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NEA: 
How A Leading Professional Association Boosts
Annual Revenue Using Lyris ListManager
Company Background
With 2.7 million members, the National Education Association is one of the largest professional organizations in the world and has representatives at every conceivable level of teaching and instruction, from pre-school all the way to university graduate programs. With such a large and widely distributed membership, the association maintains a busy roster of activities at the local, state, and national level, and is one of the few professional organizations to maintain affiliate branches in every single U.S. state.
Goals and Challenges
The NEA had long since embraced email as a cost-effective way to reduce printing costs and stay in touch with its membership, and was publishing a number of newsletters to members and non-members alike such as NEA Member News, a traditional
bulletin that highlights news, information and practical resourcess, as well as NEA Focus, covering topical issues and legislative developments in the educational arena at large.
It was the weekly Works4Me newsletter, however, that had been proving the most popular of all the NEA's email publications thanks to a colorful weekly lineup of teacher-submitted tips, strategies, lesson plans, and advice on running a successful classroom—everything from soothing students' first day jitters to tips on forming a Shakespeare Club.
After publishing such highly valued content for more than five years, the NEA's circulation rates grew to more than 60,000 subscribers on several lists, and NEA executives recognized an opportunity to use the publications to generate revenue for the entire organization.
The Solution
With such a sizeable, opt-in base of established and well-educated subscribers, the NEA had no difficulty lining up sponsors, and soon a small, tasteful advertising section was incorporated into the right hand area of two publications, including the Works4Me newsletter.
"We'd been using Lyris ListManager primarily as a communications vehicle for announcements and policy related news," explains Rick Geier, Manager, Marketing and Promotion, "but now we also need to maximize the revenue-generating ability of our electronic communications. We began using the product in an entirely new way."
Right from the start, Lyris ListManager made it easy for the NEA to see how the new advertising program was doing. Comprehensive reporting capabilities offered a clear view of how certain ads and pieces of content performed, and sophisticated performance metrics proved an additional incentive to potential sponsors. NEA marketers were able to offer timely information to sponsors on how many unique subscribers clicked on a given ad, as well as any significant actions they took after doing so.
"ListManager has been extremely easy for us to use," explains Geier, "and with such a large number of editors and communications staff at different levels of technical expertise, that was valuable to us in getting the new program up and nning quickly."
Results and Future Plans
In evaluating the performance of the new program—including the overall satisfaction of the NEA's new advertisers—Geier says he's noticed one trend in particular.
"We've already had a number of repeat advertisers," he reports. "This program has really been a huge success."
The new program has proved so effective, in fact, that Geier reports the NEA has begun exploring the possibility of offering more consumer-based advertising in its publications.
"Up until now, advertisers have largely been those offering school and teaching related products or services, and the marketing team is beginning to look at how more consumer oriented advertisements would perform in our publications as well."
"The most important function of the lists will always be to build community among educators," he adds, "but this new initiative is helping us create the resources necessary for maintaining our publications and our organization as a whole. It's really working out quite well for us."
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