by Hunter Flynn | Oct 11, 2021 | Blog, Elevate
Experts predict that the size of the global LMS market will increase by over 50% by 2025. What accounts for this?
Increased demand. Our lives become more digitized by the day. Now more than ever, organizations need a learning management system to engage, educate, and inspire their communities—no matter how far apart they might be.
But the perfect LMS for you may not be perfect for another. Different organizations have different needs. The needs of associations are especially unique.
The ideal LMS for associations contains a wealth of features that enable professional development and foster meaningful membership experiences. Today, we’ll take a look at some of the defining features of a stellar association LMS.
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by Hunter Flynn | Sep 14, 2021 | Blog, Elevate
You’re always looking for ways to boost the revenue of your association. While membership dues can account for a big chunk of your organization’s income, they won’t cut it on their own.
A 2016 report from ASAE found that membership dues accounted for 45.4% of the revenue of trade associations, and only 30% for professional associations. That’s a far cry from the 1950s, when dues made up nearly 96% of the revenue for your average association.
Successful associations know how to make the most of non-dues revenue. Today, we’ll give you some concrete ideas for diversifying your organization’s revenue streams, the way we know best.
Events and Education: The Bread and Butter of Non-Dues Revenue
In the association space, events are well-known as a great way to offer your members a valuable experience, and to earn more non-dues revenue, too. The chances are good that you already utilize a combination of in-person, virtual, and hybrid events to earn more from sponsors and exhibitors.
If you have a learning management system, you might be monetizing courseware, too. An LMS can play a significant role in maximizing profits for associations big and small. Unlike your typical one-time event, an online learning platform is a lasting source of non-dues revenue.
An event is a point in time, but your LMS is perpetual—unless you integrate them. Running virtual and hybrid events through a learning management system lets them live on, generating revenue indefinitely.
Bringing these two elements together—events and education—opens the doors to new revenue streams. The possibilities are nearly endless, but here are some ideas to get your gears turning.
Virtual Exhibit Halls
This portion of your event microsite is where sponsors can really shine. Give each sponsor a virtual booth that they can use to distribute resources and chat with attendees.
Sponsor Page on LMS
Your LMS presents a great perpetual sponsorship opportunity. Add a permanent sponsor page into your learning platform so they can enjoy continual exposure.
Conference Revenue
Conferences and other events can be big money makers. Charge for attendance however you’d like. Generate more revenue with advertisements, booth sales, and sponsorships.
Session Sponsors
Allow your sponsors to lend their support to the sessions that most closely align with the goals and objectives of their organization.
Sponsored Webinar Content
Your sponsors recognize the potential for exposure that comes with webcasts and similar virtual events. Offer a compelling webinar sponsorship package for greater ROI.
Public Webinars
Opening a webinar up to the public is the perfect way to net more attendees, exposure, and revenue.
Premium Content
More monetized content in your LMS means more revenue. Offer plenty of supplemental, premium content such as videos, podcasts, and ebooks.
Conference Exhibit Halls
At in-person events, exhibit halls are a tried-and-true way to let your sponsors connect with the community. Your sponsors will love a strong presence at both your virtual exhibit hall and your in-person one!
Certifications in Your LMS
Nothing can motivate people to engage with your LMS like a concrete reward. Monetizing the required courseware for certifications will add a new source of revenue.
LMS Branding
Design your LMS not only to match your own branding, but also to incorporate the logos of your generous sponsors.
Sponsor Slideshow
Consider adding a slideshow to the sidebar of your LMS. It can rotate through the names and logos of your premier sponsors.
Sponsored Messages
Inject messages from your sponsors throughout your online education initiatives. Place them before, during, or after webinars, courses, and events.
LMS Subscriptions
Have you considered monetizing your LMS with a subscription model? This is a great way to earn continuous ROI with your online learning platform.
Speaking Opportunities
At your next virtual, in-person, or hybrid event, see if your sponsors would be interested in presenting live. They might prefer this to a pre-recorded message.
Boost Non-Dues Revenue with CommPartners
At CommPartners, we help associations generate revenue with a unified approach to events and education.
Our award-winning LMS, Elevate, forms the foundation of our approach. Purpose-built by associations for associations, it’s the perfect home for your education strategy, and a great source of non-dues revenue, too.
