What Do Members Want? Insights from the 2024 Association Member Experience Report

On this timely and informative episode of The Member Engagement Show, Dorothy Deng, Partner at Whiteford, Taylor & Preston discusses AI and copyright law, especially as it relates to association management. There are many legal considerations for associations using AI and this is an excellent primer on the copyright fundamentals to stay safe and within the law. Topics covered include: Fundamental copyright considerations and how they that relate to AI use. The embedded principles of copyright law - human authorship and fair use. Does writing AI prompts afford you ownership of the AI output? Why you’re on (a little) safer ground if your prompt includes pre-existing human created copyrighted material. Why those “This material was AI generated” labels might prevent you from having a copyright claim. Does the percentage of human vs. AI involvement in a work matter to the copyright office? How to protect yourself from unwittingly infringing on other people’s copyrights. How associations should keep copyright in mind when using AI. The licensing opportunities for associations as LLMs seek higher quality data.   Some Helpful Links: The U.S. Copyright Office’s Report on AI  

On this episode of Higher Logic’s “Member Engagement Show,” Higher Logic Strategic Advisor Bekah Weidner talks about ways to bring in non-dues revenue (NDR) in uncertain economic times or times of economic change. Looking for ways to boost revenue at your organization? Topics covered include: The importance of having diverse sources of revenue. Sponsorship and advertising strategies and tactics. Non-dues revenue from newsletters, emails, events, job boards and more. The right way to use your community to benefit sponsors, partners, and the association. Exploring all of your association content assets as sponsorship opportunities. The importance of keeping sponsorships aligned with your association’s tone and mission and protecting the integrity of the content assets. Helpful Links: For more revenue generation ideas... Join us on September 10, 2025 for our free webinar: From Engagement to Non-Dues Revenue: Monetizing Your Online Community Check out our Non-Dues Revenue Success Kit    

In this episode of The Member Engagement Show, we talk with Bettina Fowler, Senior VP of Customer Success at Higher Logic to get the very best of her popular session at Higher Logic's annual Super Forum conference, “45 Ideas in 45 Minutes.” Bettina has been involved in customer success at Higher Logic for 11 years and has tons of great insights from working with customers on implementation, member engagement, and marketing strategies. Kelly chats with her about quick and easy ways to level up the way in which associations and nonprofits serve their communities. Topics covered include: Top things to check regularly and make sure you didn’t miss in your platform setup. Tools and strategies associations can easily use to improve member engagement. The features in your platform that you might not even know about or might be underutilized. Are you maximizing AI functionalities in your community management? All the reasons not to fear upgrades to your platform.   Helpful Links: Higher Logic customers can access the full Super Forum session recording in the Higher Logic User Group (HUG).

Our guest on this episode of The Member Engagement Show is Higher Logic’s own Senior Product Manager, Aaron Novelle. Aaron has been a leader in the development of AI enhancements to the Higher Logic Thrive platform. With those enhancements now in beta, we wanted to catch up with Aaron about how associations can leverage AI to continuously improve the member experience. Topics covered include: What Higher Logic AI tools are available now and what’s on the horizon. What AI search assistants are and what they can do when connected to online communities. A primer on RAG (Resource Augmented Generation) LLMs vs. the global LLMs that power general AI tools like ChatGPT. How associations can deploy AI while keeping their data safe. Associations as the bastions of specific expertise and knowledge. The importance of aggregating and categorizing your association’s knowledge base - and how to make that easier. Some Helpful Links: Learn About Higher Logic's AI Search Assistant (and Turn it On in Your Community!) Higher Logic's AI Toolkit ASAE Webinar: Embracing AI Safely (with Higher Logic's Amanda DeLuke)

On this episode of Higher Logic’s award-winning “Member Engagement Show,” we talk with Karen Saverino, CMO at Smithbucklin. Karen has over 25 years of experience in marketing and communications, most with nonprofits and associations. She is one of the authors of Smithbucklin’s recent report on the Perceptions and Evolving Role of Associations. Listen to the episode for insights from that report and to hear ways associations can apply those insights to attract and retain members. Topics covered include: What are members' most valuable benefits from their association? Do members currently trust their association? The importance of education and professional development. Is AI a threat to online community participation? What prevents people from becoming members? Four fundamentals you should focus on based on the report’s data. Some pointers on doing your own member research.   Helpful Links: Smithbucklin’s Perceptions and Evolving Role of Associations Report Learning management and trends podcast episode with Bluesky

Our guest this episode of the award-winning Member Engagement Show is Romeo Talento, Customer Success Advisor at Higher Logic and a career expert in SEO strategies, who talks about some of the ways associations and non-profits are approaching and should approach those SEO strategies. Prior to his role at HL, Romeo managed membership and marketing for associations like the American Bar Association and the Merchant Risk Council. Topics covered include: A primer on what SEO is (and isn’t). How search engines work. The importance of keyword research and wording things correctly. The steps to incorporate into your day-to-day work to optimize content for search engines. Recommendations for one-person marketing teams juggling multiple hats. The three types of SEO you need to know. The importance of alt text in images, page titles, and working links. Tips for page design and backlinks. The power of data and numbers in your web content. Suggestions for long-term SEO wins. How AI and voice searches are changing SEO   Helpful Links On-Demand webinar with Alec Cole, Founder of Salt Rock SEO, on AI’s Impact on SEO SEO Checklist: 41 Tips to Optimize Your Website Higher Logic Thrive

