--- title: "Friday Buzz: Association Art Directors Make Bank" id: "31639" type: "post" slug: "friday-buzz-association-art-directors-make-bank" published_at: "2016-01-08T21:59:16+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T15:18:01+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/01/08/friday-buzz-association-art-directors-make-bank/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/01/08/friday-buzz-association-art-directors-make-bank.md" excerpt: "A new report from Folio magazine indicates that the job of art-directing an association magazine may be getting harder, but it pays well. Also: How often should you market via different channels?" taxonomy_category: - "Marketing / Communications" taxonomy_post_tag: - "art directors" - "AssociationsNow" - "Business" - "Publishing" - "salary negotiation" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Director" - "Manager" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Friday Buzz: Association Art Directors Make Bank For magazine art directors in the association world, there’s a bit of a silver lining inside an otherwise dire new report. *Folio* magazine’s “2015 Art & Production Salary Survey,” [whose results were released Friday (opens in a new tab)](http://www.foliomag.com/2016/art-and-production-salaries-decline-as-responsibilities-increase/) , found that art directors for association magazines received significantly higher compensation than their counterparts in the consumer and business-to-business (B2B) publishing spaces. The average base salary for association art directors in 2015 was $77,600, nearly $7,000 more than an art director at a consumer publication was likely to make and nearly $16,000 more than an art director at a B2B. In addition, other forms of cash compensation were significantly higher for association art directors ($17,300 on average, bringing total compensation to $94,900) than the industry as a whole ($4,700 on average). The level also reflects a significant shift in fortunes for the association space. Two years ago, art directors at consumer magazines made more in base salary than their association counterparts. The overall study, however, was a bit more negative in its findings, with respondents as a whole sharing mixed feelings about compensation—especially in light of the additional duties they’ve been asked to take on in a time of staff consolidation. “I think I’m paid okay for the market, but have taken on a lot of new things. Being print centric, I am happy to continue to be employed,” a production director told the magazine. The study also touched on issues of gender gaps in the publishing industry, as well as geographic differences in pay. ### A Matter of Frequency **As a nonprofit marketer,** how often should you touch your various communication outlets? This little infographic [from Kivi’s Nonprofit Communications Blog, (opens in a new tab)](http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/blog/2016/01/07/how-often-should-we-email-mail-post/) based on the site’s “[2016 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report (opens in a new tab)](http://npmktgd.leadpages.co/leadbox/140479173f72a2:10c2b9e73346dc/5730450056151040) ,” offers a nice reminder of the differing frequencies needed for different kinds of communication. ### Other Links of Note **If you’re running Windows 8 on your PC,** you should probably upgrade to Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 ASAP. [ZDNet‘s Ed Bott reports that (opens in a new tab)](http://www.zdnet.com/article/still-running-windows-8-time-to-upgrade-or-else/) , thanks to a quirk in the software’s update cycle, Microsoft won’t be offering support for the touch-centric version of Windows beyond next week. **If at first you don’t succeed …** Last year, Twitter cofounder Biz Stone shut down his follow-up app, Jelly, [after it failed miserably (opens in a new tab)](https://medium.com/the-biz-stone-collection/ask-jelly-ff96eb4fcf06#.kmxc7brt8) at finding an audience. But that failure isn’t stopping Stone from trying again, [as his latest Medium post reveals (opens in a new tab)](https://medium.com/the-biz-stone-collection/ask-jelly-ff96eb4fcf06#.kmxc7brt8) . **Mark J. Golden, FASAE, CAE,** the executive director of the National Society of Professional Engineers, has a lengthy resume of association experience. What’s his best piece of advice for working with volunteer leaders? [He shares it over this way (opens in a new tab)](http://markjgolden.com/2016/01/06/ceo-effectiveness-volunteer-boards/) . (iStock/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: [#art directors](https://associationsnow.com/tag/art-directors/) [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/) [#Publishing](https://associationsnow.com/tag/publishing/) [#salary negotiation](https://associationsnow.com/tag/salary-negotiation/) **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: More Than Marketing: The Power of Strategic CommunicationsJuly 30, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/07/30/associations-now-presents-more-than-marketing-the-power-of-strategic-communications/) - [PodcastAssociations NOW Presents: Why Slower Marketing Can Drive Stronger Member Engagement (Episode 27)June 25, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/06/25/associations-now-presents-why-slower-marketing-can-drive-stronger-member-engagement-episode-27/) - [TemplateMembers onlyMember Onboarding ToolkitNovember 5, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/11/05/member-onboarding-toolkit/) - [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%2F2016%2F01%2F08%2Ffriday-buzz-association-art-directors-make-bank%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !