Association Member Podcasting

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Producing podcasts for your members, industry professionals, and the industry of your association. How to build engaging, educational podcasts for your members. Discussion this new way of getting in touch with members away from screens and events. Building non-dues revenue with podcasting.

  • 1.  Podcasts - valued or not?

    Posted Jun 24, 2024 08:49 AM

    Are podcasts a part of your association's marketing and member engagement efforts? Let's start a discussion.



    ------------------------------
    Michael A. Butera
    President and CEO
    Association Activision, LLC
    MichaelB@associationactivision.com
    Laurel MD
    240.383.2112
    USA
    ------------------------------
    Foundation Scholarship


  • 2.  RE: Podcasts - valued or not?

    Posted Jun 25, 2024 08:25 AM

    Michael,

    The short answer is yes to both. In 2021, our focus was the year of member value. At a December staff planning retreat, we tossed all kinds of ideas onto several whiteboards in our operating areas. The podcast idea landed under membership as a way to engage with members, promote the association, and get information out about EMDR therapy. We launched the Let's Talk EMDR Podcast six months later, in June 2022. We published our 50th episode this month (we publish bi-monthly). We are garnering an average of 9,000 downloads a month and have more than 156,000 since launching. 

    The members are thrilled when we reach out because it showcases their area of expertise and is an easy lift for them. No meetings. No writing. No editing. It's a conversation between the two of us, and I send the questions to them ahead of time so that they can prepare. If I had a communications/marketing team, we could publish more frequently, but I am alone in the work that I do, which not only includes the podcast but other things like our quarterly magazine, website content, marketing for our two annual conferences, social media, a monthly newsletter, managing and selling advertising and exhibitor space, proofreading other department's work, etc. Our membership numbers continue to rise as well. The audience for the podcast includes members, EMDR therapists, potential EMDR therapists, and the public who seek mental health help and want to learn more about EMDR therapy. 

    In a 2023 Member Survey, our members valued our new podcast above other offerings, including longstanding offerings like our conference, summit, SIGs, and blog. It was quite shocking regarding feedback, but since most association members don't attend conferences, they have no gauge of how beneficial they can be. 

    When we launched the podcast, we had no idea what would happen. We are thrilled with our work product and numbers so far. 



    ------------------------------
    Kimberly Howard MA, CAE
    Director of Communications & Marketing
    EMDR International Association
    Moore SC
    (512) 451-5200
    ------------------------------

    Original Message
    Foundation Scholarship


  • 3.  RE: Podcasts - valued or not?

    Posted Jun 25, 2024 10:53 AM

    Michael, thanks for starting this discussion.  I have been thinking of producing podcasts, however I have been hesitant because of the cost of equipment. I've been told it isn't as expensive as I had assumed.  The attention span of our chapter officers keeps diminishing.  I've now reduced our leadership webinars to 30 minutes, so having the option to present a 15-minute podcast that would focus on interviews, sounds appealing.  What is everyone else doing?  



    ------------------------------
    Elizabeth George CMM
    Chief Membership Officer
    American Guild of Organists
    New York, NY 10115
    212-870-2311 ext. 4307
    ------------------------------

    Original Message
    Foundation Scholarship


  • 4.  RE: Podcasts - valued or not?

    Posted Jun 25, 2024 01:01 PM

    Elizabeth,

     

    It's not that costly to produce a podcast. We are a small team of 15, and I am the only comms/marketing staff. I interview and produce the podcast. Our podcast is audio only. Here is what you will need:

     

    1. A good mic. This will be the most costly item for you. A Blue Yeti mic is around $100. If it's not the standard, it's a close second in quality.
    2. Software to produce/edit the podcast. I use Audacity, and it's free.
    3. Software to record the podcast. I use Zoom since most people are familiar with the platform, and you can change the settings on Zoom to have it record the audio track separately. Since we already use Zoom as a team (our office is fully remote), there is no extra charge for me to use it. And seeing people while I interview them helps with the host/guest connection.
    4. A software platform to distribute your podcast to major podcast platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. We use Buzzsprout, and it's about $12/month, depending on how many episodes you produce regularly.
    5. Time. There is a significant learning curb to producing your podcast no matter which platform you use. When I first started, rough-cutting the audio track took me several days. I had serious doubts about taking on this new project. But, once I got better, my time spent was much less. I estimate that I spend 20% of my time from start to finish, including a podcast transcript, posting on our website, and the social media push.

     

    I hope this helps.

     

    __________________________________

    Kim Howard, CAE

    Director of Communications and Marketing

    EMDR International Association

    7000 N. Mopac Expressway | Suite 200

    Austin, TX 78731

    T: 512-451-5200 | www.emdria.org

    She/Her/Hers

     

     




    Original Message
    Foundation Scholarship


  • 5.  RE: Podcasts - valued or not?

    Posted Jun 25, 2024 05:16 PM

    Kimberly, thank you for all of this extremely useful information!  I truly appreciate it.



    ------------------------------
    Elizabeth George CMM
    Chief Membership Officer
    American Guild of Organists
    New York, NY 10115
    212-870-2311 ext. 4307
    ------------------------------

    Original Message
    Foundation Scholarship


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