Times are tough for many associations. Events are typically a huge source of their revenue. But in a time when in-person events are impractical, many associations have had to cancel or postpone events and tap into their reserves to offset revenue losses.
So, how do you replace lost revenue from cancelled events? What can you do today to create sustainable year-round programs that drive revenue?
A highly effective approach is to expand your continuing education programs.
According to the Community Brands Member Education and Career Development Report, 85 percent of members want their professional associations to provide continuing education opportunities. So, give them what they want while driving more non-dues revenue for your organization.
Webinars and webcasts are great ways to provide more continuing education opportunities in an online learning environment. You can set one up with minimal equipment: a device with a webcam and microphone, an internet connection, and a learning management system (LMS) such as Freestone by Community Brands, which makes it easy to deliver interactive live and on-demand content.
Optimizing online learning content for revenue generation
Your ability to drive revenue from your online learning program depends largely on your ability to create great content. After all, content is what your learning program is selling.
As you create a content strategy for your online educational program, be sure to keep in mind how to optimize it for revenue generation.
Here are five ideas:
1. Provide meaningful, diversified, and relevant content.
Think of your LMS as a store in which the product being sold is online learning. Offer an interesting variety of content that ranges from free to the public (with minimal effort on your end) to high-value, higher priced, premium, and members-only options.
2. Focus on hot topics.
Our ever-changing world offers many opportunities for “hot topic” programming that can meet your learners’ just-in-time needs. Look for topics that are being discussed in your industry today, such as changing regulations, and offer up online sessions to provide your learners with details and expert insights.
3. Break out content.
To ensure you hold learners’ attention and keep them coming back for more, break up longer courses into smaller, easier-to-consume chunks.
4. Bundle up.
Think about your learner’s needs and requirements, and do some of the work for them. For example, for those who have a certain amount of ethics hours they must get to maintain their licenses, create a bundle with your best ethics courses, so they can knock out that requirement. Or, offer a “create your own bundle” option where they can pick and choose content to customize their own experience.
5. Get personal.
Use data from your association management system (AMS), LMS, marketing system, online community, and more to segment your learners. With learners segmented, you can target communications to them based on their interests, preferred medium, career stage, and more.
Learn more
Discover more ways to replace lost revenue from cancelled events. Watch the on-demand webinar, Retaining and Diversifying Revenue in Today’s New Normal.