Presentation materials for a talk given at O'Reilly Media's one-day "Tools of Change" conference in Chicago on April 9, 2012

1. Using content to acquire new
members (and do other fun stuff)
BRIAN F. O’LEARY
TOOLS OF CHANGE – CHICAGO
APRIL 9, 2012

2. Six core ideas
 Repackage great content
 Include content in recruiting efforts
 Distribute copies in “public place” locations
 Sell institutional subscriptions
 Give content away
 Remember the leave-behind

3. One core lesson: understand your targets
Not
aware
Aware
Lapsed
Member, Subscriber, Purchaser, Loyal Consumer

4. Repackage great content
 Capitalize on or create a niche
 Rebrand a professional series (e.g “member toolkit”)
 Target a group (e.g., “young professionals”) and show
how your content works for them
 “Just in time” content: a chapter or a compilation from
several other publications
 Cross-over compilations: content taken from
books, magazines, newsletters, blogs and more
 Adapt print content for webinars and other media
 It’s okay to charge for this (or at least put a price on it)
Sources: James Heib, Marble Institute of America; Magellan research

5. Tools of the trade
 Print-on-demand and short-run vendors like Author
Solutions, Lulu, Smashwords and CreateSpace
(Amazon)
 SharedBook’s “Blog2Print” option
 PressBooks, a WordPress-based tool that supports
output to PDF, EPUB and HTML
 Apple’s iBooks platform, competing with Kindle
Direct for paid sales
 The Daisy Consortium (accessibility)

6. Make content part of your recruiting offer
 Make “best of” or “special issue” offers that borrow
from member-benefit content
 Ask yourself: “What do we know/do that no one else
knows/does?”
 Show prospective members (buyers) how your
content meets their expressed and latent needs
 Differentiate platforms (magazines for thought
leadership; blogs for perspective and debate, etc.)
 “Tools of the trade” can be used here, too

7. Use “public place” locations
 Relevance varies; know your niche
 Use response vehicles (cards, source & QR codes)
 Track results (it’s a data-driven business)
 Single-copy sales (cautiously!)
 Example: American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery
Sources: Folio:, James Heib, Scott Oser, Magellan research

8. Sell institutional subscriptions
 Journals, annuals, special reports
 Some publications
 Works well if you have vetted content
 Content can sell at a (much) higher price
 Helps to validate your credentials
Sources: Scott Oser, Magellan research

9. Give content away (smartly!)
 First: know the companies or individuals you want to
recruit
 Offer samples whenever you exhibit at or attend
relevant conferences and trade shows
 Court industry influencers: government leaders, key
decision makers
 Evaluate lower-cost, digital-only options

10. Some digital-only options
 Apple’s iBooks Author platform (iPad only)
 Google Currents (format for mobile)
 Kindle Publishing for Periodicals
 Adobe Digital Publishing (tablet only)
 Inkling (cross-platform, cloud-based)
 WordPress (and PressBooks)
 Multiple HTML5 frameworks
 The Atavist, Byliner (longer-form, for-sale products)
Source: Magellan research

11. Remember the leave-behind!
 Editors, writers and contributors often speak outside
of your association
 Give them copies of the publications in which their
work appeared
 Encourage them to give it away, mail or e-mail it to
their contacts and colleagues (make it easy to do so)
 Partner with organizations that need your content
and can introduce it to non-members

12. New rules of thumb for recruiting with content
 Not “outbound”; think “surround”
 Targets resist “campaigns”; try “experiences” and
“relationships”
 Increasingly “segments” are too broad. Develop
offers that resonate with “individuals”
 Think about selling relevant books or compilations
published by others (look bigger, more helpful)
Source: Forrester Research, 2010

13. Six core ideas
 Repackage great content
 Include content in membership recruiting efforts
 Distribute copies in “public place” locations
 Sell institutional subscriptions
 Give content away
 Remember the leave-behind

14. Additional resources
 Association Media & Publishing
 Scott Oser, Clay Shirky, James Kane
 ASAE’s membership section
 O’Reilly Media’s Radar blog (books, new media)
 Magellan’s blog (associations, magazines, books)
 A mini-bibliography: http://bit.ly/HlBuNY