Keep Evolving, or to put it bluntly, Change or Die

In my second week on the job here at the AADA I was privileged to attend the Dental Editors University from the American Association of Dental Editors. Over a day and a half I got a crash course in dental publications. Talk about jumping right in!

It actually worked out to be perfect timing, I got all kinds of new ideas and tips from the seasoned pros. I felt ready to really begin my position here as Communications Coordinator.

A theme throughout the conference became evident right away. Editors need to continue (or start) to evolve and grow their publications. A large percentage of dental professionals still prefer to receive news via paper copy, but this is changing. It's up to us as communicators to continue producing quality print publications while we develop new digital versions and options for the future. It is also imperative that we offer publications that are a real value to our members.

A few tips and ideas for the future

• Offer a photo contest
• Have a member spotlight section
• Survey members to find out what they want to read about
• Request member submissions
• Offer different niche publications

There is so much more, I could go on for pages, but facilitator Mary Byers said something very important as we closed out the second day. She proposed that we take an idea or maybe two, and really focus on them. It's impossible to try everything at once, so I decided to really focus on two things.

1. Focus your communications so that they support what your organization is about
2. Find out what your readers (thats you!) want to read

Dr. Jeffrey Galler, Emily Vagts, and Dr. Donald Hills

I would love some feedback! Please post comments, mention this blog on facebook, or send me an email What do you want to read about or see in our future publications?

This weekend I am attending the ADA's annual conference on Membership Recruitment and Retention, I hope you all look forward to reading about that next week.