With all the talk about tighting our belt with spending and reducing honorariums
How about talking about what it will take to increase membership and keep them?
It is not just about advertising but what we can do to keep members and the ideals that keep us here.
Unfortunately there is not much we can do about those who can not afford it anymore. That seems to be most of the cancellations. Can we maybe engage those members more to make them feel a desire & passion to choose us over say a couple coffees per week? How can we get that solved?
Very simple, lower rates.
It is always a balance: Is it worth it? Am I getting out of it the money I spend? Sometimes people cannot explain what they feel. If we can make it more valuable to them than the money they spend or time they spend driving, they will be here, often.
I think we need something exciting that we can all get involved in. Something we can look forward to and help put our energy into.
Thatāll solve our cash flow problemā¦
I think raising value without spending a lot, instead of lowering the price might be better. But lowering dues would solve the membership problem in the short term. Perhaps a discount for a short period of time with an ad campaign?
I remember the excitement that we had when expansion was first announced. I remember the first tour and the excitement that I had of possibility. I think keeping people might involve figuring out how to give them that with less perceived pain.
One can get the reduced unemployed/retire rate, but more than that, if one taught one class a month that could largely counter membership cost. Two classes a month and that member scores a small financial gain.
Iām not certain if telling them this produces more honorarium classes or not. Or more members or not. Some data would need to be calculated. If it is a net gain in revenue then it might be worth doing.
With the current proposals that will no longer be the case it seems.
Personally I think we need to step up our maintenance game. A big part of why I do not drive 40min each way during work sesson is that Iām reasonably confident when I arrive the thing I came to use will be broken and Iām not authorized to fix it or do not know where to quickly find pieces to do so (example Titan had a damaged blade and didnāt have the foggiest idea where they were kept now) I could put an issue on Talk but that delays the time I have to spend here on an already limited timeline.
We want to immediately stop telling people to teach to pay for their membership.
And limit how long they have to be a member before theyāre eligible for honorarium
I put this forward in another thread, but has anyone given any thought to reaching out to the local community colleges that have technical programs? I know TCC, DCCCD, and CCCC all have vocational stuff like welding, wood, automotive, etc. where people who graduate might be looking for somewhere to practice those skills, since access to academic facilities ends when your tuition does.
Also, has there ever been a serious discussion of using AdSense? Seems to me like an ad on a Google search from a user in Dallas, for high-investment tools like a CNC router/laser cutter/auto lift/pottery kiln, would be a good way to snag eyeballs from people who have specific needs that could be served by what the space has.
I know with CCCC and UNT they have alumni rates that allow you to keep using the facilities in perpetuity. How those compare to DMS dues is worth looking into.
Getting more members: advertise. A couple of ideas: Ask members to share DMS info on their neighborhood social media groups. Post show-n-tell content on every D/FW related subreddit once a week or so
Keeping members: balance new member expectations with reality. Maybe put together a list of ātracksā one can take at DMS and what is required, what it gets you, and when classes are offered. Tracks would be the training-required committees like Wood Shop, Metal Shop, Machine Shop, Laser, Fired Arts. So someone who comes for a tour has a list of next steps to get going, and can also see what will be required before theyāre allowed to play with the Multicam (for example) and how long they might need to wait for a class. Not sure how hard it is to set up but maybe a page of QR codes that would do a calendar search for a committee?
I think a good advertising method would be to get with local apartment complexes and get them to insert a sheet into the welcome packet telling them about DMS. Many people that move into apartments wish they could have a garage/workshop.
This. Also it may have been you but someone mentioned including a free monthās membership to the space when they go with whatever complex. The main issue with this, I reckon, is theft though.
Also: Something like the Strandbeest Bike wouldāve made for great promotional material aired as a āfeel goodā story on local 10 pm news.
Also we can look at the community colleges for people interested in arts areas. I understand now that minutes community colleges will only allow you to take I believe three ceramic classes and then you have to go elsewhere. Weāre the else were they can go to keep working on play if they want donāt want to buy their own wheels and Keels and such. And Iām sure thereās other people there in other areas that we can reach out to pick cake people taking sculpture we can do wood carving here which is a type of sculpture Iām sure this printmaking classes that when people take the class if theyāre not taking the class I donāt have the tools we have the tools. Thereās a lot of things we can do to reach out to people
I have been running Adwords since 2012 (assuming you mean AdWords since it Adsense is putting advertising on our site)
If youāre interested I can add you to it and you can set up a campaign. I would enjoy some competition as most people stop after a few weeks.