How your association can sell digital advertising opportunities

Looking for new ways to boost your association’s non-dues revenue? 

Consider these ideas for selling digital advertising opportunities. 

By Christine Bergeron, Marketing Coordinator, Community Brands

Selling online advertisements is a great way to boost your association’s non-dues revenue. Your membership base represents a valuable audience of potential customers for companies in your industry or profession. And many of those businesses would pay to put ads in front of such a targeted audience.  

Ideas for digital advertising opportunities
Offer those companies ways to get their businesses in front of your members throughout the year by placing their logo and/or an advertisement in communications channels that reach your members. These might include: 

• Website and email communications – Sell banner advertisements for your website and email communications to give businesses exposure to your membership base. Be sure to sell ads to companies that are relevant to your members. This approach will also demonstrate your association’s prominence and viability in the industry, in turn attracting new members and keeping current members around. 
   
• Online publications – For many associations, magazines and research papers are considered a source of revenue, but there are expenses involved in producing high-quality content. Help support those online publications by offering stand-alone ads, a classifieds section where employers can post recruiting ads, or a co-sponsorship for research papers.
   

• Online member community – Offer opportunities for businesses in your industry or profession to purchase ads that are displayed within your online member community via text links or posts within groups. 
   
  You can also offer online community ads as an added benefit for sponsors when they purchase sponsorships in other areas of your organization, such as your annual conference.  This will help make your sponsorship packages even more appealing to potential sponsors. 

TIP: YourMembership association management software includes online community functionality to help you set up a vibrant virtual community for your members. It connects members to personalized dynamic content, career and learning opportunities, and other member benefits. Learn how to launch an online community for your association. Read The Small Association’s Guide to Getting Started with an Online Community.

• Social media – Offer opportunities for advertisers to sponsor a few of your organization’s social media content items. Just be sure not to over-do it, or your content might begin to feel too commercial. For example, the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) incorporated sponsorship opportunities into their social media strategy by approaching potential sponsors that have expertise in areas of interest for their member base. They either added the sponsor’s logo to existing content or offered opportunities to sponsor new content.   

Promoting advertising opportunities 
Of course, you can’t sell digital ads if no one knows about them. Here are some ideas for promoting your association’s digital advertising opportunities: 

• Create a digital advertising kit – Simply put together a list of digital advertising opportunities available. Be sure to include information about how to sign up as an advertiser as well as any file specifications you might have. 
   
• Post your digital advertising kit – Post your digital advertising kit on your website. And, if you also have an online store, why not promote and sell your advertising opportunities there? These approaches put your digital advertising opportunities in front of more people and gives businesses a convenient way to purchase them.  

TIP: YourMembership association management software includes e-commerce functionality to help you deliver a familiar online store experience.

Learn more. 

Non-dues revenue can help you to maintain budgets and continue to provide members with the levels of service they expect – even when membership dues start to go flat or drop off. Discover more ideas for generating non-dues revenue for your association.