Blog
4: Five Ways NOT to Brainstorm
The 4th most popular blog post on the all-time top ten list is an unexpected entry: Five Ways NOT to Brainstorm. Written almost exactly eight years ago, it was intended to be funny and a…
Read More →Being Responsible About Research
In this final post celebrating the launch of Caveat Emptor: Becoming a Responsible Consumer of Research, I want to talk about why this matters. Why do association execs need to develop discernment about research, both…
Read More →Curiosity with a Purpose
As Zora Neale Hurston described it: Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. When you’re sponsoring a research study, one of the biggest decisions you’ll have to make is what…
Read More →“P-Value”? What’s a “P-Value”?
And why should you care? Associations generate a lot of original research, but association execs also use a lot of research created by other entities both to assess the internal operations of the association as…
Read More →Lies, Damn Lies & Statistics?
Association execs consume – and produce – a lot of research in our day-to-day work, but most of us don’t have formal training in research. A lot of the language of research programs– p-values and…
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5: 10 Tips for Creating an Effective Marketing Piece
We’re at the midpoint of the Top 10 All-Time Spark blog posts, with #5: 10 Tips for Creating an Effective Marketing Piece. The original piece was written in response to a conference presentation I’ve given…
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6: Explaining Marketing to a Kid
Coming in at number 6 in the all-time list of top ten Spark blog posts: Explaining Marketing to a Kid. The original post was inspired by a fun activity the association I was working for…
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7: Membership 101: Exit Surveys
In position number 7 of the top ten all time Spark blog posts: Membership 101: Exit Surveys. (I told you the Membership 101 series would be back!) Once again, the advice in the initial post…
Read More →8: Membership 101: Effective Renewal Cycles
In position number 8 of the top ten all time Spark blog posts: Membership 101: Effective Renewal Cycles. (Spoiler alert: you’re going to see more of the Membership 101 series posts in the countdown.) When…
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9: Why Is Membership the Only Relationship?
In position number 9 of the top ten all time Spark blog posts: Why Is Membership the Only Relationship? Originally written as a follow on to a panel session I participated in at ASAE’s 2013 Great…
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