The
Association Manager
A Newsletter for Organization Leaders
Published Courtesy of Wisconsin Association Management, LLC
Volume
II , Issue V
Download Formatted Version (.PDF)
Inside This Issue:
Ask WAM: Leader's
Forum
WAM, LLC's Services
WAM, LLC Welcomes Two New Clients
WCREW Showcase Awards Huge Success
Need a Projector for your Next Event?
Is your website "resource-rich"?
New Overtime Rules Now in Effect
Leadership Quote
A Friendly Reminder from WAM: IT'S BUDGET TIME
About WAM, LLC
ASK WAM: Leader's Forum
Questions
by association leaders, Responses by WAM, LLC staff
If
you have a question for the next newsletter, e-mail it to
info@wamllc.net
Question
Dear
WAM: It seems like our association spent thousands of dollars
on our new website and no one goes to it! Can you please offer
some tips for increasing traffic to our website?
Answer
This
is a very extensive topic and there are professionals that
specialize in this area. However, there is much that you can
do on your own that will increase traffic to your website.
Most importantly, your members must be familiar with your
website. Constantly provide your website's URL in all publications
and broadcast e-mails that are distributed to the membership.
Another important concept is keywords because they are typically
what someone will search for. Put yourself in the searcher's
shoes and think about what you would search for that would
ultimately lead you to your association's website. To find
new members, it is important that your association ranks high
in relevant search results.
Keywords
can be incorporated into your domain name. For example, when
the Wisconsin Self Storage Association hired WAM, LLC, their
domain name was http://www.wi-ssa.org. We immediately suggested
that they switch domain names to http://www.wiselfstorage.org.
The end result has been a significant increase in the overall
traffic to their website.
Also,
try to link your website with other relevant websites. Encourage
each member of your association to link their website to your
association's website. This helps the search engines find
your website, and also helps more people visit your website
after being at the referrer's website.
Other
notes:
- Most
associations have the suffix .ORG or .COM.
- The
title of your webpage should be 5-10 descriptive words,
not to exceed 100 characters.
- Singular
and plural are not the same. The internet is very exact
(i.e. accessory vs. accessories).
- Do
not start your keywords with capitals. (MSN is case sensitive.)
Although
this response discussed the importance of keywords, the content
of each page of your website is more important. Be sure to
use many keywords (towards the top of the page) that will
help the search engine map out your website. A site map can
also be particularly helpful in that regard.
Other
concepts not discussed here include: directories, banner ads,
email marketing, pay-per-clicks, online newsletter articles.
Question
Dear
WAM: Our association does not actively lobby for our industry
(mostly for cost reasons), but does have a large interest
in monitoring legislative issues that may occur in specific
municipalities throughout Wisconsin so that our members may
deal with them on a case by case basis. Aside from monitoring
larger cities like Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay , how
would you recommend that we monitor smaller communities?
Answer
We're
really glad you asked this question because there is certainly
a solution to your problem. Wisconsin Sign Association, one
of our clients, subscribes to a newspaper clipping service
through the Wisconsin Newspaper Association (WNA). Essentially,
they read every newspaper printed in the state, clip out a
keyword (company, its subsidiaries, plant location, special
key words, and what the company or organization makes or does),
and mails us the article to report to our members. For more
information, e-mail Beth at beth@wnanews.com
or call (608)-238-7171.
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WAM,
LLC Provides Its Associations These Comprehensive Services:
•
Administrative & Executive Management
•
Database Management
•
Event Planning (Meetings, Programs, Trade shows)
•
Financial Management
•
Fundraising
•
Membership Recruitment & Retention
•
Publications & Communications Management
•
Government & Public Relations
•
Web Site Development & Site Maintenance
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WAM,
LLC Welcomes Two New Clients
Leaders
have been recognizing WAM, LLC as one of the leading association
management companies in Wisconsin and the country.
We are
pleased to welcome two new clients to our growing family of
non-profit associations: ASHRAE and My Home, Your Home.
About
ASHRAE
 ASHRAE
advances the arts and sciences of heating, ventilation, air
conditioning, refrigeration and related human factors to serve
the evolving needs of the public and ASHRAE members. The Wisconsin
Chapter of ASHRAE has been a thriving Association for many
years, but recently decided to hire WAM, LLC as a consultant
to produce its monthly newsletter, website maintenance, and
database maintenance. While the volunteers have only partially
outsourced their administrative functions, they have done
so in orde r to focus their time and energy on more strategic
issues for their Organization, as well as to convey a more
professional appearance to it members and the community.
About
My Home, Your Home
My
Home, Your Home (MHYH) is a non-profit Social Service agency
that opened its first receiving home doors in 1993 with a
mission to keep siblings together while in transition to out-of-home
care. The Organization is constantly looking for new ventures
that allow it to focus on the unmet needs of youth and young
adults. In October, My Home, Your Home "outsourced"
a huge initiative fundraiser and banquet to WAM, LLC for May
2005. We are proud to be affiliated with such an important
community Organization, and look forward to making an impact
for the youth of Wisconsin . If your Association
would like to learn more about and/or participate in this
important banquet fundraising program, please contact WAM,
LLC at (414) 271-9456.
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WCREW
Showcase Awards Huge Success
Click
here to view a Business Journal article about
the event
Since
assuming management of WCREW, its membership has grown by
60% in 2003 and 25% so far in 2004. Wisconsin Commercial Real
Estate Women (WCREW) held their 4th annual Real Estate Development
Showcase Awards Ceremony on Thursday October 21st at the Country
Inn in Waukesha, honoring outstanding real estate development/redevelopment
projects in Wisconsin based on merits that include job creation,
economic development, creative use or reuse of space, community
impact, architectural merit, minority and cultural contributions,
and a project's success in overcoming significant obstacles
such as but not limited to environmental contamination or
severe economic constraints.
