Why Your Association’s Membership Marketing Needs to Shift in November and December

By: Lauren Bavis Weber, 360 Live Media Marketing Manager

When it comes to membership growth, timing matters. Our analysis of Google search trends from 2020–2025 shows that searches for the word “association” dip significantly in November and December, averaging 15–20% lower than the rest of the year, and hitting their lowest point in December.

Your prospective members aren’t looking for you at the end of the year. So, if you want to keep your membership pipeline strong, you can’t sit back and wait for them to find you. You need to go to them.

Why Searches Drop in Late Fall

Several factors contribute to this seasonal lull:

• End-of-year priorities: People focus on budget planning, conferences, holidays, and wrapping up the fiscal year. Searching for associations simply isn’t top of mind.

• Deferred decisions: To that end, professional development is often on new year’s resolution lists, making November and December the perfect time to plant a seed in prospective members’ minds.

• Competing noise: The digital landscape is saturated with holiday promotions and year-end campaigns, making it harder for association-related content to cut through.

If your marketing relies heavily on search discovery during these months, you’ll miss opportunities to nurture and capture future members.

Membership Marketing Strategies That Work in November & December

So, how do you stay in front of your audience when they’re not actively searching? Here are three approaches:

1. Leverage Seasonal Messaging

Tie your marketing to the season. Position membership as the perfect way to “invest in yourself before the new year,” or create year-end bundles (e.g., “Join now and get access to our January leadership summit free”). This makes the decision feel timely and urgent.

2. Activate Your Current Members

Encourage referrals by giving your members easy ways to share your association. A “Give the Gift of Membership” program or a referral reward that launches in December can expand your reach beyond what search alone could deliver.

3. Content Distribution (Not Just Creation)

Your blog posts, research, and thought leadership won’t do much on their own if prospects aren’t searching for them. In November and December, your focus should be on pushing content in front of prospects through targeted email campaigns, sponsored LinkedIn content, retargeting ads, and partnerships with allied organizations.

Quick Recap

It’s clear that your prospects aren’t searching for your association in November and December. So, you need a stand-out strategy that will make them look.

By showing up consistently through outreach, smart seasonal campaigns, and referral activations, you build awareness and trust. When the search spikes again in the new year (with a 28.4% increase in average interest in January compared to December average), your association will be top of mind and ready to convert interest into memberships.

Association executives who embrace this proactive approach will turn what looks like a slow season into a growth opportunity. If your team needs support in shifting from passive, search-driven tactics to active member engagement strategies, 360 Live Media is here to help you stay ahead of the curve.

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