Renewal invoices for the 2008 Society year will be mailed in December to all STC members who had not renewed their memberships online at www.stc.org. For membership dues, STC accepts checks in U.S. or Canadian dollars, as well as payments made by American Express, MasterCard, or Visa. Dues payments should be received by February 28, 2008.

The following are descriptions of the membership categories offered to STC members for 2008. Please note that under the new dues structure approved by the Board of Directors in August 2007, the cost of each additional chapter membership (beyond what is included in a member’s respective membership package) is $25 per year, and each additional special interest group (SIG) membership (beyond what is included in a member’s respective membership package) is $10 per year. For more information about the new dues structure, please refer to “Q & A for Chapter Leaders: New Dues Structure” in the October Tieline (www.stc-cdx.org/node/692).

By Karen Mardahl, Comanager, AccessAbility Special Interest Group

Collaborating Virtual Style: Hints from STC’s SIG Leaders In each issue of Tieline, a representative of the twenty STC special interest groups (SIGs) shares wisdom, hints, and lessons learned. Each is free to focus on a different aspect of facilitating STC communities—whether those communities are based on subject matter or geographic location. Currently, SIG leaders are exploring various collaborative tools and management styles to benefit their members and recruit new volunteers and leaders. As designer, author, and artist Edwin Schlossberg says, "True interactivity is not about clicking on icons or downloading files; it’s about encouraging communication." SIG leaders are working on just that. We hope that some of the information in this series will be applicable and helpful to other STC community leaders as well. Judith M. Herr, STC SIG Advocate

STC renewal time is here again! Another year in STC brings another year when you can continue to:

• Grow as a technical communicator
• Develop skills and ideas
• Exchange knowledge and visions
• Gain insight, peer respect, confidence, and strength
• Mentor others or be mentored
• Explore all the new frontiers waiting for you
• Make new friends around the globe

As a member of STC and as one of its leaders, think about the benefits and value that you have received from your participation in the Society. First, as a member, where you soaked up information and slowly began to share your own insights. Then, as a leader, where you found opportunities to learn about mentoring and managing (which are powerful skills to add to a résumé). Over time, you have accumulated knowledge about tools, processes, and more—simply from peer discussions online or in person. Collecting that same knowledge outside of STC could cost much more than the yearly STC membership. Ultimately, as STC grows, the knowledge base from which you can benefit grows, making the potential value returned to you even greater.

Communicate STC’s Value to Your Members

Think about the value of an STC membership (rather than the cost) when renewing this year. Try using the value angle (rather than the cost angle) when discussing renewal with your community members. Use the same tactic when you talk to someone who is considering an STC membership. Of course, there are many factors that influence our financial decisions, and some of these are quite personal. We can rarely change factors in someone else’s life, and we cannot dictate what decisions other people should make. Life happens, and we have to make decisions that are best for us. Still, STC can prove to be a value-packed network even in times of crisis. There is no price tag for such a network, and I speak from personal experience! Career opportunities and close friendships may be just around the corner when someone renews his or her membership or joins for the first time.

Looking back over my five years of membership in STC, I can see how my investment of time, energy, and dues has given me so much value. I have developed new skills and refined existing talents through my participation in various SIG discussion lists, live Web seminars, conferences, and leadership roles. The latest return on investment I received was being personally headhunted for a new job—which became mine on August 1 this year. I am the one with the job, but I could not have reached this point in my career without years of support from my STC communities.

If anyone doubts the value that they have received for their dues, ask what he or she has done to cultivate the value expected. What did he or she invest? The community leaders are responsible up to a certain point—but even the most enthusiastic and self-motivated leader needs members! Have members forgotten the role they play in the well-being and success of their community? Paying dues and then waiting for something to happen is not really investing anything. Without an investment, there is little chance of any value in return. Involvement is necessary, but this does not entail going straight for some major role such as that of manager or president. Participating in virtual discussions or attending events now and then can be just fine.

Members Provide the Substance

STC provides a basic framework; members provide the substance. Both members and leaders can work together to shape the Society at many levels. We choose our level of participation. If anyone feels the community leadership is not living up to expectations, encourage him or her to run for an office and take a turn at developing the potential in the community.

Remind members that leadership roles—whether for a full term or for one project—are opportunities for showing what they’re made of. Consider whether you should look for projects to showcase the talents of members rather than letting community projects dictate what members should do. This method—called asset mapping—has provided tremendous benefits to both members and the community alike. (For the curious, read more about asset mapping.)

