---
title: "Onboarding: Welcome Your New Members"
id: "32836"
type: "post"
slug: "onboarding-welcome-your-new-members"
published_at: "2016-04-05T19:48:12+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-11-09T16:47:28+00:00"
url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/04/05/onboarding-welcome-your-new-members/"
markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/04/05/onboarding-welcome-your-new-members.md"
excerpt: "Introducing your members to your association with a seamless onboarding program is key. Plus: Science can help beat that creative block of yours."
taxonomy_category:
  - "Membership"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "AssociationsNow"
  - "fan engagement"
  - "Membership"
  - "onboarding"
taxonomy_content_format:
  - "Article"
taxonomy_role:
  - "Association CEO / Executive Director"
  - "Executive Team"
taxonomy_persona:
  - "Association Professionals"
---

[Home](https://associationsnow.com/)
 » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/)
 » Onboarding: Welcome Your New Members

Don’t lose ’em while you’ve got ’em.

When you sign up new members, they’re looking for benefits right off the bat. If you give them a weak welcome, they could slip away.

“Some 38 percent of new members [cite] lack of engagement with an organization as the number one reason for not renewing their membership,” [Kim Sorin wrote last week on Forward Together (opens in a new tab)](http://blog.abila.com/are-you-onboarding-for-new-member-success/)
, the blog of the association software and service provider Abila.

A good onboarding process can highlight your association’s offerings and ensure long-term engagement by giving new members a starting point.

“Your programs and systems need to be equipped to provide an experience that speaks directly to the member with the content they want, when and how they want it,” Sorin wrote, pointing to the examples of Amazon, Google, and Netflix.

### Science Can Help

**Need to brainstorm** something new or solve a problem? Creative block can make you give up, but you should keep at it. [Scientific research recently highlighted by New York Magazine shows (opens in a new tab)](http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/01/3-insights-from-a-new-book-about-creativity.html)
 how changing your attitude and adjusting a few habits can help you boost your creativity.

### Additional Links for Your Day

**Pinterest may not be as buzzworthy as it used to be,** but it’s still going strong with a solid core audience. [Incline Marketing shares three ways (opens in a new tab)](http://inclinemarketingservices.com/2016/02/08/three-more-ways-to-use-pinterest-as-an-association/)
 for associations to use the platform.

**Sometimes it’s good to be a rookie.** We’re all about excelling at the things we know how to do, but we should also spend time to learn something new. At *Lifehacker*, Heather Yamada-Hosley [writes on learning (opens in a new tab)](http://lifehacker.com/challenge-yourself-to-always-be-a-rookie-at-something-1768975676)
.

**Medium grows up.** The company has convinced a number of online publishers to drop their legacy sites and replace them with platforms hosted on Medium. It also has plans to allow publishers to monetize their content. [Read more here if you’re curious (opens in a new tab)](https://medium.com/the-story/making-medium-more-powerful-for-publishers-39663413a904#.jkogyqods)
.

(iStock/Thinkstock)

[Patrick deHahn](https://associationsnow.com/author/patrick-dehahn/)

Patrick deHahn is a contributor to Associations Now.

[More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/patrick-dehahn/)

Tags: [#fan engagement](https://associationsnow.com/tag/fan-engagement/)
 [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/)
 [#onboarding](https://associationsnow.com/tag/onboarding/)

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