Your renewal letter is asking members to invest in the future. Write it that way.

A renewal invoice is not a request for last year's money. It is a request to pay for next year's benefits. The moment a member — individual or corporate — opens that invoice, they make a decision: renew, or walk.

When does an association need to rebrand itself?

If your association is thinking about a rebrand because the colours look dated or a Board member doesn't like the typeface, stop. That's not the question worth asking. The real question is harder: does your organisation still represent the sector it claims to lead?

Your New Association Website Is Not an IT Project. It’s a Governance Decision.

A website project is a governance decision with a technology component, not the other way round. The associations that get it right are the ones that invest in discovery, requirements, and contract scrutiny before a single pixel is designed. The ones that get it wrong skip straight to the demo, fall for the referral, and find out about ownership, integration, and total cost when it is too late to do anything but pay.

Why Every Association Needs an Independent Returning Officer

A Returning Officer is an independent individual appointed to oversee the election of Board Directors and ensure the process is conducted fairly, transparently and in accordance with the association's Constitution, By-Laws and any Board-approved election procedures.

Member Magazine Worth the Trouble?

A lot of associations produce a magazine — hard copy or electronic — as part of the member benefits package. And for many of them, pulling together each quarterly edition feels arduous, thankless, and disconnected from any real return.

What every membership manager must know before the next Board meeting

Membership growth is not a membership problem. It’s a governance one.

The Membership Fee Increase: A Conversation Most Association CEOs Avoid

The membership fee strategy is not an accounting exercise. It is a leadership decision. And if your Board is setting fees based on what feels comfortable rather than what the organisation needs, you are already behind.

The Members You're Missing

How to capture new members for your database 

Only one assessment tool tells you how your entire association is really performing. AES built it.

An overview of the self assessment benchmarking tool for assessing the performance of an association 

Technology in Associations - AES 2026 Sector Report

This report aims to help associations better understand the technology landscape and make informed decisions about their digital future.

The photo with the Minister is not an advocacy strategy

“Government doesn’t remember associations that show up. It remembers the ones that show up with something to say.”

Is your association actually talking to its members — or just invoicing them?

"What an undecided member needs isn't another email — it's a conversation."