Publication Challenges to 21st Century Societies

Originally appeared in The Graphic, June 30, 1877 (p. 617); courtesy of Wikimedia

If you are the editor of a society publication - whether it's a journal, quarterly, or magazine, print or electronic (or both) - you have probably experienced a few challenges along the way, from marketing to content acquisition to distribution of your publication.

Do you have recurring columns or other items that your readers can count on seeing in every issue?  Are your news items consistently out of date because they are published in your quarterly rather than in a more timely newsletter or blog post?  Are you limiting the ways your readers can receive your publication?

Guest Matt Wright (former Co-Editor of the FGS Forum) discusses these and other challenges associated with a wide variety of society publications and many ways to overcome them or use them to your advantage.

Listen to the archived broadcast of "Publication Challenges to 21st Century Societies" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio 

WordPress for Your Society Website

Gone are the days when hiring a professional computer programmer to be a "webmaster" was required if a society wanted an online presence.  These days, it's easier than ever to build your own website without having to know all that computer code!

Listen in as WordPress "guru" Taneya Koonce explains how easy it is to get started with WordPress and build your society's website (including a blog).

Many organizations use WordPress as the platform for their websites ... big and small ... from BestBuy and Xerox to the North Carolina GenWeb Project.

Some of the benefits of using WordPress:

• It's FREE**
• Allows you to focus on your content rather than spending all your time worrying about your layout
• Your content is readily searchable on all major search engines
• It's easily customizable
• Many (20,000+) plugins can be installed to perform pretty much any task you can think of to automate your site, leaving you more time to create content

Maybe now is a good time for your society to create (or update) its online presence!

Listen to the archived broadcast of "WordPress for Your Society Website" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

For more information, check out these articles from our Society Strategy Series:

• Society Web Sites: Plain and Simple
• Ten Ways to Market Your Non-Profit Like a Business

**WordPress.com is absolutely free, but you are limited in the plugins you are allowed to use.  With WordPress.org, you may incur some expense in purchasing a domain and a hosting company, but the WordPress platform is free of charge.  Some plugins are also available for a fee.

High Touch: Keeping Connected to Your Society Members

As a society, do you spend a lot of time and effort trying to recruit new members?  Have you given any thought to your current members? 

Join guest Pam Treme, Editor of Florida Lines, the newsletter of the Florida State Genealogical Society, as she provides hints on how to keep in touch with your current society members the way(s) they need to be contacted so they don't feel forgotten.

Some older members may not have (or may not be comfortable with) current technology and prefer to be contacted by phone or by "snail mail."  On the other hand, if you have younger members, they may prefer to get their news from a Facebook page or website.  Other members may prefer text messages.

And how about that time before, during, and after your meetings?  Are you connecting with your members as much as you are with potential members?  What about your out-of-town members?  Are you making sure they're kept in the loop?

Listen to the archived broadcast of "High Touch: Keeping Connected to Your Society Members" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

For more information, check out these articles from our Society Strategy Series:

• Planning & Conducting Meetings
• Put Your Best Foot Forward: How Small Societies Get Noticed
• Now That You've Attracted Those Members, Keep Them!

Kickstarter Funding for Your Genealogy Society Project

Still trying to figure out how to find the funds to implement all of your society's new projects?

Have you considered crowdfunding?  Guests Kathleen Brandt (of a3Genealogy) and Maureen Taylor (the "Photo Detective") have each started Kickstarter projects and discuss the finer points of applying for and promoting your project.

This approach serves multiple purposes:

• it allows your society to implement projects without digging into (and usually depleting) the operating account;
• it's a great way to let the community (local, regional, virtual, etc.) know what projects your society is working on;
• it's a great way to get your society's name out there - which could increase your membership (making future funding even easier!)

Think about it.  It's much easier to get a couple of bucks from a thousand people than it is to get $100 from 20 people.  Right?

This type of funding reaches more people faster, and allows more societies and other organizations to raise funds for projects to preserve local, state, regional, or even national history that might otherwise never see the light of day.

Listen to the archived broadcast of "Kickstarter Funding for Your Genealogy Society Project" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

For more information, check out these articles from our Society Strategy Series:

• Projects for Fundraising
• A First Families Project
• Creating Society Archives
• A Society Project: GPS Locating Cemeteries - Making Cemeteries Easy to Find

Crafting an Effective Member Survey

We've talked about analyzing your society to begin implementing changes to programs, publications, bylaws, etc.  But it's usually not a good idea to change things just for the sake of change ... so how do you know what changes need to be made?

You ask.

Surveys don't have to be limited to your current members. You can use the internet and social media to your advantage and be able to reach specific demographics all over the planet, depending on the purpose of your survey.

Have any idea whether you'll use structured questions or open-ended questions? Do you know the best time to conduct a survey? What tools are the best for surveys? Guests Paula Hinkel and Taneya Koonce share their expertise on every aspect of designing, implementing, and analyzing a survey to provide the most "bang for your buck."

Listen to the archived broadcast of "Crafting an Effective Member Survey" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

For more information, check out this article from our Society Strategy Series:

• Now That You've Attracted Those Members, Keep Them!

SWAT: Analyzing Your Society from the Inside Out

Is your society stuck in a rut? Do your programs make watching paint dry seem exciting? Learn how can you analyze your society, taking into account its strengths and weaknesses, in order to improve member benefits and programs.

And what about after your brainstorming session? How do you overcome the "lull" in between board meetings to keep the momentum going?

Make this new year THE ONE for your society! From a board "retreat" to a simple whiteboard and pizza, guest Janet Hovorka and impromptu guest Paula Stuart-Warren discuss the different ways your society can put their heads together and come up with unique ideas to improve and/or expand the benefits and programs for your members.

