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Peter's Pub
Incredible, Invisible Association Publications
Suppose you printed business cards, then buried them in the ground. Effectively, that is what too many associations are doing with their best calling cards--their publications.
A publication is often the most important strategic asset an association has. In many cases the primary or sole benefit of membership, association publications build member loyalty, convey and promote the association’s mission, position the association as an authority within its industry, support advocacy to legislators and regulators, and generate positive media coverage—all while returning net income to support association activities.
From the way associations tend to hide their publications on their Web pages, however, you might conclude that they are viewed as rather embarrassing problem children. Sometimes they are tucked in a drag-down menu for "Publications." Sometimes they are hidden away in a three-clicks deep list of member benefits. Sometimes they are stuck in a catch-all menu of "Resources."
Often, unless you know exactly where to look for a publication in the first place, good luck finding it. It's like looking for buried treasure without a map.
The reasons associations have for hiding their publications are many: not wanting the home page to appear too commercial or self-serving, wishing to emphasize other programs and services, or not wanting nonmembers to have much access to content. But all of the reasons add up to a waste of a great asset--the vehicle that best positions the association among its members, its industry, and the wider public.
It's time for publications to claim their rightful share of home page real estate. Putting a publication front and center need not mean pushing other programs aside. For example, The Arthritis Foundation (arthritis.org) has for years kept its award-winning magazine Arthritis Today prominent on its Web page without crowding out other educational or research programs. It can be done.
The reason it often isn't may be because publications professionals have a limited role in crafting association Web pages. That should change. Association editors and publishers need to become squeakier wheels, even to the point of being pushy and, yes, even obnoxious. The entire association suffers when it spends tens or hundred of thousands of dollars to create a magazine, then buries it in a forgetten corner of its Web site.
A publication is often the most important strategic asset an association has. In many cases the primary or sole benefit of membership, association publications build member loyalty, convey and promote the association’s mission, position the association as an authority within its industry, support advocacy to legislators and regulators, and generate positive media coverage—all while returning net income to support association activities.
From the way associations tend to hide their publications on their Web pages, however, you might conclude that they are viewed as rather embarrassing problem children. Sometimes they are tucked in a drag-down menu for "Publications." Sometimes they are hidden away in a three-clicks deep list of member benefits. Sometimes they are stuck in a catch-all menu of "Resources."
Often, unless you know exactly where to look for a publication in the first place, good luck finding it. It's like looking for buried treasure without a map.
The reasons associations have for hiding their publications are many: not wanting the home page to appear too commercial or self-serving, wishing to emphasize other programs and services, or not wanting nonmembers to have much access to content. But all of the reasons add up to a waste of a great asset--the vehicle that best positions the association among its members, its industry, and the wider public.
It's time for publications to claim their rightful share of home page real estate. Putting a publication front and center need not mean pushing other programs aside. For example, The Arthritis Foundation (arthritis.org) has for years kept its award-winning magazine Arthritis Today prominent on its Web page without crowding out other educational or research programs. It can be done.
The reason it often isn't may be because publications professionals have a limited role in crafting association Web pages. That should change. Association editors and publishers need to become squeakier wheels, even to the point of being pushy and, yes, even obnoxious. The entire association suffers when it spends tens or hundred of thousands of dollars to create a magazine, then buries it in a forgetten corner of its Web site.
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