You’ve probably heard that spiel about how MemberClicks serves more than 1,400 throughout North America and Europe and has been in business for more than a decade, that doesn’t tell you much about what we offer and how we can help you. We’d like to introduce you to who we are and let you know first-hand how and why we serve the small-staff association space.

Our Meet MemberClicks Webinars are a great way to learn more. This is a group webinar so you can sit back and relax as a MemberClicks representative tells you and the other attendees a little bit about us. Participants are free to ask questions but aren’t required to contribute.

Basically, we’re really excited to share our story and our passion for small staff associations with new people! We’ve been all about small staff associations since 1998, and we think our enthusiasm is infectious! If you’re at all interested in who we are and what we, we encourage you to join us!

Space is limited to be sure to reserve your space by clicking here.

Is your to-do list out of control?

Professional development. Workplace growth. Time management. New responsibilities. Stress. Presentation skills.

Every day, we take another step forward in our careers. But though we may have learned practical skills in academia in school, the business world is an entirely different animal. Business enhancement, communication and project management all become complex issues when you work in a membership-driven organization.

I recently found out about the free webinars offered by the American Management Organization, so I wanted to share some links with everyone. There are a few each month, and they cover topics as diverse as communication, administration, leadership and management skills. Each one offers practical advice you can really use — and they’re also available on-demand, so you don’t have to watch them live!

Here are a few upcoming ones that may interest association professionals at small-staff organizations:

- How to be a Successful Manager as an Introvert (April 8 – today!)

- Managing Your Workload: How to Prioritize When Everything is Important (April 20)

- How to be a Communication Problem Solver (April 29)

- From Chaos to Control: How to be Resilient to Workplace Stress (May 4)

- How to Turn Your Marginal Performers into Productive Contributors (May 13) 

Sometimes, one useful tip can make all the difference when trying to get a handle on your to-list or de-stress a bit. Consider these the next time you’re stressing out or feeling like you can’t handle everything on your plate. (And remember, it’s almost the weekend!)

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Happy Friday! It was a fun week in the association world, and I want to again thank everyone who attended the CRP Virtual Lunch call on Wednesday.

There were also some great posts this week, and amazing discussions in some of the comments, which were all great to read. Here are some of my recommended reads.

1. Cindy Butts wrote a fantastic post with 13 tips for a board of directors meeting via webinar. The ability to hold a meeting via phone or webinar is fantastic, but there are important considerations when dealing with sometimes-fickle technology. From turning off your IM to doing a practice run-through with the president, all bases are covered here.

2. An Acronym post by Scott Briscoe — Consultant wasteland — has a great conversation going in the comments. Scott discussed why associations hire consultants and if it’s truly necessary for them to validate decisions. Of course, the comments got especially interesting, so I encourage everyone to check them out — as well as the post, of course.

Does the crowd always know what’s best?

3. Another great post with fantastic, insightful comments over at Jeff Hurt’s Midcourse Corrections: Two Reasons Why Crowdsourcing Your Conference Content Won’t Work. What attendees want and what they need can be very different things, and attendees don’t know what they don’t know. Might sound obvious, but definitely read the post and the comments. Everyone had such thoughtful things to say!

4. At the SocialFish blog, Maddie Grant wrote an open letter to association CEOs about social media and organizational culture. Inviting all CEOs who read it to respond, she got a few great comments — trust me, you want to read them (especially the last few)!

5. Erik Schonher had a funny anecdote about one of his client’s e-mail marketing campaign — a technology glitch prompted tons of responses! Maybe an unexpected e-mail or message will prompt your members to follow up with the organization.

Thanks for all of the great posts this week! Each one offered some amazing food for thought, and I’m so happy to see so many awesome comments out there. If you’ve never commented on a post before, don’t be afraid to chime in on the discussion.

Hope everyone has a fun and productive weekend!

