The association marketplace has caught my attention as a promising avenue for eLearning services. The market is as large and diverse as it can get— an association exists for almost all types of interests and businesses from the American Bar Association to the Knitting Guild Association. There are associations for associations, with ASAE being the most well-known, and there are associations for companies providing management services for associations (AMC Institute). No matter how you try to break down the association market, whether by size, staff, industry, trade or professional, the sheer size and variation of the market presents challenges much like a Rubik’s Cube.
Fortunately, expert guidance to help navigate this endeavor is available. Professional consultant Jeff Cobb has positioned himself as an expert on eLearning and associations. His current research report on the association eLearning space is a bargain at $200. His Blog is also quite valuable. Cobb did an excellent job on his three-part series on “Marketing Your Blog.” This past week, he posted on two Web 2.0 publishing sites worth reading: Scribd and MindBites. These sites present opportunities for budding entrepreneurs to publish their own content as a book or as a video eLearning module. The websites also provide existing businesses with a delivery platform (much like YouTube) that exposes people to their expert content and brand.