Events are just as important to what we do. We offer more than just a virtual and hybrid event platform; we become a part of your team with our managed services.
Are you ready to diversify your revenue streams with a unified approach to events and education? Get in touch with Meghan Gowen at meghan.gowen@gocadmium.com. Keep up with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
by Hunter Flynn | Aug 30, 2021 | Blog, Education, Elevate
For years, CommPartners has existed at the intersection of events and education. We’ve offered virtual and hybrid event services for well over a decade. In 2014, we launched our award-winning learning management system, Elevate.
At a glance, these might strike you as two distinct offerings. But they do more than complement one another. To make the most of one, you need the other. Though each can stand on their own, something special happens when they come together.
This is a time of unification. As Cadmium, we have united with our sister companies in support of our shared mission to unify events and education. But what exactly does that look like? Here’s our vision.
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by Hunter Flynn | Aug 24, 2021 | Blog, Elevate, Microlearning
Don’t be fooled by the small size of microlearning. It is a giant in L&D.
Its uses range from K-12, to continuing education, to corporate training. Today, we’ll focus on the last.
If your organization doesn’t employ a micro approach to training and development, you’re leaving low costs and learner retention on the table.
So why is microlearning essential for training? Take a look.
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by Hunter Flynn | Aug 10, 2021 | Blog, Elevate
You should choose your learning management system with care. After all, it will be the foundation of your association’s education strategy for years to come. Take this decision lightly, and you’ll pay the price. But if you make the right choice, you’ll reap the rewards of a remarkable online learning platform.
Elevate isn’t the only learning management system out there. But it could be the best LMS for you. Here’s why:
A World-Class Learning Management System
From the beginning, we built Elevate to meet the needs of associations and non-profits alike. Instead of building an LMS off of another platform, we built our LMS from the ground-up, meaning we have full-control over the features.
Unlike other companies that built an LMS for another industry, our LMS is purpose-built for associations by associations. We listened to our clients and created a full suite of flexible features to meet any organizational need.
From course creation, to credit earning, to in-depth reporting, Elevate LMS covers the entire learning cycle and more.
A Webinar Management Tool
Early on, we recognized that webinars are a vital part of many education programs, so we built a webinar management tool right into the LMS.
Instead of managing your webinars through a third party, Elevate lets you manage, deliver, and repurpose your webinar content within the LMS. Our learning management system serves as your one-stop-shop for all your webinar needs, from registration, to content delivery, to recording management.
*Bonus Tip: If you are feeling overwhelmed by your webinar program, our expert team of event producers can take the production off your plate.
A Virtual Conference Platform
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the convergence of education and events accelerated at an unprecedented pace. By leveraging an LMS, organizations ensured that their content became enduring—enabling reselling, recertifying, and marketing opportunities for years to come.
But manually moving content from the virtual conference platform to am LMS takes too much time and effort. With Elevate, you can seamlessly run a virtual conference and immediately integrate it into your LMS. All of the customization of a conference site fully integrates with the flexibility of your online learning platform.
A Revenue Generator
Other learning and events platforms flaunt their registration ability as a way to make your organization money. We can easily monetize your content through our robust registration system, but that isn’t the only way to generate revenue. After all, we know many of our clients offer their courseware free of charge, so we empower you to generate revenue in other ways.
Through Elevate, you can create a sponsor hall, tiles, and pages for paying sponsors of your learning program. Our content delivery tool also provides you an opportunity to sell sponsorship and advertisements to garner more traction.
Built to Expand with You
Many of the learning management systems on the market are built to accommodate organizations of a particular size. This rigidity eventually forces you to move to another LMS—requiring you to repeat the arduous process of finding, setting up, and implementing another LMS.
But not Elevate. Instead of limiting you, our LMS grows with you. We know how quickly organizations grow, and how time-consuming implementation of an LMS can be. We ensure you only have to do that once. Elevate is designed to flex with your organization and accommodate it’s growing needs.
Create Enduring Educational Experiences with Elevate
Elevate is more than just an LMS. Our award-winning online learning platform helps hundreds of nonprofits and associations to integrate events, generate revenue, and grow along with their education strategies.
Let’s start a conversation. If you want to learn more about Elevate LMS or our managed event services, contact Meghan Gowen at Meghan.Gowen@gocadmium.com. Keep up with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