Some may argue that all this value can come from outside STC—and even at no cost. Yes, there are many other types of communities outside of STC that are suitable for technical communicators. Some cost money and some are free. Many STC members also belong to other paying societies and free networks. All the different societies, networks, and discussion lists serve various purposes. I’d like to think that they complement each other and provide healthy competition. It has been my experience that listing professional (paid) groups such as STC on my résumé has a positive effect on hiring managers. It is a tangible proof of commitment to the groups. The true proof of commitment is demonstrated when I discuss topics at work and communicate the knowledge that I have accrued through STC activities.

Technical Communication Is About Growth

One last thought about renewing. Perhaps a member feels there is nothing more to gain from a membership in STC because he or she knows what is necessary to know. That may be so, for now. But what will tomorrow bring? Can you face the future on your own with today’s skill sets? If you say yes, what about helping others? Not everyone may be as strong as you are. You can support your community by passing on your knowledge to new generations. Share your experience and insights. Technical communication is about growth. Let’s build together.

Increasing Your Membership

By Michael Opsteegh, TechniScribe Managing Editor and Member, Orange County Chapter

Recently, at a meeting of the Orange County STC (OCSTC) council, I delivered some surprisingly happy news. One of my tasks as second vice president of membership was to report any changes in membership, and since STC purged all of the members who did not renew by the end of March, I knew I would have grim news to bear. At one time, OCSTC boasted over 430 members, and just when we were reaching a somewhat more modest peak of 303, STC purged the nonrenewing members and we were left with 261 members on our roster.

I was prepared for this because I knew our numbers were artificially inflated by nonreturning members. But, much to my surprise, I found that although our membership had dipped to 261, our chapter had actually grown by 10 percent when compared to the numbers reported at the same time last year. To add to my surprise, while our chapter has grown by 10 percent, Society membership at the international level grew by only 0.3 percent between April 2006 and April 2007.

There are probably many factors that are contributing to our success in the face of membership stagnation at the international level. For example, our local economy has done very well over the last year (notwithstanding a plethora of bankrupt subprime lending companies). But I would like to think that the success of the chapter is due in large part to the tireless efforts of the OCSTC council and those members who volunteer their time. Here are some of the steps we have taken to increase awareness and boost our membership, and I recommend that your chapter consider adopting similar measures:

• Target students
• Create a brand
• Don’t give away the store
• Survey your members

 

Target Students

Students bring energy and fresh ideas to the table. Since students want to become recognized in the professional world, they can prove to be your most eager and dedicated volunteers when no seasoned member is motivated to help the chapter. So targeting students or other entry-level technical communicators must be an integral part of any plan to boost membership.

As the membership officer for OCSTC, I visited a local state university each semester. During my visits, I spoke to technical writing students about becoming professional writers, and about how STC had benefited me and how they could also benefit from joining STC. I gave the students an overview of what the OCSTC had to offer in the form of employment services, programs, and publications.

The university visits paid off. A number of students attended the next chapter meeting that fit within their busy class schedules. One student met a prospective employer at her first meeting, arranged an interview, and landed a job. She then told her classmates about her success, and a few of her classmates joined STC.

This upcoming semester, I will again visit the university with our new membership officer to answer questions about becoming a technical communicator and to promote STC. We will also be sending our printed newsletter to English departments of universities and colleges, as well as career centers, in order to promote even greater awareness of our profession and our chapter among faculty and career advisors.

Create a Brand

To increase your visibility among existing and potential members, your chapter should brand itself—just like a company would. By branding, I mean you should create standards for chapter communications, including letters, e-mails, your Web site, and newsletter; adopt official chapter colors, typefaces, and graphics; and create a chapter logo if you don’t already have one. By branding your community, you boost your chapter’s visual recognition among both members and nonmembers in your region.

This last year, the OCSTC council decided that the chapter needed a new logo to appear on the Web site, letterhead, envelopes, receipts, invoices, and the chapter newsletter. In order to involve everyone, members were encouraged to submit entries to a chapter logo contest or volunteer to judge the logos submitted. To sweeten the deal and to encourage participation, the winner of the logo contest was awarded a Visa gift card.

With its new logo selected, OCSTC can now begin branding itself and create more uniform communications. This, in turn, makes the chapter look like a stronger, more cohesive, and authoritative group—attractive to both employers seeking to fill open positions and prospective members looking for value in an STC membership.

