--- title: "Building Membership: Don’t Forget the Members You Have" id: "15934" type: "post" slug: "building-membership-dont-forget-the-members-you-have" published_at: "2013-02-15T22:16:23+00:00" modified_at: "2013-02-15T22:16:23+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2013/02/15/building-membership-dont-forget-the-members-you-have/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2013/02/15/building-membership-dont-forget-the-members-you-have.md" excerpt: "How pushing too much on building membership can alienate the people who you already consider members. Also: The danger of keeping your \"cloud\" in one place." taxonomy_category: - "Membership" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "member retention" - "Membership" - "organization growth" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "Executive Team" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Building Membership: Don’t Forget the Members You Have Your members understand—you’re trying to build a stronger organization. But mind toning it back a little bit? That and more in today’s Social Media Roundup: ### Don’t Get Too Aggressive http://twitter.com/dashtonwagner/status/302120057851490304 **Focusing too much on gaining members?** You may be hurting your reputation among the members that you already have, argues Meagan Rockett of Greenfield Services, riffing off a [recent post by Shelly Alcorn, CAE (opens in a new tab)](http://www.associationsubcultureblog.com/2010/02/how-mighty-fall-associations-at-risk_24.html) . “An overzealous approach to member recruitment can lead to tensions with existing members and confusion for new arrivals,” [she explains in a recent post (opens in a new tab)](http://membershipengagement.greenfield-services.ca/2013/02/member-recruitment-retention-its-all-in.html) . “And those problems are magnified when leaders ‘judge staff and volunteer performance on new member recruitment numbers, rather than current member retention.’ ” How are you balancing your need to build membership without hurting the member relationships you already have? (*ht* [@dashtonwagner (opens in a new tab)](http://twitter.com/dashtonwagner/status/302120057851490304) ) ### Spread Out Your Cloud > New link: [http://t.co/4XCbLS6Q (opens in a new tab)](http://t.co/4XCbLS6Q) > RT [@delcor (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/delcor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > : Data center lessons from Sandy: geographic redundancy. Say what? [#assnchat (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/assnchat?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > > — DelCor (@delcor) [February 15, 2013 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/delcor/status/302503750105432064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) **Cloud computing may move your computers** outside of your office building, but what good is that if your data centers are still in danger? That’s an issue that came up during Hurricane Sandy, when a number of famous internet sites, such as Buzzfeed and The Huffington Post, went offline as their floodzone-based server home went offline during the storm. Delcor’s John Omartian suggests that this proves that [cost isn’t the only factor (opens in a new tab)](http://www.delcor.com/Blog.aspx?id=787&blogid=154) when building out your own cloud computing solution. “Many companies think of one thing only when selecting a cloud provider–cost,” he writes. “But there are other very important aspects to consider before moving to a data center or hosted environment. Unfortunately, many companies don’t ask about redundancy, back-up, customer support, and security.” How are you accounting for these in your association’s work? What’s on your reading list today? Tell us about it in the comments. [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#member retention](https://associationsnow.com/tag/member-retention/) [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/) [#organization growth](https://associationsnow.com/tag/organization-growth/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [TemplateMembers onlyMember Onboarding ToolkitNovember 5, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/11/05/member-onboarding-toolkit/) - [TemplateMembers onlyNew Member Engagement StudyMay 6, 2020](https://associationsnow.com/2020/05/06/new-member-engagement-study/) - [ArticleStop the Decline: Why Your Membership Strategy Isn’t Working (and How to Fix It)September 23, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/09/23/stop-the-decline-why-your-membership-strategy-isnt-working-and-how-to-fix-it/) - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Tech Stack: How AI Is Changing the Association PlaybookOctober 29, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/29/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-tech-stack-how-ai-is-changing-the-association-playbook/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2013%2F02%2F15%2Fbuilding-membership-dont-forget-the-members-you-have%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !