| News for SmartBrief prospective partners |  |  | | | What's Happening |  | | | - Your association IS a business ... and the website is your store
 Insights contributor Ray van Hilst is an association consultant and service provider specializing in marketing strategy and online engagement at van Hilst Communications. He recently shared advice on how nonprofits need to think more like for-profits, starting with association websites.
"During the past few weeks, I've been reminded a number of times of an association CEO who tells anyone listening that today's association CEOs/executive directors need to think like for-profit business leaders. That mantra was recently reinforced by another association executive commenting on the fact that he sells just as many products to non-members as to members.
"Where yesterday's association model favored networking, governance and nurturing board members, today's associations must take industry knowledge and turn that into promotable, profitable products. The industry is seeing more organizations where the revenue model is flipped from being mainly dues driven to mainly products driven. And yet, many association websites aren't set up for this shift."
Read the complete post and join in the conversation. - SmartBrief names McClatchy's Walcott chief content officer
John Walcott, the Washington bureau chief for The McClatchy Co., will join SmartBrief as chief content officer and editor in chief on Nov. 1. Walcott is widely considered to be one of journalism's leaders, and he knows firsthand that publishing is changing and that the ways in which people stay informed are changing dramatically as well. These changes -- as well as the increase in online content that hits people -- make quality, accuracy and timeliness all the more important for editing and reporting. John will help lead our company as we expand in scope and scale to meet the needs of our subscribers, association partners and advertising customers. Read the complete release here. - Subscriber growth -- the right way
 E-mail marketing expert DJ Waldow writes that he was pleased to see one of SmartBrief's recent "trial sends," and offered his comments on the various components of our marketing. He used ours as a great example of how to successfully market an e-mail newsletter. We're flattered! Read his post here for additional tips.
| Leadership Focus | | | | - 12 skills leaders will need to succeed
As the workplace and the global economy evolve, leaders will need new skills and new management styles, writes Alan Murray. The best leaders will be those who stay flexible, plan ahead and proactively seek out new strategies and new ways of thinking about the world around them. "Managers will not be able to assume they know the answer -- because more often than not, they won't," Murray writes. "You'll need to be willing to hear hard truths from your employees, your customers, your suppliers and anyone else closer to a changing marketplace than you are." The Wall Street Journal (9/19) - Take care of your top talent
It's fine to come up with strategies for building your business, writes Heather McCulligh, but your plans are pointless unless you're also developing strategies to take care of your workers. "Truly successful companies are realizing that the only sustainable competitive advantage they have is their people," she writes. "It's clear that to achieve your goals, you need to effectively manage your workforce." ThoughtLeaders blog (9/29) - Mr. Rogers, marketing guru
Children's entertainer Fred Rogers was a masterful marketer, writes digital strategist Sam Ford, and many companies could stand to take a closer look at the beloved TV personality's career. "Mr. Rogers" offered his viewers a real, meaningful relationship; never overpromised or underdelivered; and carefully adjusted his brand to shifting cultural norms without ever seeming insincere or inconsistent. "As I consider how many marketers likely grew up with the words of Fred Rogers guiding their way as kids, I can't help but think that we've all too often strayed away from some of those first lessons we heard as children," Ford writes. FastCompany.com/FC Expert Blog (9/28) | About SmartBrief | | | | - What we do
SmartBrief publishes industry-specific e-mail newsletters in partnership with prominent associations, professional societies, corporations and nonprofits. More than 3.4 million executives and professionals rely on SmartBrief every day to stay informed and save them time. Visit here to view our partners, see samples and subscribe. For updates, follow us on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook. Want to explore partnering? Let's talk. | Media 2.0 | | | | - Report: Social-media use is changing direction
The creativity of social-media users is plateauing, according to Forrester's annual Global Social Technographics report. For years, people have been growing more inclined to use social tools to create content; now the sector appears to be entering a period of consolidation in which people are using social tools to find new ways to consume rather than create. "This will cause marketers and those who produce social tools to focus more on how social content is consumed rather than how it is produced," notes Augie Ray. Forrester.com/Augie Ray's Blog (9/28) - Don't use Twitter as an excuse for sloppy service
It's getting easier for companies to monitor complaints online using services such as Twitter -- but too many corporate leaders are content to play Whac-A-Mole with tweeted complaints, rather than actually addressing the causes of their customers' dissatisfaction, writes Jonathan Salem Baskin. "Empowering your customers to complain is not the same thing as taking responsibility for what they're complaining about," Baskin argues. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (9/20) - Startup offers social Q-and-A tools for businesses
A site called Opzi aims to become the social Q-and-A platform of choice for enterprise users, according to this article. People can log in using their corporate e-mail addresses and ask questions or offer solutions to challenges faced by people elsewhere in their organization. "Our approach is to build a layer on top of a company. This [is] a light and easy way to add that layer. And it can integrate with other silos of information," says Sandya Venkatachalam. TechCrunch (9/27) | SmartNugget | | | |  | In a recent speech at Belmont University, author Erik Wesner outlined three important traits that explain the 90% survival rate among Amish businesses: First, business owners are humble, never asking a worker to do what they would not do themselves. Next, Amish businesses are extremely cognizant of minimizing waste. Finally, the Amish believe that creating scale is not the ultimate goal and that 'too much growth can lead to arrogance and pride.' "
--Why the Amish make better entrepreneurs
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