--- title: "Monday Buzz: Don’t Give Away the Whole Cake" id: "33739" type: "post" slug: "monday-buzz-dont-give-away-the-whole-cake" published_at: "2016-06-13T17:06:44+00:00" modified_at: "2016-06-13T17:06:44+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/06/13/monday-buzz-dont-give-away-the-whole-cake/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/06/13/monday-buzz-dont-give-away-the-whole-cake.md" excerpt: "We explain what's wrong with making all your content available for free online. Also, 2016 MM&C attendees should check out this list of must-hit sessions." taxonomy_category: - "Marketing / Communications" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Marketing" - "Membership" - "Mid-Level Professional" - "organization strategy" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Director" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Monday Buzz: Don’t Give Away the Whole Cake Free content is great for online users, but it may be a recipe for disaster for your organization. That’s the argument Julie Dietz makes on the Socious blog. She notes that while offering some content for free is good and may attract potential professionals who appreciate the subject matter, giving away too much will remove a major incentive for people to join your organization. “If they can get your information for free, why should people bother to become members? Your association, its members, staff, and expertise are valuable, so treat them as such,” [she argues in her blog post (opens in a new tab)](http://blog.socious.com/why-associations-shouldnt-be-giving-away-all-their-content-for-free) . Dietz suggests finding the right balance, offering some content for free to the public but using it to drum up interest in what’s behind the member paywall. She urges associations to make use of the latest AMS tools to implement this strategy. “When you can have it both ways,” she asks, “why let your organization and your members down by not doing something that’s become very easy?” Check out [her blog post (opens in a new tab)](http://blog.socious.com/why-associations-shouldnt-be-giving-away-all-their-content-for-free) for more details. ### MM&C Cheat Sheet > Check out these must-see [#MMCcon (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/MMCcon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > sessions! [#assnchat (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/assnchat?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [#assnprofs (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/assnprofs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [https://t.co/qaWiSW6Ykg (opens in a new tab)](https://t.co/qaWiSW6Ykg) > > — Dave Martin (@15davemartin) [June 12, 2016 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/15davemartin/status/742000895420948480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) **Attending ASAE’s Marketing, Membership & Communications Conference this week?** Awesome! Hope we spot you in a session. If you’re looking for the right sessions to hit, [check out this list (opens in a new tab)](http://inboundmartech.com/10-must-see-sessions-at-mmccon-2016/) from Dave Martin, chief marketing officer at Aptify. Oh, and if you can’t be with us this year, [keep an eye on our live blog](http://associationsnow.com/mmcc-2016-liveblog/) , going strong on both days! ### Other Links of Note **“Y****our blog is built to capture the attention of the people you hope to serve and help in some way.** You might not have to write a post daily to earn people’s attention, so instead, focus on making that which you write more useful.*“* — [Chris Brogan, CEO of Owner Media Group, speaks up (opens in a new tab)](http://chrisbrogan.com/blogging-isnt-dead/) in favor of creating your own blog, rather than simply writing on Medium or Facebook. **Apple is one company famous** for its speeches. How did they become so adept at them? [This interview in The Atlantic (opens in a new tab)](http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/06/speechwriter-poet/486329/) with the company’s first full-time speechwriter offers a clue. **Ad blocking stymieing you?** Instead of seeing it as a bad thing, try paying attention to the lesson it’s trying to teach, NewCo founder Darren Herman [writes on the LinkedIn blog (opens in a new tab)](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-we-need-learn-from-ad-blocking-darren-herman) . (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: [#Marketing](https://associationsnow.com/tag/marketing/) [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/) [#Mid-Level Professional](https://associationsnow.com/tag/mid-level-professional/) [#organization strategy](https://associationsnow.com/tag/organization-strategy/) **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 - [VideoTerin Bates, MBA, CAE, CX-PRO, Shares Her Experience at the 2026 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 18, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/08/18/terin-bates-mba-cae-cx-pro-shares-her-experience-at-the-2026-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) - [VideoThe Adaptive Leader: Integrating Values and Strategy to Thrive Under New LeadershipDecember 15, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/12/15/the-adaptive-leader-integrating-values-and-strategy-to-thrive-under-new-leadership/) - [VideoRecap from the 2025 ASAE MMC+Tech ConferenceMay 19, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/05/19/recap-from-the-2025-asae-mmctech-conference/) - [VideoSneak Peek: Highlights from Day 2 of the 2025 ASAE MMC+Tech ConferenceMay 14, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/05/14/sneak-peek-highlights-from-day-2-of-the-2025-asae-mmctech-conference/) ## 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%2F06%2F13%2Fmonday-buzz-dont-give-away-the-whole-cake%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !