Membership

Membership Hack: A Two-for-New Deal

The Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits offers member prospects an incentive to join with two free webinars, which provide practical value.

How to hack it? Jennifer Blair, membership director at the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits, excites prospective members with a special “two-for-new membership” deal. This summer, she launched a membership recruitment campaign that offers new members access to two free webinars. “Summer can be a slow period for membership,” Blair says. “We took this campaign as a way to give people a reason to join.” Typically, Alliance members pay $29 to access the organization’s “Get More Grants” webinar series, which includes trainings on grant writing, research, and prospecting. Just a few weeks in, the Alliance is seeing a healthy uptick in membership acquisition.

Why does it work? Webinars provide practical value to both members and nonmembers and so were a natural choice for a membership offer. Similar tactics have worked in the past as well: Most recently, the Alliance discounted membership during a “March Madness” campaign.

What’s the bonus? Webinars are a significant source of nondues revenue for the Alliance, and the new-member savings of $58 comes at little cost to the organization. “It’s a win-win. We offer members something that they need, and it doesn’t eat into our revenue at all,” Blair says.

(iStock/Thinkstock)

Tim Ebner

By Tim Ebner

Tim Ebner is a senior editor for Associations Now. He covers membership, leadership, and governance issues. Email him with story ideas or news tips. MORE

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