Membership

Social Media Roundup: News Sites Learn From Associations

A popular political site tries out a "velvet rope" membership model. Also: Tips for presenting to your board.

Often, it seems like associations are taking advice from the outside world — but what happens when a business tries out a technique better known in the association world? Possibly, interesting lessons that translate back. That and more in today’s Social Media Roundup:

Membership for media?

Taking cues from associations? GigaOm’s Mathew Ingram thinks Talking Points Memo is onto something with its TPMPrime, which offers an association-like model for journalism — one that keeps the normal content free but charges extra for the other stuff. “A membership layer treats readers as though they are special and gives them added benefits in addition to the regular free news content,” Ingram explains, “while a paywall or traditional subscription simply charges everyone the same amount for the same content. One feels like a duty or an annoyance, and the other feels more like something unique that only those who are really committed to a topic or a site have access to — like a velvet rope instead of a wall.” Interesting thought — is this one that associations can gain something from? (ht @MediaBeyond2012)

Beef up your presentation skills

Speaking to some senior execs soon? Follow these tips from Harvard Business Review blogger Nancy Duarte, which lays out some smart presentation suggestions — from rehearsal to presentation techniques. The best one? Summarize first, then dig into detail: “When creating your intro, pretend your whole slot got cut to 5 minutes. This will force you to lead with all the information your audience really cares about — high-level findings, conclusions, recommendations, a call to action.” What tips can you share? (ht @CindyButts)

See anything cool today? Let us know! Shoot us a tweet.

(photo by Guillaume Paumier/Flickr)

Ernie Smith

By Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. MORE

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