AI
Stop Teaching Your Team to "Use AI"
The four skills that actually save your association time, and a free rubric to see where your team stands right now.
Read more →Resources
Blog
Practical tips you can use, covering AI, marketing, and education
AI
How to Build Marketing Personas That 94% of Members Recognize
If you have ever stared at a draft marketing persona and wondered whether anyone in your membership would actually recognize themselves in it, this is a workflow worth borrowing.
Read more →AI
What Scaling Social Enterprises Taught Me About Scaling AI
In 2015, I spent three years studying how mission-driven organizations grow their impact. More than ten years later, I keep recognizing the same patterns in how associations try to scale AI.
Read more →Training
Upskilling Your Team with Play: AI Prompting
Adults learn new things badly when they are afraid of getting them wrong. A structured play pilot resolves staff anxiety about AI experimentation — and the research backs it up.
Read more →AI
Get Better On-Brand AI Images When You\'re Not a Creator
If you\'ve ever typed something into an AI image tool and gotten back... not quite what you meant, you\'re not alone. I can\'t tell you how many tokens I burned through trying to iterate my prompt directly in Nanobanana tha...
Read more →AI
The AI Marketing Toolkit Got an Update. Here\'s What Changed.
I update my AI in Marketing toolkit every few months because the AI landscape doesn\'t sit still. This is the fifth revision, and two sections needed real work: copyright and Answer Engine Optimization. If you\'ve download...
Read more →AI
Stop Running AI Training Like It\'s a Software Demo
If you are the manager tasked with getting your team to actually use the new AI tools, you have probably noticed the gap. People sit through the rollout webinar. They nod at the policy slide. They favorite the link to th...
Read more →AI
The First 90 Days of AI at Your Association (Minus Tool Sprawl)
If you\'ve been told to "implement AI" at your association and you\'re not sure where to start, you are in good company. Most association leaders I talk to are somewhere on a spectrum between "we tried ChatGPT and it didn\'...
Read more →Training
What a Year of Building a Member Microlearning System Taught Me
In 2025, I led work at two associations on a member microlearning system. We built it. We launched it. And the lesson I learned was not the one I expected.
Read more →AI
AI
5 Prompt Frameworks Worth Adding to Your Toolkit
If you're an association executive who has tried using AI for a member email or a board memo and ended up with something generic, the issue probably isn't the tool. It's the prompt.
Read more →Training
Your Conference Is Not Your Education Strategy
Done well, your education strategy drives non-dues revenue and member retention at the same time. A key component is your annual conference. But your annual conference is a moment. The question is whether it creates momentum.
Read more →Training
How to Get More Mileage Out of Every Education Program
Here's a question I keep coming back to: what actually happens to a webinar after it ends? If your association is like most, the recording gets posted somewhere, maybe a handful of members watch it, and then it quietly fades into the digital archive.
Read more →AI
The Future of Instructional Design Isn’t Courses.
The Future of Instructional Design Isn’t Courses. It’s Learning Systems.
Read more →AI
How to Train ChatGPT to Write in Someone’s Voice
'One of the most common complaints people have about AI writing is simple:
Read more →AI
Associations Don’t Have a Content Problem....
Associations don’t have a content problem. They have an "expertise strategy" problem.
Read more →AI
Don\'t Just Scale AI Tools; Scale AI Confidence
I read a blog post from .orgSource this week that made me think, and think hard, about how we roll out generative AI. I realized I too was thinking about scaling AI adoption in order to get real business results with a t...
Read more →AI
Designing Experiences for Trust
'Why Intentional Connection-Building Matters More Than Ever
Read more →AI
How to Use AI to Increase Learning Transfer at the Workplace
Most associations measure attendance.
Read more →AI
How to Use AI to Design Better Education Programs
(Without Replacing Your Instructional Judgment)
Read more →AI
A Prompt to Mentor You on a Specific Subject
As an association executive who’s built training programs and full curricula for busy leaders and students, I’ve learned that the best learning experiences feel like a conversation—not a lecture. Adults don’t need more c...
