11 New Ideas and Tools for Showing Member Appreciation - Personify (2024)

By: Ashly Stewart, Content Marketing Manager

Our first blog in our member appreciation seriesgave you the latest stats and quotes fromassociation leaders like you who are looking to show a little bit of gratitude to their members in aseasonof thanksgiving.

And even thougha simple “thank you” makes anyone’s day, associations and nonprofits are looking to go a little above and beyond for their members after a challenging 2021.

But what doesgoing“above and beyond” look like when members have seen it all?

We think it has less to do with the tactics and more about making your appreciation efforts personalized for your members andyourassociation.

Here are some of the top wayswe’veseen associations say “thanks” to members with somenew ideasand tools you can craft foryour appreciation campaigns.

Showing Member AppreciationThroughGifts

1. PersonalizedLetters

I know.You’reprobably notthinking that writing a personalized, handwritten letter is exactly new. In fact,it’sone of the oldest gifts in the book. But what is new isyourassociation’s abilityto use data to send personalized letters atmomentousmoments in your members’ lives.

When it comes to milestones in your members’ journey with your association you cansend a written letter of thanks and acknowledgment to events like:

• Welcome letters for new members
• Joining anniversary letters
• Donation letters
• Renewal letters
• Referral appreciation letters

Beyondsending a personalized letterfor moments related to your association, you canpersonalizeletters for things like:

• Birthday letters
• New job letters (if they update their member directory profiles)
• “Thanks for attending” letters as a follow-up to yourflagship event

We recognize that writing handwritten letters takes time and resources, so we recommend choosing a couple of milestones for personalized letters, anddon’tbe shy about recruiting volunteers or even a special taskforce dedicated tomember appreciation.

And if all else fails, you can send personalized emails.

2. Care Packages

In the marketing world, we refer to care packages as “direct mail kits” which speaks to the format of these gifts — you are mailing them a little box or package of goodies. But “care package”definitely soundscloserto whatwe’rehoping toaccomplishin sending these gifts: showing thanks and care.

Care packagesdon’thave to be big or expensive.We’veseen small care packages that include a note and a gift card.We’veseen other care packages sent with the purpose of inviting members to an event,and those can include notebooks, pens, and a mug, things that event attendees would appreciate.

No matter what you decide to send,we’reconfident you can find a care package that suits your budget. And while you may not be able to senda care package to every member, sending care packages incohortsto show appreciation throughout the year will be easier on your staff and your budget.

Here are a couple of guidelines for a successful care package:

• If yourassociation has some “swag” items like branded t-shirts, mugs, bags, etc. it’s always fun to include those in a care package.
• If you have a piece ofcontentyou’reparticularly proud of like an annual impact report or newsletter,it’snice to include a printed piece, even thoughit’sa little old-school.
• Include something fun! People especiallyloveifthere’sa little gift in there for a pet or kids.

3. Event VIP gifts

If you have members who havearesuper attendees of your big events or they volunteer to help, send them a special VIP gift as a thank you. It could be an exclusive invite to a social hour happening before or after the event. It could bediscountedmaterials and merchandise from your store or an exhibitor’s booth. It could be as simple as a gift card to a local restaurant near the event venue.

4. Email a playlist

Not every gift has to be extravagant or labor-intensive. You can email a themed playlist that aligns with the season and the holidays or a special “thank you” playlist full offun, upbeat songs. These days,it’sas easy as creating a public playlist on Spotify, copying the embed link, and placing it in the email.

Here’san example:

5. Email a recipe

Giving the gift of food is always a win, but it can be hard to send food incare packages because the quality of the food may be affected during shipping, and you just never know what food allergies people may have.

Instead, you can give the gift of food in the form of recipes you include in an email! Even better if you can include recipes shared by your members over social media or in your online community.

Showing Member Appreciation Through Recognition

6. Declare a member appreciation day or week

We’vebeen seeing dedicated member appreciation days or weeksmore and more.The duration of the member appreciation eventisn’tas important as making sureyou’replanning forsome activities that your members willenjoyand your staff can support.

Ifyou’relooking at a member appreciation dayor week, here are some ideas and strategies toget you started:

• Show appreciation by giving members a shoutout on social media throughout the dayor week.You could recognizemembers’contributionsto the wider cause andtoyour association.

• Start a member appreciation discussion thread on your online community and use it as a type of “praise jar” where staff and members can givekudosto one another.

• Plan a contest or two to make it fun. You can select random winners of agift card orswagitem for members who share what they appreciate about each other or theassociation, orask trivia questions about past member spotlights.Don’tforget to create and promote a fun hashtag to help sort through all your posts. #personifyappreciatesyou

• Dedicate either a portion ofanewsletter or a temporary page on your website where you can share images of members working together, post screenshotsor pastesome of the member appreciation kudos you’re seeingacross social and your onlinecommunity,anddeclare winners to your member appreciation contests.

7. Monthly member spotlights

To keep the spirit of member appreciation going all year long, commit to highlighting a memberacrossyour most popular channels.Include a member spotlight on a main page of your website, the homepage of your online community, and your social media profiles.

The spotlightsdon’thave to be in-depth. You can draw from information in their member profiles and reach out for a fewadditionalquestions. And remember to include a profile picture!

8. Online Community

We’vementioned an online community as a great channel for member appreciation a lot becausewe’refinding thatmore and moremembers are interacting with each other and their associations on these dedicated communities.

In addition to discussion threads dedicated to member appreciation and member spotlights on the main page, many online communities include gamification features that can make members feel seen. See if your online community has the ability to create badging that indicateslevels of participation and frequencyof posting or leader boards that acknowledge your members’ engagement.

Are you looking to start or refresh an online community?Get the essential guide to building an online community.

Showing Member Appreciation Through GrowthOpportunities

9. Job listings

Featuring a job boardhas been mutually beneficial to members, partners, and associations. A job board allowsmembers’ businesses with urgent hiring needs to get in front of qualified jobseekers.

It also highlights new opportunities for members who are looking for jobs, and it’s anopportunity for additional revenue for the association as members can pay a fee to feature their listings.Few things show your members you’re grateful for them and want them to succeed like a job board.

10. Mentorship programs

Speaking of wanting your members to succeed, implementing relevant mentorship or support groups that meet regularly helpsbuild community and is one of the most tangiblevalues an association can give to its members.

These types of programs can be a one-on-one mentorship programor small support groups, whichever format works best for your team and your members.

Wondering how to build a virtual, low-cost mentorship program?Check out thiscase study.

11. Accessibility

We’ve come a long way when it comes to building communities, content, and experiences that are accessible to people of different abilities and backgrounds. But we still have a long way to go.

Many associations have recently started exploring ways to make their member communications and campaigns accessible by doing things like adding transcripts to webinars, including closed captioning on all their videos, and building visuals like infographics and video tutorials to support their written work.

If you want to make your member appreciation emails and strategies more accessible, consider sending a thank you video with closed captioning from services likeOtterorRev.

Keep the gratitude going!