This is a Guest Blog Post by Tobi Johnson, originally posted in Wild Apricot’s Blog
Does your digital member newsletter have low engagement? If so, you’re not alone. Creating a newsletter that people want to read isn’t easy, but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible. In fact, many organizations I know write newsletters that their members actually look forward to.
In this post, I’m going to cover the root cause of low newsletter engagement and practical tips to create a newsletter your members want to read.
The first thing we need to acknowledge is that simply communicating online through things like digital newsletters tends to cause people to feel disconnected. Researchers call this the Connectivity Paradox — the more connected we become, the more isolated we begin to feel. This distance grows the more we rely on virtual communications — whether we work in co-located or far-flung teams. This applies to volunteers, paid staff, and members alike.
Digital communications present major roadblocks to forming the deep relationships necessary to work together effectively. Unfortunately, the ability to work together effectively is vital to most membership-based organizations. Expert Karen Sobel-Lojeski, has identified this gap as “Virtual Distance” — and when Virtual Distance is highest, online engagement is lowest:
Clearly, this can have a major impact on a membership organization’s productivity. The good news is that research offers clues as to how to respond in a strategic way.
Scholars have identified the following three subsets of “Virtual Distance”. A closer look at each one reveals which ones have an impact on digital engagement:
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One way to reduce Affinity Distance in your newsletters is by strategically aligning the topics you cover. By intentionally including content aimed at reducing Affinity Distance, organizations can boost the perception of closeness, build trust, and help educate volunteers and members about their shared stake.
Below are four subcategories of Affinity Distance, a description of each, and suggestions for topics that help build relationships within each domain.
Description: Relates to values and communications styles more than demographics
Strategic Newsletter Topics:
Description: Lack of shared history, including friends of friends
Strategic Newsletter Topics:
Description: Recognition based on formal (positional) status versus informal (contributional) status; important for building trust
Strategic Newsletter Topics:
Description: Sense of shared future and fate, equal stake in outcomes
Strategic Newsletter Topics:
The next time you plan topics for your member newsletter, think about how you can reduce emotional disconnects and boost relationships with your readers through the content you feature.
You can also expand this approach to other digital communications such as social media posts and website content and see what happens to your team’s overall sense of human connection.
About Wild Apricot
Wild Apricot is web-based software for small associations and non-profits to help manage membership, website, events and other activities.