClicks director of product experience, for the photos.

MemberClicks President Thomas Howard

Scott McLeod, Brandon Gilbreath, Jeff Wilson, Brandon Wycherly and Hannae Berhanu

Joel Walton, Ian Snead, Scott McLeod, Brandon Gilbreath and Jeff Wilson

Director of Sales Mark Sedgley high-fiving Sarah Bigorowski.

Yours truly

Thomas Howard awarding the Champion Award to Help Team Lead Jeff Wilson

Solution Advisor Hannae Berhanu showing off her award

Duncan McCreery, Matthew Wyckoff, Jon Lankopf and Alex Dimitropoulos

Mark Sedgley giving Ian Snead his award

Glenard Loy, Jade Parker, Sarah Bigorowski and Joel Walton

Mark Sedgley, Kevin Fay, Matt Boetger, Trey Smith, Shannon Otto, Zach Alexander and Glenard Loy

Kevin Patrick getting down

Thomas Howard accepting a canvas everyone inscribed for him

Check our Facebook page later today for more photos!

Does your organization partake in a yearly or quarterly celebration of its collective accomplishments?

I’ll be back later with an update, but here are some photos from the opening reception and morning session.

We’re about to hit the tradeshow floor! More pics and recaps to come!

There’s more to a (seemingly) simple e-mail campaign than you might think. Avoiding spam filters, including the right keywords in your message and striking the right tone are each important factors.

I’m willing to bet a lot of associations rely on e-mail as a main form of communication. But did you know that a 25 percent open rate is actually a good percentage in an e-mail campaign? So many people just delete e-mails without reading them (I’m guilty of it, as well), and there are a few things to keep in mind when designing an e-mail campaign.

For one thing, what’s the definition of spam? If you think spam is anything that gets automatically filtered to your junk folder, or an e-mail from a long-lost uncle in Africa who needs money immediately, think again. Spam is anything unwanted in your subscribers’ inboxes. If they don’t want it, it’s spam to them – even if it’s a perfectly legitimate newsletter or update from your organization.

Send e-mail on a regular schedule. If your members are expecting a newsletter on a certain day or at a certain time, they won’t be caught off guard and delete it without reading. Establish some sort of schedule for all your marketing e-mail.

Write from your recipients’ perspectives. When I see an unexpected e-mail in my inbox, I immediately want to know if it has information that will save me money or time, or if it offers some other benefit. With the amount of e-mail we all receive each day, there’s no room for your e-mails to contain a message that won’t get noticed.

For example, if you’re writing about your annual conference or meeting, be sure to include how it will help your members’ professional development, rather than just writing about how amazing your keynote speakers are. Include tangible examples of what benefits attendees will receive.

This should go without saying, but proofread, proofread, proofread. There’s nothing more off-putting to me than a beautifully designed e-mail riddled with typos and grammatical errors. (This may be the grammar geek in me, but I hope we can all agree that professional e-mails should be grammatically correct.)

Don’t be discouraged by a seemingly low open rate. E-mail, when used correctly, can be one of the most effective ways to reach people – both members and non-members.