Patricia Rich - Membership Marketing in the Digital Age: A Handbook for Museums and Libraries

Membership Marketing in the Digital Age

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR STATE AND LOCAL HISTORY BOOK SERIES

SERIES EDITOR

Russell Lewis, Chicago History Museum

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Anne W. Ackerson, Leading by Design

William Bomar, University of Alabama Museums

Jessica Dorman, The Historic New Orleans Collection

W. Eric Emerson, South Carolina Department of Archives and History

Tim Grove, National Air and Space Museum

Ann E. McCleary, University of West Georgia

Laurie Ossman, Preservation Society of Newport County

Laura Roberts, Roberts Consulting

Sandra Smith, Heinz History Center

Kimberly Springle, Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives

Elizabeth Joan Van Allen, Kentucky Historical Society

William S. Walker, Cooperstown Graduate Program, SUNY Oneonta

STAFF

Bob Beatty, AASLH

Charles Harmon, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ABOUT THE SERIES

The American Association for State and Local History Book Series addresses issues critical to the field of state and local history through interpretive, intellectual, scholarly, and educational texts. To submit a proposal or manuscript to the series, please request proposal guidelines from AASLH headquarters: AASLH Editorial Board, 1717 Church St., Nashville, Tennessee 37203. Telephone: (615) 320-3203. Website: www.aaslh.org.

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) is a national history membership association headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. AASLH provides leadership and support for its members who preserve and interpret state and local history in order to make the past more meaningful to all Americans. AASLH members are leaders in preserving, researching, and interpreting traces of the American past to connect the people, thoughts, and events of yesterday with the creative memories and abiding concerns of people, communities, and our nation today. In addition to sponsorship of this book series, AASLH publishes History News magazine, a newsletter, technical leaflets and reports, and other materials; confers prizes and awards in recognition of outstanding achievement in the field; supports a broad education program and other activities designed to help members work more effectively; and advocates on behalf of the discipline of history. To join AASLH, go to www.aaslh.org or contact Membership Services, AASLH, 1717 Church St., Nashville, TN 37203.

Membership Marketing in the Digital Age

A Handbook for Museums and Libraries

Patricia Rich, ACFRE

Dana S. Hines, CFRE

Rosie Siemer

Rowman & Littlefield

Lanham Boulder New York London

Published by Rowman & Littlefield

A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706

www.rowman.com

Unit A, Whitacre Mews, 26-34 Stannary Street, London SE11 4AB

Copyright 2016 by Patricia Rich, Dana S. Hines, and Rosalie Siemer

All rights reserved . No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available

ISBN 978-1-4422-5980-5 (hardback)

ISBN 978-1-4422-5981-2 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-4422-5982-9 (e-book)

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

We dedicate this book to everyone who works in membership in nonprofit organizations. For many nonprofits, the membership is the heart and soul of the organization. Having a strong membership program ensures that the organization can accomplish its mission. We applaud the staff and volunteers who strive to make their programs the best that they can be and, in turn, serve their communities.

Foreword

I have my roots in Rock and Rolland baseball, and museums, and Membership! My museum training is honestfrom the Cooperstown Graduate Program in Museum Studies. My baseball and rock and roll background is a result of passions developed through childhood and adolescence. My membership training was through the school of hard knocks and a chance encounter with Dana Hines and Membership Consultants back in the late 1990s.

At the time, my first position out of graduate school was a fortuitous hiring as the Membership Manager at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. I was fortunate that the President of the Hall of Fame shared a deep interest in building the membership base. I was invited to a seminar on Membership Marketing hosted by Membership Consultants. When I met Dana, who was a great St. Louis Cardinal Baseball fan herself, I knew that we were of one mind, and that was to significantly grow the membership of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Our journey of growth of the Hall of Fames membership program began with a visit to Cooperstown for Dana, and a comprehensive membership plan that we developed together. Thanks to overall institutional commitment to membership, a healthy pool of untapped interest, and a solid plan, growth came quickly. Utilizing all sources of membership acquisition, including direct mail, a robust effort to capture memberships on-site with a well-trained team, and early adoption of email and online solicitation and communication, we were very successful. Membership growth, over a three- to four-year timeframe, exceeded 600 percent!

As my career progressed to Director of Development, overseeing membership still at the Baseball Hall of Fame, and now to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, membership remains one of the most powerful assets an organization can possess in fulfilling its overarching mission. Without the power and passion of the people who are members and who commit to our worthwhile endeavors, our institutions would not thrive and prosper.

I am excited that Dana Hines and her fellow authors and membership experts Patricia Rich and Rosie Siemer have created this valuable book that will lead more membership managers to success in their professions . This is the only book that focuses specifically on membership, and the emphasis on digital marketing comes at a critical time when organizations are struggling to catch up, evaluate which areas to invest limited dollars, and understand how digital efforts can support membership.

Membership Marketing in the Digital Age will help shape the next generation of membership leaders and serve to guide organizations forward, preparing them to meet the challenges of tomorrow. It will be an asset to all who seek to grow and flourish in the membership world!

Greg Harris

President and CEO

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Preface

In the 1800s Alexis de Tocqueville visited America, where he found that citizens were forever forming associations. As Tocqueville says, the groups can be religious, moral, serious, futile, very general and very limited, immensely large and very minute. While the landscape of membership programs still resembles Tocquevilles descriptions, the proliferation of groups to which we can belong, and the channels for joining, have grown exponentially. For those who are working in membership programs, this provides ever-increasing challenges. This book is a tool to deal with the challenges. It is a primer for anyone who is new to membership programs, interested in beginning one, or involved in growing one. As well, there is information for those who work as paid or volunteer staff in membership programs.