Slides

Dave: I’m really excited for today’s session. We’re covering five must-have campaigns. Ashley, Megan, and Melissa have gathered input from clients on the most impactful campaigns, and some of you will be sharing your experiences today.

The goal is to give you practical examples of how PropFuel can improve your engagement efforts, whether you’re looking to bring in new members, keep them engaged, or win them back. We’ll go through acquisition, engagement, renewals, and lapsed member campaigns, with insights from clients who have successfully implemented these strategies.

Melissa: Before we dive in, I want to introduce the member engagement lifecycle. This visual helps illustrate where PropFuel can fit into different stages of your member journey.

We start with acquisition, which focuses on identifying prospective members and engaging them in a conversation rather than just pushing membership at them. Then comes onboarding and engagement, where we get to know new and renewing members, connecting them with resources, events, and key benefits. Next is renewals, ensuring members stay with your association, and finally, win-back campaigns, where we reconnect with lapsed members to understand why they left and how we might bring them back.

Each of these campaigns plays a vital role in building long-term member relationships, and today we’ll break them down with real examples.

Megan: Let’s start with member acquisition. If you’ve run an acquisition campaign before—inside or outside PropFuel—let us know in the chat how it’s worked for you.

Traditional member acquisition emails often include long messages listing membership benefits, hoping something catches a prospect’s attention. But a more conversational approach—asking a simple question—can lead to much better results. For example, you might ask, “What industry issue is keeping you up at night?” and then offer relevant solutions through membership.

The power of this method is that you gather insights while nurturing prospects in a way that feels personal. You also get better data—knowing what matters to each person rather than guessing. This allows you to tailor follow-ups based on their responses, guiding them toward the right membership option.

One of our standout acquisition campaigns came from AANP (American Association of Nurse Practitioners). They traditionally ran email campaigns through a broadcast platform, but this year they switched to PropFuel. Liz, can you tell us how that change impacted your results?

Liz: Sure! We run this acquisition campaign annually, trying to win back former members and attract new ones. In the past, our traditional email approach had decent results, but when we switched to PropFuel, we saw a huge jump in engagement. The conversational style worked far better—544 people joined through this campaign, which was a 20% increase in conversions compared to the previous year.

Megan: That’s amazing! And the response rate on the first check-in was incredibly high—70% of people who responded wanted more details on joining. Plus, because we tracked intent, we knew who had a positive response but hadn’t used the discount code, so AANP was able to send one final outreach before the offer expired, capturing even more members.

Liz, I know you also ran a follow-up campaign through your old platform. Can you talk about how that compared?

Liz: Yes, after the PropFuel campaign, we ran a traditional email campaign in our old system, targeting only former members for a win-back effort. Despite using a steeper membership discount, it barely moved the needle—we only brought back 87 members compared to 544 through PropFuel. It was a dramatic difference, and it really raised PropFuel’s profile within our organization.

Dave: That’s incredible. What do you think made the biggest difference?

Liz: The simplicity and conversational tone. The PropFuel emails were short, easy to read, and felt more personal. Our members—nurse practitioners—are busy. They don’t have time to read long marketing emails, so the quick, direct format was much more effective.

Megan: That’s a great example of how a small shift in approach can lead to big results. Let’s move on to member engagement.

Ashley: Engagement is crucial, especially in the first year of membership. New members are at the highest risk of not renewing, so staying in touch with them throughout the year is critical. But you can’t call every new member, so PropFuel allows you to automate one-on-one interactions at scale.

New member engagement campaigns work well because they allow you to keep the conversation going, connect members with relevant resources, and tag them for future follow-ups. They also let you write back key information to your AMS, like interests or communication preferences, so you can personalize outreach later.

ISA runs a fantastic new member drip campaign that spans the entire first year of membership. Amanda, can you share how you built this campaign?

Amanda: Sure! Our campaign includes nine emails over the first year. It starts by asking members why they joined, so we can tailor their experience. Later, we follow up with questions about engagement, their experience so far, and even their likelihood to renew.

One of the biggest benefits has been the insights we’ve gained. Before this, we never really surveyed new members, so we had no idea what they actually wanted. Now we use their responses to refine our renewal messaging and focus on the benefits they care about most—education, standards, and networking.

Ashley: That’s a great point. Since you’re capturing member interests early on, you can reference those insights when renewal time comes around. It makes the messaging much more personal.

Dave: I love that. If you’re running engagement campaigns, put a note in the chat about how they’re working for you.

Ashley: Next, let’s talk about conference campaigns. Most associations send repeated “Register Now” emails, but PropFuel allows you to ask members about their intent first.

Instead of blasting out messages, you can ask, “Are you planning to attend?” If they say yes but haven’t registered, you can follow up with them later. If they’re unsure, you can ask why—maybe it’s cost, scheduling, or employer approval. Then you can respond with solutions, like an early bird discount or a justification letter template.

Justin, I know you’ve used this approach for conference campaigns. Can you share how it’s worked for you?

Justin: Absolutely. We used PropFuel for our Pediatric Symposium, which is a virtual event. The first email simply asked if they were interested. If they said yes, we directed them to the event page. If they were unsure, we followed up by asking what was holding them back.

One common hesitation was, “I’m not available on the event date.” Since we offer on-demand access, we used that response to inform them that they could still participate after the live event. That kept them engaged instead of losing them entirely.

Ashley: That’s a great example of how uncovering hesitations can help drive more registrations.

Melissa: Moving on to renewals—PropFuel makes a great complement to your standard renewal emails. Instead of just sending repeated reminders, you can ask, “Are you planning to renew?” If they say yes but haven’t renewed, you can follow up. If they say no, you can ask why and respond accordingly.

Suzanne, how has PropFuel impacted your renewal strategy?

Suzanne: It’s been a game-changer. Instead of overwhelming members with long renewal emails, we simply ask if they plan to renew. We get immediate insights—if someone says no, we find out why. Some are retiring or leaving the profession, so we don’t waste time chasing them. Others don’t know about alternative membership options, like retired or out-of-state memberships, and we can inform them.

Another benefit is that by securing early renewals, we’ve reduced our need to send physical invoices, saving on postage costs.

Melissa: Lastly, let’s talk about lapsed member win-back campaigns. Instead of sending generic reminders, a simple check-in like “Do you plan to renew?” is far more effective.

Darby, can you share how The Church Network approaches win-back efforts?

Darby: We run a four-email series over several months. Our second check-in, “Do you plan to renew?” got a 25% response rate and led to 34 renewals. One member’s feedback led to a personal conversation, and after discussing his concerns, he renewed.

Dave: These conversations are incredibly valuable. Many associations assume members leave because they don’t see value, but often they just need a small nudge.

Thanks to everyone who shared today. If you’d like help implementing any of these campaigns, reach out to Ashley, Megan, or Melissa. Have a great day!

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