This
year a record number of projects were nominated via a statewide
call for nominations (32 total). Nominees, winners, WCREW
members and community leaders were present at the awards ceremony,
with guest attendance approximated at over 300. LaSalle Bank
and the Business Journal were sponsors of the event, and a
portion of ticket proceeds has been allocated by WCREW for
donations to The Cathedral Center and Milwaukee Urban Gardens
.
Need
a Projector for your Next Event?
WAM's easily operated, state-of-the-art projector
can be rented for your next event. At $150 per day,
your association can rent the projector at a fraction of the
cost of other venues that rent projectors. Please call
(414) 271-9456 for more info.
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Is
your website "resource-rich"?
By:
Christopher T. Ruditys, CEO
 In
recent years, some have argued that the impact of the internet
on associations as the vehicle for distributing information
and resources will result in declining association memberships.
With almost effortless ability to gather free information
on digital airwaves, people may believe that seeking this
information directly from associations may decline. Of course,
people in the association management profession will strongly
debate this argument, especially in the face of the technological
enhancements we see today that allow associations to operate
the way they do. More importantly, we cannot dismiss the importance
of an association's website on distributing facts to its members
as well as to the public. In fact, on the news, many of the
statistics quoted about an issue will typically come from
an association.
If
your association has a "resource-rich"
website, maybe it is time to consider adding a "Member's
Only" section. The question you need to ask yourself
is, "How do I determine if my website is resource-rich?"
Any
intellectual property, such as statistics, forms, monthly
newsletters, membership directories, and so on, is a huge
resource that you provide to your members. If these "rich"
resources are available for free at your website, please consider
why a potential member would join your association when it
is already providing these services for free via the internet.
This is not to say that you shouldn't keep this month's issue
available for public viewing, because samples of your resources
demonstrate why a prospective member should join your association.
Once you interest the public with a sample of the resources
you can supply, make sure you note that a full archive of
this and other resources is available in the "Member's
Only" section.
However,
do not forget the importance of branding and significance
of the recognition that is received by issuing statistics
and other industry information to the media and public. If
a newspaper is quoting your association, for example, it builds
recognition among the community and ultimately results in
potential membership growth. Also, this recognition certainly
adds respect for your association and for the industry. If
your association does produce this type of data, be sure to
issue it via press releases and/or reports to local and/or
national media outlets. With two staff people who specialize
in public relations, WAM, LLC is very conscience of this marketing
tool.
Take
a step back with your board and professional staff (if applicable)
and formulate a strategy for your website. If additional website
development (such as a "Member's Only" section)
will occur in 2005, be sure to plan ahead for it in your 2005
budget. Please visit the "ASK WAM" section of this
newsletter where an association leader asks WAM, LLC for website
marketing tips.
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New
Overtime Rules Now in Effect
Source:
Association Management, October 2004
The
nation's new Overtime Security Rules took effect last month.
The rules call for workers paid less than $23,660 per year
or $455 per week to be automatically guaranteed overtime regardless
of their titles or duties. Under the previous regulations,
only workers earning less than $8,060 annually were guaranteed
overtime. A number of salaried workers earning above the $23,660
threshold will also gain the right to overtime under the new
rules. These salaried workers include police officers, firefighters,
emergency medical technicians, nurses, and manual laborers
such as construction workers and carpenters. Salaried workers
who fall between $23,660 and $100,000 a year may lose overtime
benefits, however. Their eligibility is now assessed by a
test that determines whether or not a worker can be classified
as a professional.
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Leadership
Quote
"No
person can be a great leader unless he takes genuine joy in
the successes of those under him."
~Anonymous
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A
Friendly Reminder from WAM: IT'S BUDGET TIME!
With
fall wrapping up and the weather getting colder by the day,
it can sometimes be easy to overlook some of the vital functions
that must occur for next year: your association's 2005 budget.
Developing and implementing the annual budget is one of the
most important functions of an association, yet many boards
of directors do not take advantage of the full potential of
this essential tool. At WAM, LLC, we believe the budget is
a roadmap for the following year, and helps the Organization
plan for physical growth and advancement within a community.
If
your Organization has a strategic plan in place, it is important
to think of the budget as the starting place for the implementation
of the plan that will begin to unfold in the coming year.
If it doesn't, it is okay to make the budget based on anticipated
changes and make adjustments later.
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About
WAM, LLC
WAM,
LLC provides superior administrative and executive services
to non profit associations seeking to take their organization
to the next level. With over 29 years of combined association
management experience, WAM, LLC will work with your Board
of Directors, committees and membership to implement programs
and services, as well as alleviate the day-to-day administrative
tasks that must occur for your group to be successful. We
believe in implementation. As our satisfied clients say, "Put
the administrative work in the hands of the experts and do
what you do best."
"Just
wanted to let you know how happy I am with the success of
the conference and how pleased I am with all of you. Great
job!"
-James
Emden, WSA President, Badger Display Signs Inc.
"Great
job on the trade show. WAM continues to provide our organization
with professional courteous service which certainly has contributed
to our success."
-Rich
Stopczynski, CAI Treasurer
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The
Association Manager is published bi-monthly by Wisconsin Association
Management, LLC to educate association leaders about running
an effective non profit association. For more information
about the comprehensive set of administrative services we
provide to our associations, please visit us on the web at
http://www.wamllc.net.
As our satisfied associations say, “Put the administrative
work in the hands of the experts and do what you do best.”
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to Top)
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