Our guest on this episode of The Member Engagement Show is Peggy Hoffman, Founder of Mariner Management. Mariner Management is an association management company providing full management services to small associations and counsel to global associations seeking to improve member communities and volunteer development. Peggy also works as a member community strategist, volunteer management consultant, national speaker and trainer for volunteers and staff. In this episode, we discuss the current state of association volunteer systems, with topics covered including: What research tells us about the current landscape of association volunteer programs. What are the reoccurring challenges? What adjustments to volunteer systems make a difference? The demand for shorter-term volunteering. What keeps volunteers engaged? What kind of information do volunteers really want when it comes to a program’s goals and achievements? What draws in and engages the next generation of volunteers? Why you should ask volunteers to “get milk on their way home, not go out of their way.” Determining when to sunset a volunteer program that's not performing. The critical role of the staff liaison. Just how important is it to have a volunteer program? Peggy will be presenting a session at Higher Logic's Super Forum Conference, March 26-28 in Nashville, TN, on "Igniting Engagement: Empowering Members to Lead." Join this interactive session to learn how to shift your perspective and your strategy around volunteering to ignite engagement.   Helpful Links & Resources Mentioned in the Episode: Article: Why Volunteering Needs a Transformation Article: Create Better Volunteer Experiences Through Feedback Report: A Holistic Approach to Association Volunteer Management Executive Summary: A Holistic Approach to Association Volunteer Management Report: Mutually Beneficial Volunteerism Guide: The Decision to Volunteer - Why People Give Their Time and How You Can Engage Them Simplified Engagement Loop from MCI's Engagement Index Report: Chapter Performance and Benchmarking Report

On this episode of Higher Logic Thrive’s The Member Engagement Show, our guests are Andrea Wieters, Director of Strategic and Future Focused Research for the ASAE Research Foundation, and Jennifer McNelly, CEO of the American Society of Safety Professionals. Both work on ASAE ForesightWorks, a program focused on major trend analysis and forecasting to equip associations and their volunteer leaders for effective environmental scanning and planning for change. Andrea, Jennifer, and Kelly discuss ForesightWorks' continuous strategic intelligence on drivers of change in the association industry and practical applications for the insights provided by this program. Topics covered include: What the ASAE Research Foundation and ForesightWorks does - including their list of "Drivers of Change". The newest Drivers of Change: AI, emerging Gen Z, and the talent drought. The ways the world of work is changing and why every association leader needs to understand it. The importance of a systems-based approach. Six key thematic areas of change explored in the ForesightWorks list of Drivers of Change. Advice for association leaders on how to apply drivers of change to strategy.   Some Helpful Links ASAE ForesightWorks   Why Associations Need Foresight The CDC’s Future of Work Higher Logic Thrive

On this special episode of The Member Engagement Show, we give you exclusive listener access to a recent webinar: “What Do Members Want? Tips and Trends from Higher Logic’s 2024 Association Member Experience Report.” Presenters Higher Logic Content Marketing Manager Kelly Whelan, Director of Product Marketing Sarah Spinosa, and Strategic Advisor Bekah Weidner reveal insights gleaned from the study and add their thoughts on how you can use these insights and best practices to improve your member engagement. Topics covered include: Why members leave their associations. How often do members interact with their association? What are the top member benefits? Member education needs and trends. How associations can participate in targeted initiatives members look for. Member communication preferences. How important is personalization and segmentation to members?   Helpful Links Watch the Webinar: What Do Members Want? Tips and Trends From the 2024 Association Member Experience Report 2024 Association Member Experience Report Association Community Benchmark Report Higher Logic Thrive Learn Higher Logic Post on Engagement Scoring Super Forum 2025 Registration

In this episode of The Member Engagement Show, we explore educational trends and best practices for associations, as well as Learning Management Systems (LMS) with two fantastic guests from Blue Sky eLearn: Chief Revenue Officer Mark L. Jones, CAE, and VP Association Solutions Liam O’Malley CAE, PMP. We cover all things related to empowering associations to create powerful learning opportunities for members, including topics such as: What a Learning Management System (LMS) is. Education as a huge driver for Non-Dues Revenue. Education for membership expansion. Bringing data management and technologies like AI into association education. How to diversify your educational experiences. How the right platform can create a coherent and efficient learning ecosystem. Why a learning program doesn’t need to be a heavy administrative lift. Tips for adopting and launching learning programs and an LMS. The biggest gap in most association learning programs. Higher Logic partnered with Blue Sky eLearn to launch our newest offering, Higher Logic Thrive Learn. Helpful Links: Higher Logic Thrive Learn. Blog post with Blue Sky on AI-powered learning. The 2024 Association Member Experience Report.