--- title: "Golden Handcuffs: Get Your Members Hooked for Life" id: "21757" type: "post" slug: "golden-handcuffs-get-your-members-hooked-for-life" published_at: "2014-02-18T23:34:13+00:00" modified_at: "2014-02-18T23:34:13+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/02/18/golden-handcuffs-get-your-members-hooked-for-life/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/02/18/golden-handcuffs-get-your-members-hooked-for-life.md" excerpt: "How a popular developer site's membership model earned the \"golden handcuffs\" from its many devoted users. Also: A membership sign-up process that left one management pro impressed." taxonomy_category: - "Membership" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Member Engagement" - "member retention" - "Membership" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Golden Handcuffs: Get Your Members Hooked for Life Getting people to stay is the hard part, isn’t it? Sure, people are willing to give your association a try, and they might even pay for a year or two of membership. But what keeps them around? For the tech startup GitHub, the secret is a strong offering mixed with a community that keeps them there. Learn more in today’s Social Media Roundup: ### Learn From GitHub https://twitter.com/MJTydings/status/434418130690260993 **Know a coder or two?** If so, ask them about GitHub, a hugely popular site for sharing open-source code and collaboratively building projects. It has a bunch of members, and they’re really busy, contributing to 10.8 million code repositories. What’s the secret to the company’s success? According to Avectra contributor Deirdre Reid, the secret [may be in its “golden handcuffs” (opens in a new tab)](http://blog.avectra.com/the-secret-code-to-membership-and-community-from-github/) : “GitHub doesn’t solve problems for its members, instead it provides what members need to solve problems,” she explains. And that gives it major value for its many paid members. [Read on for more insights from Reid (opens in a new tab)](http://blog.avectra.com/the-secret-code-to-membership-and-community-from-github/) . *(ht @[MJTydings (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/MJTydings/status/434418130690260993) )* ### Make Things Easy https://twitter.com/MV_Partners/status/435538419221938176 **When the approach is simple,** it feels refreshing, doesn’t it? That’s how IntrinXec Management’s Maria Huntley felt about signing up for the National Association of Distinguished Professionals. “As a person who has spent the last 15 years making association management my career,” [she wrote on the MultiBriefs Exclusive blog (opens in a new tab)](http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/member-recruitment-whats-your-strategy) , “I wanted to learn more about this distinguished association. I clicked on a link that brought me to a page that told me in four easy steps how I could ‘apply’ for membership. It was slick, easy and took me less than a minute.” It wasn’t the only thing that wowed her about the membership sign-up process. (Hint: Her phone rang.) [Check out the other things that impressed her (opens in a new tab)](http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/member-recruitment-whats-your-strategy) over this way. *(ht @[MV_Partners (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/MV_Partners/status/435538419221938176) )* (Photodisc/Thinkstock) [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 Engagement](https://associationsnow.com/tag/member-engagement/) [#member retention](https://associationsnow.com/tag/member-retention/) [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/) **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 - [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/) - [ArticleStart Strong: Five Onboarding Strategies to Set Your New Members Up for SuccessJune 3, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/06/03/start-strong-five-onboarding-strategies-to-set-your-new-members-up-for-success/) - [ArticleSetting Membership Benefits That Attract and Retain MembersMay 12, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/05/12/setting-membership-benefits-that-attract-and-retain-members/) - [ArticleSmart Moves: How AI Is Shaping the Future of AssociationsMarch 18, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/03/18/smart-moves-how-ai-is-shaping-the-future-of-associations/) ## 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%2F2014%2F02%2F18%2Fgolden-handcuffs-get-your-members-hooked-for-life%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !