When you get a broadcast from a company sending stuff out, isn't that what we see on the "reply to" address? noreply@company.com or donotreply@company.com.  When you order a pair of shoes, the email comes from noreply@shoecompany.com.

It's rude.

As associations, you're aligned with your members on your unique mission to impact the world. You're not selling shoes. So please, look for opportunities for your members to talk to you. Send emails from a person, not the organization. Ask questions regularly for the sake of learning and listening and servicing them better. And by ask questions, I don't mean surveys. We use surveys to dissect the membership, not to engage them.

Ask questions. Capture context. Act on it immediately.

I know you know your membership. I know you know what they need as a group, but by asking questions regularly and leaving the door open for them to talk to you, you'll find out what Joe Member needs today, and what Susan Member needs next week. You'll start creating those 1-to-1 connections. You'll stop broadcasting to a market of 10,000 and you'll begin servicing a market of 1.

And for the love of God, please don't instruct people to NOT REPLY in the email address.

If you like this topic and want to hear more, check out this chat I did with Jay Daughtry in his Innovate Communicate Educate series. Really nice talk with some highly engaged Association Execs about communicating better with members.