Let’s start with a postulate: The American Philatelic Society is worth saving and membership in the APS is worth having and worth the $45 or so that it costs. The question then is how to save the society because certainly the membership losses, the demographic makeup of the society, and the declining revenues don’t bode well for APS long term viability. Over the next few weeks, in a series of posts, I’ll discuss some ideas for growing the society and insuring its economic viability.
The APS membership has slipped to about 32000 from a high of over 60000. There are plenty of reasons for this-the Internet, the economy, the decline in stamp collecting interest and more. Membership levels are now as low as they can be for the Society to offer the level of service it is now offering. If membership continues to decrease, cuts in service will be required, making membership even less appealing. You will see a death spiral. Once someone joins the APS they are usually very loyal members, with death or illness by far the most likely reason for membership termination. So the goal is to attract new members in larger quantities because our retention rates are so good. The APS has a program where they pay for new member referrals. Many dealers with large email customer lists would be pleased to send an APS email to their client list in the hopes that some of their customers would join. There are many EBAY and Stampwants sellers with tens of thousands of customers. One dealer I know of has had over 100000 different online stamp purchasers over the last ten years. I bet you he would send a well designed APS solicitation to his customers. Perhaps the APS can offer an introductory first year’s membership for a reduced price like publishers do with magazine subscriptions. The society could have new members at very little marketing cost. The point is that what the APS has done in the past is not working. We need to try new things- new marketing of the society, new services and new pricing.