Listen to the archived broadcast of "SWAT: Analyzing Your Society from the Inside Out" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

For more information, check out these articles from our Society Strategy Series:

• Long Range Planning
• A Lakeside Retreat
• The Society in Crisis!

Focus on Genealogy Society Bylaws

Get ready for the new year!

2015 is almost here. You've got new board members, and lots of great ideas from your members. How do your old bylaws stand up to all these shiny new developments? Is it time to dust them off and see if they need updating?

So you're probably thinking, "pshh, why are bylaws important, anyway?" Because - among other reasons - even genealogy societies need structure. Otherwise, they will crumble into so much rubble. In this episode of FGS Radio - My Society, guest Roberta "Bobbi" King provides a more detailed response to that question (and many others)!

By the way ... did you know that FGS offers the services of its Bylaws Review Committee as a benefit to members? Whether you're starting your society from scratch or simply revising your bylaws to allow for recent technology, you'll want to take advantage of that service if your society is planning any revisions.

But FIRST, you'll want to get the Bylaws Workbook (2nd ed.) to plan and draft successful bylaws.

Listen to the archived broadcast of "Focus on Genealogy Society Bylaws" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Check Out History Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

For more information, check out these articles from our Society Strategy Series:

• Legalities of Establishing a Society
• How to Run an Election
• When Disciplinary Action is Required: An Outline of Procedure
• The Policy and Procedure Manual

The Doctor Is In - Solving Your Genealogy Society Problems

The Doctor is In - Solving Your Genealogy Society Problems

Taking a little different approach to the standard radio show, Thomas MacEntee answers listener questions about current issues and problems that genealogy societies face all the time.

Here is a sample of some of the issues that are discussed:

• How do you get new people to run for office (aside from nominating them when they aren't present)?
• How do you get new members?
• How do you know what your members want?
• What needs to be done to start a new society?
• How do you make money other than membership fees?
• Does your mission statement reflect current ideals?

Listen to the archived broadcast of "The Doctor is In -- Solving Your Genealogy Society Problems" on the blogtalkradio My Society channel by FGS, or you can listen below:

Popular History Internet Radio with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

A Society On the Grow

A Society On the Grow

Is your society suffering from declining membership? Are you looking for new and exciting ways to reach out to the community and increase your membership? Three years ago, the Utah Genealogical Association had a lofty goal: triple their membership by the end of the year. How could they possibly expect to meet that goal?

Learn how they took the time to get together and create a plan by using a Kaizen (a Japanese word meaning "continuous improvement") process, which utilizes the following steps:

1. Define your problem
2. Document your current situation
3. Visualize your ideal situation
4. Define measurement targets (how will you know you've reached your goal?)
5. Brainstorm solutions to your problem
6. Develop Kaizen plan
7. Implement your plan
8. Measure, record and compare results to targets
9. Prepare summary documents
10. Create short-term action plan, ongoing standards and sustaining plan

UGA past President Janet Hovorka and UGA Board Member Christy Fillerup explain how they plan to do it utilizing several different initiatives:

Education - recognized the need for intermediate/advanced genealogical education
Networking - putting researchers in touch with each other for collaboration opportunities
Flexibility - implemented virtual meetings for committee/chapter meetings across the state
Volunteerism - offered varied opportunities to utilize the diverse talents of its membership

You can hear the details in the archived broadcast of “A Society on the Grow” on the BlogTalkRadio My Society channel by FGS or you can listen below:

Listen To History Internet Radio Stations with mysociety on BlogTalkRadio

A Society on the Grow

What Are You Missing? "My Society" FGS Radio Broadcasts

How is your genealogical or historical society doing these days? If you are looking for new ideas and options, the Federation of Genealogical Societies has something great for you! FGS is now producing weekly live radio broadcasts. That's right! My Society is a new concept, an online radio broadcast for societies that features timely topics and best practices to help you and your society expand and extend your reach!

Join us each week as different hosts interview genealogical and historical society experts discussing important topics that can help you and your society take advantage of great ideas to become the best you can be.

In case you've missed the first five episodes, we invite you to visit the My Society site at BlogTalkRadio (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mysociety) to listen to the past episodes. Make sure that you and your society's officers are aware of the series and that they listen to every episode, past and future, so that they can get great ideas to help grow and improve your society. Then, mark your calendar to listen to new episodes each Saturday!

Learn more about the Federation of Genealogical Societies and membership at http://fgs.org. We offer much more than radio broadcasts! There are the Society Strategy Series Papers that can help your society grow, our tremendous quarterly FGS FORUM Magazine, the FGS Blog with timely information and the free FGS Voice Newsletter to which you and all your members can subscribe on the FGS website at http://fgs.org.

The Federation of Genealogical Societies is involved in many, many great activities. Learn about our initiative to Preserve the Pensions! This is a tremendous project involving the entire genealogical community, the National Archives and Records Administration, and Footnote.com to digitize, index, and make available all the War of 1812 Pension Files as they are digitized and available. In addition, Ancestry.com has committed a dollar-for-dollar contribution to all donations to help make this project reach a successful goal. Can you ask for a happier project and conclusion?

FGS is also working to develop and provide webinars about genealogical and historical issues for the genealogical community. We are also considering webinars for our members who are libraries and archives, and for genealogical vendors who are members. There will be a free webinar each quarter, and we plan FGS Members Only webinars each quarter throughout the year.

The Federation of Genealogical Societies is very actively involved in trying to make a huge difference in the genealogical community! We want to hear from you. Please send your comments and questions to membership@fgs.org and to office@fgs.org.

We are looking forward to other great My Society broadcasts in the futures. Tune in next week for another great online broadcast, and download it if you happen to miss it!


George G. Morgan
Vice President, Membership Services