Don’t Give Away the Store

All too often, chapters give away their resources in a bid to attract new members. Chapters may leave online resources open to the public, or charge nonmembers the same rates to attend meetings as members. The idea is that the public will visit the Web site or attend the meeting, and want to join, right? Wrong. If chapters give away the store, there is no incentive for folks to join. Furthermore, the chapter’s loyal members will tire of their dues subsidizing benefits given to nonmembers.

Within the last two years, OCSTC has taken a couple of steps to make membership a much more attractive alternative to nonmembership. First, the council voted to widen the difference in rates paid at meetings between members and nonmembers. The meeting rates increased substantially for nonmembers, when compared to the modest increase in meeting rates for members that year.

Second, the council moved to lock the employment pages on the chapter Web site so that viewing open positions is restricted only to members for the first two weeks the position is posted. Position titles and locations are listed on the Web site, but to view the details the user must log in. The chapter Web site checks the user’s credentials against STC’s user database to validate the user’s member status. After two weeks, the open positions become viewable to the general public as a community service to both the general public and our local employers. Our members see the value in paying lower rates at our monthly meetings and enjoy having the first crack at jobs posted on the Web site, which makes them more likely to renew their memberships next year.

Survey Your Members

In order for chapters to remain relevant to their members—and to attract new members—chapters must compete with a wide variety of media and hectic lifestyles for the attention of technical communicators. In order to engage their interest, chapters must give members something they value.

OCSTC is currently beginning its next phase to help boost membership, as well as increase chapter meeting attendance. The council and a few volunteers are calling members personally to find out what they value about their OCSTC membership, and what would make the monthly chapter meeting more attractive to them than the next episode of Lost, House, or The Closer. Our intention is not just to gather information about how we can provide greater value to our members. We hope the individual attention we give to each member we call inspires that member to attend a meeting, or to renew his or her membership in January.

You can survey your members on many topics, gathering opinions on meetings, events, Web sites, educational programs, newsletters, and other chapter services. You should also consider calling members who chose not to renew to either remind them to renew, or to find out how STC or the chapter failed to provide the value essential to them. You will find that calling members rather than posting an online survey will not only generate more accurate data, but members will appreciate the individual attention and the fact that you want their opinions.

Remember this above all: in order for chapters to stay relevant to their members, they must provide intrinsic value to their members and show themselves as professional and authoritative leaders in the field of technical communication.

Michael Opsteegh is a technical writer for a software company in Irvine, California, where he assists in developing software documentation and Web pages. He currently serves Orange County STC as the managing editor of the chapter newsletter, TechniScribe, and he has also served as second vice president of membership and treasurer. If you have any questions or comments about this article, you can contact Michael at octechwriter@yahoo.com.

STC’s Corporate Value Program Off to a Successful Start

STC’s Corporate Value Program (CVP) is an effective way for an organization to collaborate with STC to help define the field and practice, while at the same time giving the organization a new route to the technical communication marketplace. The CVP helps the member organization grow its business, while the member organization helps STC grow the profession—a win-win collaboration. Just a few months after its initial launch, STC’s CVP has five participating organizations with over 300 individual members.

What Is It?

STC’s CVP is a nontraditional membership program aimed at organizations with a varied number of technical communicators on staff. The program is designed to meet the needs of individual members and their employers.

The goals of the program (as outlined in 2005) include:

1. Raising the visibility of technical communicators and technical communication departments within corporations, thereby increasing the perceived and real value of technical communication to the corporate mission.
2. Growing STC’s membership by offering compelling value for corporations to support their technical communication staff by paying for employee membership.
3. Expanding the core customer base for STC services such as live Web seminars, telephone seminars, etc.

What Does It Do?

The CVP brings value to STC and its members. It helps STC tell our powerful story, grow valuable relationships and partnerships, and make money. It gives the organization a new pool of resources for sponsorships, advertising, speakers, competitions, and potential volunteers.

The CVP offers a variety of benefits, tailored to meet an organization’s individual corporate technical communication needs. Organizations can choose between offering memberships to all their staff, or just a select few.

Benefits for participating organizations include:

• E-memberships for company employees, which include access to STC’s members-only knowledge base
• The ability to transfer memberships if employees leave the company
• Special CVP rates on STC training and educational offerings, including live Web seminars
• Special CVP rates on STC exhibits and sponsorship benefits at the Annual Conference
• Recognition on STC’s homepage
• Special CVP rates on advertising in STC’s online and printed publications
• Eligibility for inclusion in a new Corporate Value Program Spotlight column in Intercom
• Special CVP concierge service for company employees registering for STC training and educational offerings, including live Web seminars
• Opportunities to participate in sponsored panels at the STC Annual Conference
• Eligibility to introduce the organization’s products, services, and events to STC members

One of the biggest benefits is the transferable membership. This allows the organization to reap the continued benefit of STC membership—the benefit is not lost when an employee leaves. The CVP helps both large and small teams. It is a tailored program that emphasizes STC membership, a valuable position that helps one shape the field and profession and provides access to the technical communication marketplace.

