--- title: "Friday Buzz: A Membership Thought Exercise" id: "40751" type: "post" slug: "friday-buzz-a-membership-thought-exercise" published_at: "2017-12-02T00:11:17+00:00" modified_at: "2017-12-02T00:11:17+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/12/02/friday-buzz-a-membership-thought-exercise/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/12/02/friday-buzz-a-membership-thought-exercise.md" excerpt: "A membership thought exercise challenges you to imagine your business model without members. Could you? Also: Your employee branding could be the difference between you keeping employees and struggling to fill seats." taxonomy_category: - "Membership" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "community data" - "Data Organization" - "Membership" 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/) » Friday Buzz: A Membership Thought Exercise Would your association still work without members? Well, would it? It’s a provocative question, [and one posed by Tara Puckey at the Indiana Society of Association Executives (opens in a new tab)](http://info.isae.org/blog/rethink_membership_2017) , who suggests the idea as something of a thought exercise. “Step out of that box. The one labeled, ‘Because We’ve Always Done It This Way,’ in big, bold letters,” she writes. “Let’s think for just a second about what would happen if we did it differently by working through the ‘What If’ exercise.” Puckey breaks down all the considerations that might come to mind when rethinking the types of people considered members, the types of people who could be engaged, and how it might shift the way you consider membership. The brainstorming exercise, she says, is meant to get you to think beyond your model. “After all, organizations don’t just exist to serve their members, but the communities they engage with,” she writes. “Who is your community, and how can you serve?” ### Consider Your Employer Branding https://twitter.com/CMAAssociations/status/936383883385307136 **If your organization has a poor reputation,** you’re going to have a hard time succeeding in drawing new employees to open roles. Over at *Association Adviser*, [Naylor Corporate Recruiter Liz Ruble breaks down (opens in a new tab)](https://www.associationadviser.com/index.php/importance-employer-branding/) how good employee branding both keeps staffers at the organization and gives associations a better chance at hiring new employees. ### Other Links of Note **In case you’re wondering,** Apple says that the iPhone X, despite its high price tag, [is a huge hit (opens in a new tab)](https://www.computerworld.com/article/3239529/apple-ios/iphone-x-drives-apples-best-ever-year-for-smartphone-sales.html) . **Need a mental health break?** An app called [Fabulous (opens in a new tab)](https://www.thefabulous.co/) , which encourages you to build rituals into your routine, might be a good way to squeeze one in. The company, [per Product Hunt (opens in a new tab)](https://www.producthunt.com/posts/fabulous-for-ios-2) , just introduced an iOS app after much success on Android. **Can you promote an event with Facebook?** Of course! The *Event Manager Blog* [has all the techniques (opens in a new tab)](http://www.eventmanagerblog.com/market-event-using-facebook) you should use to draw in a few Facebook fans. (fizkes/iStock/Getty Images Plus) [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: [#community data](https://associationsnow.com/tag/community-data/) [#Data Organization](https://associationsnow.com/tag/data-organization/) [#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 - [TemplateMembers onlyMember Onboarding ToolkitNovember 5, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/11/05/member-onboarding-toolkit/) - [VideoCommunity Voices: Pat BlakeSeptember 15, 2021](https://associationsnow.com/2021/09/15/community-voices-pat-blake/) - [VideoCommunity Voices: Sharon NewportSeptember 15, 2021](https://associationsnow.com/2021/09/15/community-voices-sharon-newport/) - [VideoCommunity Voices: Silvia QuevedoSeptember 15, 2021](https://associationsnow.com/2021/09/15/community-voices-silvia-quevedo/) ## 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%2F2017%2F12%2F02%2Ffriday-buzz-a-membership-thought-exercise%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !