Benefits of Membership for Publishers

Specialized information publishing —-whether it's subscription newsletters, directories, online publications, looseleafs, database services or conferences —-promises entrepreneurial excitement and a profitable business model. Our industry has an outstanding 30-year history of editorial excellence and business success based on the sharing by SIPA members of their winning strategies and tactics. 

 Above all, when you become a SIPA member, you gain access to a treasury of proven techniques for starting and building a successful publishing business. You'll learn about best practices in fulfillment, editorial, marketing, management and content delivery.

No matter where your business is in its life cycle, you'll get answers that match your needs. Our members range from people with a nascent idea they want to "reality check" with experienced publishing hands, to small companies with one or two publications, to firms with hundreds of employees and tens of millions of dollars in annual sales.

As a SIPA member, you're also assured of staying on top of developments in this fast-paced field —-especially today's new, emerging formulas for increasing profits, particularly in online media. Our publications and frequent audio and in-person conferences ensure that you stay on the leading edge of profit-making techniques.

"I got tremendous value from joining SIPA . . . The membership saved me thousands of dollars!"
David J. Gardner, Gardner & Associates, Santa Clara, CA

Your SIPA membership gives you resources you can use immediately to boost sales and profits:

• a subscription to our monthly SIPA Hotline newsletter (available in print and online) and our biweekly SIPAlert e-zine;
• password-protected access to our members-only section of our Website with archives on hundreds of marketing, editorial and management topics.
• a special-offer welcome package that contains the annual SIPA Membership Directory & Buyer's Guide, special reports and more;
• discount registration fees at SIPA conferences and seminars;
• free local chapter membership;
• and more.

Members have a constant flow of information about what's new and what's working in marketing and content from the members-only Hotline.

Additional SIPA member services help you save money and network with like-minded colleagues

• Copyright, FOIA, Prepublication & Marketing Counseling. SIPA members can receive two hours per year of legal counseling at no charge to the member in specified areas of copyright, FOIA, prepublication or marketing law from SIPA First Amendment Counsel, Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz, L.L.P. This alone will save you $840... and that's not including the potential savings from avoiding legal action against you.
  
• Surveys and Studies. The annual study of financial and operating ratios of specialized-information publishers is available, at no charge (an $895 value), to those members who complete the survey questionnaire. SIPA periodically surveys the specialized information publishing industry salaries; and you will be eligible to receive the latest results when you start your membership and participate in the current survey.  Other surveys are available periodically, as well.
  

• 	"I have valued my SIPA membership for years — on both sides of the Atlantic." Lauryn Franzoni, ExecuNet Inc., Norwalk, CT

  Special Interest Groups, which are free to SIPA members, focus on seven areas of publishing: marketing, editorial, sales, small publishers, operations/fulfillment, conferences and large publishers. These groups meet to discuss issues that are of importance to them.
  
• Online Communities, free to SIPA members, are like having consultants on call at all times!  You can post a question to the group and receive advice and answers from other members who have experience in that area.
  
• Content Enforcement Program, SIPA has joined forces with the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) to provide its members with the content enforcement program.  For close to 20 years, SIIA has conducted a very successful corporate anti-piracy program for its software company members.  Now, piracy of published content such as newspaper articles, magazine articles, newsletters, newswire services and financial reports is growing.  While new tools for tracking and combating such piracy are becoming available, the problem is still significant.  Thus, SIIA created this "corporate anti-piracy program" for content companies, modeled after our program for software.  The goal is to pursue and remedy the illegal use of published content - whether in print form or electronically - within corporations.  (A separate SIIA program addresses public Internet infringement such as pirate websites and auctions).

The Specialized Information Publishers Foundation, administered by SIPA, sponsors the annual Editorial & Marketing Awards competition. It's a great way to demonstrate your editorial prowess externally to your customers and internally to your staff.

 

Personal assistance from the SIPA staff. Staffers are available to provide expert advice or steer you to other colleagues or industry experts who can help you. You also gain access to files of reports and forms that have proven invaluable to publishers. For example, we can supply you with sample work-for-hire editorial contracts, information on telemarketing practices and how-to guidelines for forced free trials.  When members are considering buying or selling newsletters, SIPA also works as a third party to determine any market overlap by manually comparing subscriber lists (another free service). 

Affordable dues for companies of any size

SIPA uses a dues schedule that is based on gross company revenue.

Seize the moment, take control of your future: Join us today

SIPA has been helping specialized-information publishers become more successful for more than 30 years now. Join today and let us help you! We look forward to welcoming you as a member of SIPA.

For more information on SIPA and the benefits of membership, please contact Kati Fritz at (703)992-9339 or kfritz@sipaonline.com