How Can You Help?

You can spread the word to possible CVP members—like the Houston Chapter STC did. Yvonne Wade Sanchez, Houston Membership Manager, sent an announcement to the Houston mailing list, asking members if their companies sponsor the membership of multiple employees in STC. The announcement was brief yet effective, asking members to please consider the STC Corporate Value Program. As a result, STC signed on another CVP member!

If you have any questions about the CVP or want to apply for membership in the program, please contact Mary Kabza, Director of Marketing and Membership, +1 703 522-4114, x206.

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Nonmembers Active on Your List or Web Site? Recruit Them as Members!

Are some of the responses to the discussion posts on your chapter or SIG e-mail list coming from nonmembers? Are nonmembers registering or posting on your chapter or SIG Web site? Consider taking a little time to recruit them to join STC.

 

For example, we’ve recently seen nonmembers registering on the SIG Web sites Hyperviews Online, Global Talk, and DocQment (see stc-on.org). The sites’ administrator, Ann Wiley, e-mails those registrants (except for the obvious spammers!) to let them know we’d like them to join STC. She cc’s her e-mail to Mary Kabza, STC’s Director of Marketing and Membership, who follows up with additional information from the STC office about the benefits of membership.

Why not try this yourself if you’re noticing a similar trend? If nonmembers are active on your list or Web site, why not e-mail them to encourage them to join? If you copy Mary, Cara Gardner, or Ella Carlson on your message, the membership department will follow up with information relevant to potential new members.

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Community Membership Drives

To attract new members during their membership drives, chapters can use the promotional items mailed to all membership managers and student chapter advisors in early November. These items include membership applications, flyers promoting STC's 54th Annual Conference, and copies of the Discover the Benefits brochure. Discover the Benefits contains information about STC and its services, publications, and special interest groups. Applications and brochures can also be downloaded from the Society Web site.

Below is a list of STC membership drive achievers. The communities listed are leading their respective categories in growth percentages from June 30 through December 31, 2006. Chapters are ranked in the size category they attained on June 30, 2006; the list also includes a category for SIGs. The numbers in parentheses denote the number of communities in each category as of June 30, 2006. As an inspiration to all STC communities, Tieline will publish an updated version of this list in every issue through March 2007.

Professional Chapters, Size Category 1
More than 600 members (2 communities)

Chapter	Percentage of growth since June 30, 2006
Silicon Valley	11.84
Boston	10.08

Professional Chapters, Size Category 2
301 to 600 members (9 communities)

Chapter	Percentage of growth since June 30, 2006
Toronto	16.62
Washington, D.C.	13.79
Houston	13.40

Professional Chapters, Size Category 3
151 to 300 members (18 communities)

Chapter	Percentage of growth since June 30, 2006
Wisconsin	20.37
Eastern Ontario	17.95
Carolina	17.00

Professional Chapters, Size Category 4
76 to 150 members (24 communities)

Chapter	Percentage of growth since June 30, 2006
India	38.10
Indiana	19.77
Southwestern Ontario	17.16

Professional Chapters, Size Category 5
41 to 75 members (21 communities)

Chapter	Percentage of growth since June 30, 2006
James River	26.23
Four Lakes	21.43
West Michigan Shores	17.74

Professional Chapters, Size Category 6
Fewer than 41 members (30 communities)

Chapter	Percentage of growth since June 30, 2006
Susquehanna Valley	66.67
Metrolina	32.50
Alaska	28.57

Student Chapters, Size Category 1
20 or more members (7 communities)

Chapter	Percentage of growth since June 30, 2006
James Madison U.	118.75
North Carolina St. U.	20.69
U. of Minnesota	20.00

Student Chapters, Size Category 2
Fewer than 20 members (23 communities)

Chapter	Percentage of growth since June 30, 2006
London Ontario	175.00
Miami U.	100.00
College Station	60.00

Special Interest Groups
(20 communities)

SIG	Percentage of growth since June 30, 2006
Quality and Process Improvement	100.98
Environmental, Safety, and Health	77.57
Lone Writer	71.23