Dean Rieck wrote a great post on Six Ways to Get People To Say Yes  over at Copy Blogger
that’s a must read for anyone who’s ever asked "how do I get volunteers?".

It’s about understanding fixed action patterns which are “precise and predictable sequence of behavior” that is set in motion by a trigger. Dean suggests that by using a trigger you can get a customer to say “yes” to a request you make.  He goes on to offer 6 triggers any of which can be applied to the volunteer equation. But my favorite is Commitment and Consistency. The principal here is that humans are essentially driven to maintain consistency in our lives which in turn drives us to remain consistent with commitments. And Dean suggests (and shows) you can build on small commitments. Echos one of the findings of Decision To Volunteer which says members want ad hoc, lower commitment opportunities which lead to greater volunteering.

So read this posting and discover six ways to get yeses from members.

To draw members to chapter events takes equal measures of marketing and event planning, with a double dose of excitement. And, as the economy tightens, chapters have to do this with a careful eye on expenses. Last week, Cynthia D’Amour hosted the conversation over at the Chapter Leaders Playground where we talked about some options. I highlighted a few in my earlier post  – and here are few others.

One way to handle the balancing act is to co-opt exciting events. Basically, you take an event or a venue and let it be the backdrop for a networking or educational program. Here are a couple of examples that have worked for our chapters:

• In Washington DC, there is a popular Embassy Series, an annual program promoting international understanding and global cultural diplomacy through music and the Arts, by extending public access to Washington DC's embassies and ambassadors' residences, highlighting their music and culture and showcasing American and international artists.  We have annually selected one of the events to promote to our members. We set up a pre-event private reception with the Ambassador which usually includes a tour of the Embassy. The cost is generally just the price of the event ticket and all sales are handled through the Embassy Series box office.

• Another chapter hosts “backstage” tours of new venues when they open in town. This is a chapter of special event professionals for whom seeing the newest venue offerings is a real draw, but I’ve seen this work with other groups such as the chapter of facilities managers. Generally the host facility handles much of the cost and the logistics.

• One of my favorite local groups, FacetsWoman, regularly hosts “learning” events such as a cruise on a Skip Jack to learn about Chesapeake Bay, a dinner and tour of the Baltimore Museum of Industry and a hands-on evening at the Baltimore ClayWorks. 

• Tuesday morning series is simple concept that has many variations. For our chapter is consisted of a series of quick conversations (1.25 hrs) on a hot topic repeated in various locations around the region which were hosted by members in conference rooms. They provided the room and the coffee. I’ve seen this work as a Second Friday of the month gathering at a local coffee shop and as a monthly breakfast at a local restaurant. It's not about a large gathering, but an open invitation to meet and chat.

Do you have ideas that are working in your chapters?

Tomorrow, Wednesday, January 14, from 1:00 – 1:50 PM ET, the Chapter Leaders Playground is talking about Hot Ideas for Chapter Meetings for 2009. As I've written before in the blog, I firmly believe 2009 is the "Year of the Chapter" because as budgets get tight members are looking for value closer to home.

That means the challenge rests on us -- association profs and chapter leaders -- to create great programs "at home." For a fast-paced 50-minute webinar, we're going to explore how to do that. I'm on the hot seat to share 8 new meeting formats (speed mentoring anyone?) and we're inviting all  participants of course to chime in with ideas.

If you haven't explored the Chapter Leaders Playground, here's a chance to do that - and for free. Cynthia D'Amour is letting me invite friends for free. But you have to use this link. Here it is again just in case: http://www.chapterleadersplayground.org/event/peggyguests.

Stay tuned for a quick recap (which may not be as good as the real thing!).

Here's a mixture of blog postings that I've recently read which in their own way offer some insight into how to build better chapter and component communities ...

• Lindy Dreyer talks about Simplicity and I wonder if we can we produce a simplicity barameter?
• EMarketer caught my eye with this report You’ve Come a Long Way, Boomers, and You’re Online Now! which is very useful in helping make the case for social media strategy in our associations.
• Maddie Grant challenges us to think about the community manager’s role which she suggests is NOT one of "listening" (which everyone should be doing) but of pulling together all those conversations in a way that makes sense across the organization for strategic and leadership purposes.
• Sonia Simone offers 47 Ways Copyblogger Can Help You Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions. It’s really just a wonderful collection of the blog’s 2008 postings that are worth tagging. We know 2009 will be challenging and here are some suggestions for facing those challenges with a little fun and savvy.
• Andy Steggles takes us on a wild ride through the world of digital ribbons in his piece for Associations Now Keeping Score of Your Online Member Engagement (sorry you'll have to be an ASAE member to read; but leave a comment and I'll fill you in if you aren't a member). Beware this is new thinking and will take effort, but worth every dime.
• Interactive Insights Group serves up the Social Media Case Studies SUPERLIST- 18 Extensive Lists of Organizations Using Social Media. So if you are looking for examples to cite, stories to excite, ideas to build on, here’s the source.