FPSA grows its newsletter to 85,000 subscribers and expands non-dues revenue

Summary

An organization with roots in the 1880s needed to evolve to in order to stay relevant and valuable to its membership, and leveraged digital communications channels to accomplish that.

Company Background

The Food Processing Suppliers Association represents about 400 member companies that manufacture equipment and provide services to the food and beverage industry. FPSA also hosts the largest food processing trade show in the Americas. The organization’s goal is to provide members with networking, marketing and educational opportunities and to help assure the future of the industry through charitable contributions and educational scholarships.

The Challenge

FPSA already had an online buyers guide through its partnership with Multiview, but the association was receiving questions about how it could provide additional exposure for members. “It wasn’t necessarily that we needed to generate more revenue, which we did, but it was the fact that we had members and prospects looking for new vehicles – and they were looking for us to provide them,” Andy Drennan, SVP, Membership/Business Development, explained.

The Solution

The organization explored some of Multiview’s additional service offerings, and ultimately committed to expand its partnership with development of an email newsletter and implementation of site retargeting services.  

“My board tasked me with coming up with another non-dues revenue product, and the first thing in my mind was talking with Multiview. That’s the best endorsement I can give, because that’s where I see my solution. They help me come up with solutions, not just on the revenue side, but in helping us accomplish our mission.”

The Results

From the outset, the email newsletter was a home run. “I have to say the growth from the newsbrief has been explosive,” Drennan said. “And it’s not just about money. It puts us in front of our members and our prospects and it forces us to create more content, which is a very good thing. It’s definitely been a win-win.”

With a subscriber base of about 85,000, the newsletter maintains an open rate of around 25% and average click-through rate of 15% - well above the 6% industry average. “The open rate and click-through rate we get is far better than any newsletter we’ve ever done,” Drennan added. “Even many months into it, that engagement isn’t declining at all. We think it’s an extremely professional product that I simply don’t have the internal resources to produce. And, the advertisers are very happy with the exposure they’re getting and the response they’re getting.”

Meanwhile, the buyers guide still maintains more than 300 active advertisers and generates over 1,000 monthly visits, while the site retargeting is drawing additional interest from advertisers. Most importantly, FPSA is simultaneously increasing engagement and non-dues revenue. “Up until committing to the newsbrief, it was entirely non-dues revenue focused. That was the No. 1 priority,” Drennan said. “With the newsbrief, suddenly we have a communications tool that is helping us get our message out to prospects, to our members and to our members’ customers. The partnership really is multidimensional now, whereas before it was strictly transactional.”