Producing magazines for eight different associations and managing newsletter content for a few more has left me with writer’s block more times than I’d care to admit. It was during one particularly challenging episode that I had an epiphany: There are countless outlets producing great content of interest to members. Maybe if I reach out to them and tell them about my association, they’ll want to share their content with our members?
That epiphany has helped me pair associations with business, news, and trade sources that gave permission to republish their content across several different association-specific channels, like an association’s blog, enewsletter, and magazine. These kinds of strategic content partnerships benefit everyone with:
- Exposure for the outlet supplying the content, if members were previously unaware of them
- An influx of well-written, relevant content for the association
- New information and resources for members
However, associations may fare the best out of strategic content partnerships. Exposing members to new content — especially relevant, authoritative content from other sources — will help members see an association as the primary source for industry news and content. It also reinforces the perceived value of their membership, as they are getting vetted, quality content from their association that they may not have found otherwise.
Sharing is caring, whether it be content or a cupcake!
If you’re interested in developing strategic content partnerships, consider the following:
- Do your research. Identify what kinds of content you have and what kinds of content you need. Research different content outlets that may be of interest to your members, and spend time getting to know their writers and the type of content they produce. This is where strategy matters, so take your time to get it right.
- The content source needs to be an authority. The site should be a subject matter expert in whatever field they write about, and content should reflect the value of their knowledge.
- The content needs to be relevant to members. If your members are small business owners, they may be interested in content about hiring, marketing, and finance — not just their specific industry.
- Always get permission. A strategic partnership is just that: a partnership. Write or call the content source to get clear permission to republish their content, and always give them credit.
Creating content can be a monumental task for association professionals wearing many different hats. Strategic content partnerships fill a need while bringing value back to your association, and will help members think of the association as the primary source for content that matters to them.
