Tools to Network, Educate, and Empower your Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber newsletters, emails, podcasts, and communication plans.
Membership dues, ad sales, sponsorships, etc.--are you maximizing your revenue?
The best ways to manage Chamber news and Events.
Timely, effective communications are critical to any organization’s success. Don’t get left out in the cold due to the lack of a comms plan.
EMAIL
eMail is your first line of contact with most of your members. Ensure your membership system allows you to export data to a spreadsheet that can be imported into an email list as necessary. We’ll monitor for blacklisting and help you maintain a good e-reputation.
NEWSLETTER
Once you have a critical mass of emailable members, you may be ready to create a regularly-scheduled newsletter. Keep it focused on local business and Chamber news. Solicit content from members so everyone feels like they have a voice.
A COMMUNICATIONS PLAN can help you ID your communication needs and how to fill them. We have a template for that.
Funding is the lifeblood of your Chamber. Avoid becoming anemic! Keep your funding flowing.
While Membership Dues are your main source of Chamber revenue, you should pursue a multi-sourced revenue stream.
Sponsorships are a popular big-ticket revenue source. Clearly define what the purchaser gets with each level/amount. As a virtual product, sponsorships can usually be sold via the Membership Management tool, via a ‘purchase and login required’ article.
Fundraisers are good at…raising funds. Make yours more interesting with comedians, crafts, a silent auction, 50-50, or one of the many other options available.
Remember that, as a non-profit, it’s fine to ask for DONATIONS too. Just remind people it’s not tax-deductible. Some Chambers establish 501(c)3 charities to allocate write-offable donations to specific efforts.
Your Chamber has happenings and events of interest to your members and community. Control your narrative with your own News and Events features.
News is most easily handled via the ‘Posts’ feature in WordPress websites, and you’ll find similar functionality in branded-template site providers like Wix.
Publishing a post/news article in WordPress can be as simple as sending an email–literally. Any good webmaster can set it up so that you can send an email to a special address, with guidelines for Subject and Body content, that then gets auto-published to the website. (There are additional layers of security available for this feature.) Tell your webmaster to start with the Postie plugin to get the most out of this feature.
Events
Your website should have an Events calendar with accurate, frequently-updated info. Best is if you can integrate event registration and ticket sales. The DIY approach can save you up to 5% in additional service fees compared to Eventbrite.
Visit our public Chamber Toolz, including:
Our advanced Chamber Toolz are built for Chamber members. To accurately reflect user experience, a login is required to access these Toolz.
Password-protected Chamber Toolz include:
How can i add online features without big changes to my website?
You can outsource key features and functions to scale up, improve your bottom line and get the features your members expect.
You need an online membership system that allows for easy signup, auto-renewal with an opt-out option, and auto-emails that go out to new members and site admins.
You can accept form submissions online and process them manually to create member accounts. Don't forget the ink for your quill pen as well.
You need no-fee, low-rate payment processing; the ability to create event-specific donations that can be purchased online; and the ability to report relevant tax and allocation information.
You can go with a third-party service provider that charges a monthly fee or one that takes a percentage of your donations. Or you can go with our 'budget bespoke' service customized to your needs for less.
Chamber Toolz are provided by Web Samurai For Hire. Contact us today to master technology tomorrow.