Associations exist because we know that we’re stronger when we’re part of a team. Good things happen when talented people come together to share knowledge, compare best practices and make connections, which is why associations work so hard to acquire members.

Every association website has a public section and a members-only section.

The public section of the site is essentially a marketing tool. It exists so that passers-by can get a flavor of what the association has to offer, and hopefully it will tempt people into taking a closer look.

The Association Management Software (AMS) can be found at the heart of every organization. It manages your member database, it handles subscriptions and member dues, it supports your website.

The AMS does a lot. But it doesn’t do everything.

How do you know if your association management strategies are working? How can you track the return on investment in marketing, content creation and IT infrastructure investment?

It all comes down to member engagement. Are you connecting with members and making them feel like they’re getting value for money?

Engagement is the ultimate metric of your efforts. It soars when your strategy is working; it plummets when you need to make changes.

The only problem is: how you actually go about assessing engagement?

You’ve put together the perfect marketing email for your association. You know it's going to land with a splash and set new records for click-throughs and conversions.

But what happens if the email never even gets to the recipient?

Delivery and deliverability are the two main factors in getting your email to its destination. Understanding how they work is key to a successful email campaign.

Why do people leave associations?

According to 37 percent of associations, the biggest problem is low engagement. Members simply fail to see the benefit of being part of the community, so they quit or just don’t bother to renew their membership.