Today’s guest is Christina Lewellen, MBA, CAE, who has been the executive director of the Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools (ATLIS) since 2019. Christina, who lives in Virginia, is a seasoned association executive who brings a data-driven framework to business planning and strategy. She received an MBA from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a Certified Association Executive designation from the American Society of Association Executives.

ATLIS’ magazine, Access Points, won awards from AM&P Network and ASAE after Christina and her team reimagined the magazine. It went from what was, frankly, more of a stuffy academic journal, into a glossy, highly readable, redesigned magazine — but with an intention to use it as their association’s No. 1 marketing tool. The magazine is sent to both members and anyone else who wants it, as a vehicle to recruit new members to the young association.

In this episode, we talk about: 

• How Christina and her team re-envisioned ATLIS’s print magazine, Access Points, to use it as their No. 1 marketing vehicle, starting in 2021. 
• Why they now send the magazine for free to anyone: members, non-members, member prospects. 
• How they worked with an outside partner to redesign and reimagine the magazine. 
• How having a marketing goal and non-member readers affects the content. 
• The magazine is an investment, not a money maker directly, but the return on investment is an increase in membership and participating in ATLIS events. 
• As a small staff, how Christina considers what projects to outsource. 
• What a strong relationship with an outside partner looks like. 
• Advice for associations who might want to consider this approach with their publication. 
• Why long-form and deep dives in magazines are still important — not everything can be short blurbs and soundbites, especially for our specialized audiences. 
• Why flipbooks aren’t the answer for digital magazines. 
• Access Point’s four “buckets,” which establish the content, align with the association’s existing overall four areas of content. 

Resources:

• Christina on LinkedIn
• ATLIS website
• Christina on Twitter

Check out Melanie’s other podcast for freelancers, consultants and solo business owners: Deliberate Freelancer (free on any podcast app).