Daily Buzz: Involve Members in Content Creation

As an association, it’s your job to have the pulse on industry happenings and relevant news. Though it can be challenging to monitor what’s going on at every level, lucky for you, there’s already one resource in your arsenal who can provide such information: your members.

Sure, you won’t see most traditional news outlets turn to their readership for help in cultivating the content they pay for, but De Correspondent  (opens in a new tab), a Dutch, membership-based news site does. Journalists at the site regularly lean on all 60,000 members to ask for potential sources, information, and inspiration for new stories—a process that works so well that it’s now expanding to the U.S. market as The Correspondent  (opens in a new tab).

At the MelEdits blog  (opens in a new tab), Melanie Padgett Powers writes that associations should develop a similar system when it comes to generating content.

“Membership associations should put out a content creation call for sources in your regular e-newsletter,” she says. “Plan ahead and regularly ask for contributions on specific topics in your print magazine. Continually monitor social media and your online communities to see what members are talking about—but also who is doing the talking.”

The benefits of this process are twofold: Not only will you be able to see what your members are talking about—and therefore what kind of content is relevant—but you can also add new, fresh voices into the mix for an all-encompassing look at the state of your industry.

If a Pizzeria Were a Nonprofit

You wouldn’t go into a pizza place expecting to eat a falafel sandwich, would you? Probably not.

In the New York Human Services Council’s new video, “Everyone Deserves a Fair Slice  (opens in a new tab),” the organization takes a look at what a pizzeria might look like if it were funded like a nonprofit. And while the exchange is comical—falafel in a pizza place, really!?—it also addresses the absurd, unrealistic challenges that nonprofits face in pursuit of dough, so to speak.

Other Links of Note

As you prepare to take time off for the holidays, Nonprofit AF offers tips for how to quiet your mind and actually take a break from work  (opens in a new tab).

A flexible work schedule is a big perk for many employees. This is what most organizations get wrong about the policy  (opens in a new tab), from Fast Company.

Throwing a seasonal meeting? Take some inspiration from these 21 festive holiday events,  (opens in a new tab) from BizBash.

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