Association Event Marketing Accelerator

Community Spark:
Community Management Intensive for Associations

Association networking events, webinars and training, mentoring and awards programs are pivotal to fostering ongoing  member connections and enhancing your organisation’s value proposition.

Join our Association Event Marketing Accelerator, where event and marketing experts will guide you through the process of optimising your event marketing strategy. Gain the tools, insights, and actionable strategies needed to effectively promote your events, maintain a dynamic event calendar, and ensure measurable results for your organisation.

Turn Your Events Calendar into a Dynamic Engagement Tool!


Membership Marketing School is thrilled to bring you the Association Event Marketing Accelerator —a comprehensive four-week program designed to help you transform your events calendar into a powerful engagement tool. Whether you’re promoting regular networking events, training programs, mentoring sessions or awards nights, this program equips you with proven strategies to make every event a success.

Led by industry experts Billie Cox, GM, Business Development/Operations at AUSactive and Olena Lima CAE, Founder & Principal Consultant of MemberBoat, this course provides actionable insights, templates, and best practices tailored specifically for associations. 

What's Included?

Throughout this four-week program, you’ll get access to: 


  • Expert-Led Webinar and Workshops: Dive into event marketing essentials with guidance from event and marketing experts who understand the association sector. Learn how to craft compelling campaigns, maximise attendance, and ensure your events support your organisation’s goals. 
  • Real Case Studies: Discover real-life examples from associations that have successfully transformed their event marketing. These case studies offer practical insights and strategies that you can apply directly to your own events. 
  • Templates: Gain access to a collection of professionally crafted templates, from promotional calendars, project managent templates to social media posts, helping you streamline your promotional efforts and drive engagement. 
  • Engaged Community Forum: Join a private forum where you can share your experiences, ask questions, and collaborate with other association professionals focused on elevating their event marketing. Gain insights and build connections with peers facing similar challenges.

Why Join?

Events are a cornerstone of member engagement for associations, offering invaluable opportunities to connect, inspire, and grow your community. But as member expectations evolve, creating impactful, memorable events requires more than just planning—it demands a targeted, strategic approach to marketing.

Build a Winning Event Marketing Strategy

This program takes a collaborative approach to solving your event marketing challenges. Together, we’ll explore creative ways to maximise your event calendar with training programs, networking events and other programs and initiatives, that keep members engaged and returning.

Optimise Your Marketing Channels

In today’s digital world, successful event marketing requires leveraging multiple channels. You’ll gain insights into email marketing, social media, and content strategies that help you reach members where they are and maximise your event’s visibility.

Balancing On-Demand and Live Programs

On-demand courses promise flexibility and convenience, but live events bring a unique opportunity for connection and interaction. We’ll help you identify when on-demand works best, how to pair it with live sessions for greater impact, and ways to keep participants accountable and engaged. 

Real Solutions to Event Marketing Challenges

Work as a group to tackle the practical challenges you face: planning strategic calendars, promoting smaller events effectively, and keeping audiences engaged year-round. Gain actionable insights and leave with a renewed strategy for your association's events.

Course Outline

Week 1: Free Intro Webinar – Event Marketing Essentials

45-minute webinar
Get started with the fundamentals of event marketing tailored specifically for associations. Learn the basics of building an event campaign that resonates with your members and aligns with your organisation’s goals.

  • Thursday, 3 April, 12:00 pm AEDT

Week 3: Event Marketing Templates

Gain access to a collection of professionally crafted templates, from promotional calendars, project managent templates to social media posts, helping you streamline your promotional efforts and drive engagement. 

Week 2: In-Depth Workshop  – Building Your Marketing Toolkit

 2-hour workshop
This comprehensive workshop dives into the core of event marketing, focusing on practical strategies to transform your event calendar into a powerful engagement tool. Together, we’ll explore how to create and maintain a dynamic calendar of events, balance live and on-demand formats, and maximise the impact of your marketing efforts. Through guided discussions and collaborative group exercises, you’ll gain actionable insights and hands-on experience to elevate your event marketing strategy and ensure success.

  • Tuesday, 15 April 12:00 pm AEST

Week 4: Q&A – Community Forum and Collaboration

An open forum where you can share insights, ask questions, and gain feedback from both instructors and fellow participants. This session allows you to solidify your understanding and learn from others in a collaborative environment. 

  • Tuesday, 29 April, 11:00 am AEST

Program Outline

This intensive four-week program focuses on practical, actionable tools to help you get the most out of your member outreach:

Week 1: Community Management 101

45 minutes – Free for everyone
Start with the foundations of effective community management tailored specifically for associations. This session will introduce you to the core concepts and outline what successful community management looks like in today’s landscape.

  • Wednesday, 5 March, 12:00 pm AEDT

Week 2: Workshop & Templates – Building the Basics

1.5 hours interactive workshop and access to tools & templates
Dive deep into hands-on strategies for managing a community, complete with ready-to-use templates that make the process efficient and impactful. This practical workshop will equip you with everything you need to get started.