Happy Super Bowl weekend! Any football fans in the house? Anyone have any fun viewing plans? I’ll be hosting a small get-together at my new apartment, and still haven’t decided who to cheer for yet. (I’m leaning toward the Colts, though.) Or maybe you don’t care about football and only watch the commercials … or nothing at all. Regardless, I hope everyone has a great weekend!

As always, there were some great posts around the association community this week with information small-staff professionals can truly benefit from.

1. Jeff De Cagna discussed the five words he’ll be focusing on in 2010. I loved the quotes he included for each word, and coincidentally (or not?), each word begins with the letter I. This post will really inspire association leaders to hone in on what they want to accomplish this year.

2. Over at Association Management Solutions, J Bruce Wardle wrote about how to really focus on your 2010 goals to make this year a success. His great suggestion? Limiting your focus to just two or three factors at a time – it will be easier to concentrate on each one and your success rate will increase.

3. There was a fantastic guest post at Acronym by David Kushner about taking a forward-thinking approach to governance. As an association executive, consultant and board member, David had some great insights into what governance might be like in 2030. The post also attracted some great comments, so be sure to check it out!

4. What’s the difference between certificate and certificate programs? Mickie S. Rops covered this topic this week in a thoughtful post about the value and quality of certificates and certificate programs. There’s a workshop in Washington DC next week (at the same time as ASAE’s Technology Conference and Expo!), so if you can’t make it to Tech10, check this out.

5. I’m loving Cindy Butts’ posts lately! Her newest one has six practical tips for making sure webinars and conference calls are less chaotic. One notable one? Talk about anything besides the weather when waiting for everyone to join you. Or just say “I know you’re all multi-tasking so we’ll wait for the roll-call to start talking.” Great stuff!

From all of us at MemberClicks, have a great Super Bowl (or not) weekend! And if you’re in the DC area or getting snow, stay warm and be safe!

Newspaper ads are now down 29 percent, as reported earlier this week. Circulation has been declining for awhile, and Rupert Murdoch is trying to figure out if he can charge people for online content.

What does this have to do with associations?

Actually, a lot.

The business model for print media is changing. The business model for associations should be changing.

I love newspapers. Love them. But to be honest, I don’t read them in print form anymore. I hate myself a little for it (I was a journalism major and practically lived in my college newspaper’s newsroom), but I can find news so much faster online — and it’s real-time. Newspapers are outdated the minute they hit the presses. And if associations aren’t careful, the same thing could happen to them.

Associations can’t simply rely on snail mail (or even e-mail) for information distribution. Smartphones aren’t just for CEOs anymore — iPhones and BlackBerrys (and even Palm Pres) are commonplace. Most people are available practically 24/7 (whether they like it or not) and are able to get news updates on-the-go.

It is crucial to distribute trade journals and news electronically. It’s cheaper, it’s more timely and it’s more efficient all-around.

Don’t end up like the print media industry — in a downward freefall wondering which newspaper is going to close up shop next. Times are definitely tough, but moving online can conserve tons of resources for associations.

Members should be connecting electronically (and not just through list-servs) via Facebook and Twitter. Real-time interaction is vital. Put the focus back on your members and ask them for feedback — what does the association provide that members can’t get anywhere else?

I discussed virtual attendance at meetings and conferences last week, and it’s definitely a cost-effective option for associations. Real-life attendance might be down, but there’s no reason other members still can’t get some (if not all) of the information.

Webinars are a growing trend in many industries. They can be free, or come at a cost. They can video, audio or both. There are tons of options, and they’re a great way for members to interact and receive information electronically.

Associations have got to stay relevant to their members. Getting feedback from them and upping the ante on your communication and PR efforts are vital, especially as technology keeps evolving.

The information newspapers provide could be relevant — if they expounded on the news and provided more valuable commentary. Most people love newspapers for their sentimental value, but I’m afraid they won’t be financially sustainable in the very near future. Don’t let a similar fate befall your association.

(This topic was inspired by this post from Cooperative Intelligence.)