Read more →AI
How to Write Image Prompts That Deliver (and Stay On-Brand)
Great prompts aren’t poetry, they’re briefs. The difference between “meh” visuals and campaign-ready images is a clear structure that tells the LLM what matters and what to avoid. Below is a practical guide you can hand ...
Read more →AI
Creating an AI Governance Framework (Policy) for Associations
What executives need in AI policies, ethical guidelines, and risk management for marketing and member services.
Read more →AI
AI
Quick Guide: Create a Training & Development AI Assistant
I Asked ChatGPT to Help Me Build a Training & Development Assistant — Here’s the Prompt That Worked
Read more →AI
Creating Your First AI Agent in 60 Minutes
Yesterday, I built my first AI agent in about an hour—with zero coding—using ChatKit and OpenAI’s Agent Builder, right after finishing this LinkedIn Learning course: Build Your First AI Assistant with OpenAI Agent Builde...
Read more →AI
My Favorite Prompt Frameworks for Getting Better Results from AI
If you’ve ever felt like AI gives you “meh” answers—or worse, confidently wrong ones—you’re not alone. Most of the time, the problem isn’t the AI. It’s the prompt.
Read more →AI
Learning to Let Agentic AI Help (Even When I Don’t Have Time)
I’ll be honest — I’m deep in the messy middle of learning how to make Agentic AI actually work for me. Not just in theory, not just in a webinar, but in the real, chaotic world of association marketing.
Read more →AI
Write Marketing Copy That Converts – Features vs. Benefits
A key step in writing marketing copy that converts (drives sales, downloads, views, etc.) is a focus on describing product benefits, not features. You should list both, but focus on the benefits of your product or servic...
Read more →AI
Quick Guide: A CustomGPT for .org Change Management Communication
Change is Inevitable — Confusion is Optional
Read more →AI
Quick Guide: Creating Custom GPTs
This quick-start guide is intended for professional and trade associations, though anyone can use it. I have nearly 20 years of experience in the association world and have been experimenting with generative AI in market...
Read more →AI
Quick Guide: Guardrails & Tips for Setting up ChatGPT
This quick-start guide is intended for professional and trade associations, though anyone can use it. I have nearly 20 years of experience in the association world and have been experimenting with generative AI in market...
Read more →Marketing
How to Maximize Your Working Relationship with a Fractional CMO
In today\'s fast-paced association landscape, organizations often find themselves facing the challenge of making strategic marketing decisions without the luxury of a full-time Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Enter the Fra...
Read more →Marketing
5 Questions to Ask a Potential Fractional CMO Before Hiring Her
Hiring a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is a strategic decision that requires careful consideration. To ensure that the candidate aligns with your association\'s goals and culture, here are the top five question...
Read more →Marketing
How Can an Association Benefit from Hiring a Fractional CMO?
In the dynamic landscape of association management, staying ahead of the curve is paramount. As the digital era continues to reshape the way organizations interact with their members and the public, having a robust marke...
Read more →Brand
Crafting a Compelling Nonprofit Brand: A Journey to Impact
In the realm of nonprofit organizations, brand building isn't just about aesthetics – it's about cultivating a meaningful connection that drives change. In this post, I'll share actionable strategies and real-world examp...
Read more →Brand
Brand-building at an Association
I was thinking about the basics the other day, talking with a brand-new to associations communications manager at a small association. We talked about how different mission-driven organizations are from for-profit compan...
Read more →Brand
Measuring the Nonprofit Brand
A chief marketing officer (CMO) can measure brand building in a nonprofit association in several ways. Here are a few key metrics to consider:
Read more →Marketing
Supercharge Association Marketing with Behavioral Economics
As an association marketer, you\'re likely always looking for ways to improve your marketing strategies and boost your business\'s bottom line. One approach that can help you achieve this is behavioral economics.
Read more →Brand
A Quick & Dirty Map: Brand Equity and Website Redesigns
I was recently working on understanding the member (customer) experience and how it might be impacting brand equity at a large nonprofit professional association. The association is considering whether to undertake a maj...
Read more →