---
title: "Membership Hack: Downsizing Newsletters"
id: "42658"
type: "post"
slug: "membership-hack-downsizing-newsletters"
published_at: "2018-05-18T21:13:42+00:00"
modified_at: "2018-05-18T21:13:42+00:00"
url: "https://associationsnow.com/2018/05/18/membership-hack-downsizing-newsletters/"
markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2018/05/18/membership-hack-downsizing-newsletters.md"
excerpt: "The American Academy of PAs downsized to a single e-newsletter to deliver news and information to members without flooding their inboxes. That change is helping to boost open rates, click-throughs, and membership."
taxonomy_category:
  - "Membership"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "AssociationsNow"
  - "Marketing"
  - "Member Engagement"
  - "Membership"
  - "newsletters"
taxonomy_content_format:
  - "Article"
taxonomy_role:
  - "C-Level"
  - "Director"
  - "VP"
taxonomy_persona:
  - "Association Professionals"
---

[Home](https://associationsnow.com/)
 » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/)
 » Membership Hack: Downsizing Newsletters

**How to hack it?**Sometimes less is more, or at least that’s what the American Academy of PAs concluded about what the association delivers to members’ inboxes. About two years ago, an analysis showed that AAPA was flooding its members with email, sometimes sending as many as 10 messages on a single day.

“Open rates were low across the board, and unsubscribes were growing at a rapid pace,” says Lisa Burns, AAPA’s marketing director. “This was hurting our ability to market effectively.”

Rather than push out all content to all members, AAPA now delivers relevant news and information from marketing campaigns in a single weekly e-newsletter, called *PA Central*.

**Why does it work?**The newsletter is more closely aligned with physician assistants’ on-the-go lives. More than 70 percent of AAPA’s audience checks email from a mobile device. *PA Central* is designed to meet those demands: The newsletter is responsively designed and contains only six pieces of content.

**What’s the bonus?**Open rates and click-throughs are now well above [industry benchmarks (opens in a new tab)](https://knowledgebase.constantcontact.com/articles/KnowledgeBase/5409-average-industry-rates?lang=en_US)
, and Burns says the downsized approach is helping to grow membership too. “Because we are reaching more people and giving them permission to pull what they want out of their membership, we think the overall membership experience is stronger,” she says.

[Tim Ebner](https://associationsnow.com/author/tim-ebner/)

Tim Ebner is communications director and press secretary at the American Forest & Paper Association in Washington, DC. He is a member of ASAE’s Communication Professionals Advisory Council and a former Associations Now senior editor.

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

Tags: [#Marketing](https://associationsnow.com/tag/marketing/)
 [#Member Engagement](https://associationsnow.com/tag/member-engagement/)
 [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/)
 [#newsletters](https://associationsnow.com/tag/newsletters/)

**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: 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/)
- [TemplateMembers onlyMember Onboarding ToolkitNovember 5, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/11/05/member-onboarding-toolkit/)
- [VideoRecap from the 2025 ASAE MMC+Tech ConferenceMay 19, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/05/19/recap-from-the-2025-asae-mmctech-conference/)
- [VideoPartnerships that Drive Success: ASAE Strategic Partnership AllianceAugust 26, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/08/26/partnerships-that-drive-success-asae-strategic-partnership-alliance/)

## 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%2F2018%2F05%2F18%2Fmembership-hack-downsizing-newsletters%2F%23comments)
 to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/)
!