  • Tuesday, 11 March 12:00 pm AEDT

Week 3: Industry Case Studies – Inspiration from the Field

1-hour webinar with industry speakers
Hear directly from associations that are leading the way in community engagement. Learn from their successes, challenges, and innovations as they share firsthand insights in this panel discussion.  

  • Thursday, 20 March, 11:00 am AEDT

Week 4: Q&A Session

An open forum where participants can exchange insights, ask questions, and gain guidance from both instructors and peers. This collaborative session lets you address any lingering questions and learn from others’ experiences.

  • Tuesday, 25 March, Time: TBA

Who Should Join?

This program is ideal for:

  • Event Managers: Those looking to improve their marketing skills to drive higher attendance, increase engagement, and make events memorable and impactful. 
  • Marketing Professionals: Individuals responsible for promoting association events who want to sharpen their event marketing expertise and explore new strategies for engagement. 
  • Membership Managers: Professionals focused on member retention who want to leverage events as a tool to deepen relationships and boost loyalty. 
  • Anyone Working with Member-Based Organisations: Whether you’re running large conferences, small meetups, or virtual sessions, this program provides the tools you need to market events effectively, engage members, and elevate your organisation’s event strategy.

Cost

COMPLIMENTARY 

FREE

  • Free pass to the Introductory Webinar

general admission (INCL. GST)

$165

  • Introductory Webinar
  • Workshops & Templates
  • Industry Case Studies Webinar
  • Q&A Session

Note, we’re offering two complimentary tickets for every Membership Marketing School workshop for staff members of small associations and association emerging leaders. Click here for more information.

Make every event count—sign up now!

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Fun Fact!

Did you know that the powerhouse team of Billie and Olena not only brings top-notch expertise, but they also won gold working together? Back in October 2020, this dynamic duo scooped the Best Event Training and Education Award at the Australian Event Awards for their ground-breaking work with the Australian Marketing Institute. Now, they can’t wait to team up again, bringing all that energy, innovation, and award-winning experience to deliver this course just for you! 

Meet Your Instructors

Olena Lima
Founder & Principal Consultant, MemberBoat

Olena Lima CAE is the driving force behind the digital marketing agency MemberBoat and the online educational platform Membership Marketing School, both dedicated to help professional associations, industry bodies, and other membership organisations embrace emerging digital marketing tools.  

Olena holds a master’s degree in marketing from UNSW and the CAE (Certified Association Executive) credential – a mark of excellence in the association management profession.  

With a background in strategic marketing, passion for innovation and technology, and a deep commitment to raising industry standards, Olena shares her knowledge with associations professionals through workshops, speaking at conferences and industry events.

Billie Cox 
GM, Business Development/Operations at AUSactive

Billie Cox is a highly accomplished event expert and trainer with over two decades of experience in the events industry. Having executed more than 2,000 events across corporate, association, and education sectors, Billie’s expertise encompasses conferences, gala dinners, live performances, exhibitions, and virtual events.

As the General Manager of AUSactive, Billie transformed the organisation’s event landscape by curating national programs that aligned with industry needs and member value. She successfully grew the AUSactive webinar series to attract between 200 and 700 attendees per session and elevated the AUSactive Awards, increasing attendance from 180 to over 450 attendees in just two years.

In addition to her industry achievements, Billie has lectured extensively in event management at the College of Event Management, TAFE NSW, ICMS, and Meetings and Events Australia. She has also delivered lectures on event sponsorship and marketing at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), sharing her deep expertise and passion for educating the next generation of event professionals.

What MMS Participants Say

What's included? 

Each week, you'll receive a detailed list of tasks to guide you through the clean-up process. These tasks are designed to be manageable and impactful, helping you make significant progress without feeling overwhelmed.

WEEK 1: TAKE CONTROL

Your own platforms

During the first week we'll review the platforms and content you own and can control. We'll be checking all your assets, including your website, automated emails, and other software elements that are easy to miss.

week 2: social check-in

Check your social media presence

During the second week of the Challenge, we'll review your social media platforms and unveil how you can easily optimise your digital presence and improve your social media marketing.

WEEK 3: Don't hide, seek attention!

Make sure you're easy to find

Our presence is not limited by the media we own – we often send information to our partners to expand our presence. During this week, we'll check your partner links, learn about how third-party tools (e.g. Google My Business) can broaden your presence, and share tips on improving your search results.

WEEK 4: What's out of your control

The voice of your audience

  Your digital presence is also defined by things totally out of your control – like reviews or comments on social media. This week we'll learn about the tools and techniques for improving how you listen and respond to what people say about your association.

But wait! There's more!

Tune your marketing automation
Optimise your social profiles

Run a website health check

Learn some social listening tools
Improve your search results

 Optimise your social marketing