Davide Savenije is the editor-in-chief at Industry Dive and the president of ASBPE’s board of directors. “Ask ASBPE” is an advice column where Davide — and a rotating cast of subject matter experts — answer the most pressing questions from the B2B publishing community. You can ask ASBPE your question through our contact form.
After nine years of providing free membership to our community of B2B media professionals, the American Society of Business Publication Editors reinstated dues for members in January 2024.
Candidly, this was a tough decision for us to make. While we want ASBPE membership to be as accessible to the community as possible, we must first ensure the organization is financially healthy and sustainably able to operate.
Since 1964, ASBPE has been exclusively dedicated to representing the needs of B2B media professionals. With membership dues, we will be able to continue investing in and building upon the valuable programming you’ve come to expect from us — our annual conference and networking events, our annual Azbee Awards and banquets, our webinars and educational resources, and our member discounts that help offset the cost of membership.
The good news is, we ignored years of inflation to bring back membership dues at — or even below — the cost of an ASBPE membership in 2005.
The even better news is, ASBPE members receive valuable discounts for our conferences, the Azbee Awards of Excellence competition, local chapter networking events, and other special opportunities. If you attend the national conference or submit four or more entries to the Azbee Awards, your member discounts fully cover — or are greater than — the cost of your membership.
More than anything, ASBPE is the community of people that it serves – a community of B2B editors, writers, designers, managers, freelancers, and more that share an indelible passion for our craft and the impact it can make on people and industries.
Everything we do is for the members — by the members. All the programming that you see? It’s put on by people just like yourself who are taking time out of their busy work lives to give back and try to help others in our community.
We remain exclusively dedicated to representing B2B media professionals — an important mission that we plan to continue to build on in the months and years to come with your support.
What we’re doing with dues and what’s coming soon for ASBPE members this fall
When I took on the mantle of president three months ago, I was excited to build on the progress that ASBPE has been making in serving the community.
Since we celebrated National Azbee Award winners at our national conference in May, we have:
- Launched Ask ASBPE, a new column from me and a rotating cast of experts that answer your biggest questions about B2B media, including what journalists can do that some AI tool can’t and how top B2B media professionals manage their time
- Seen record attendance at our webinars on Google’s AI changes, Generative AI success stories, and the importance of human voice in the age of AI gobbledygook
- Rolled out small networking groups called ASBPE Cohorts that are designed to give you a safe space for unfiltered advice from your peers – we just kicked off in August and you can still sign up here!
- We’ve launched our Solopreneurs webinar series for freelance writers, where we explore the business of contract journalism with successful freelancers who do it for a living everyday. Members can check out the recordings of our first two webinars on what you need to consider to build a career as a freelancer and how to make the transition into freelancing full-time, from creating a business plan to setting rates and building a client base.
This fall, our team of volunteers is excited to roll out more initiatives for the community:
- We’ll continue to host our Solopreneurs webinar series for freelance writers, with sessions exploring building your business presence, finding contract jobs, contracts, negotiating rates, financial planning and more.
- We have a number of other exciting webinars planned as well. On September 26, we’re hosting an insightful webinar on how to build your brand as a B2B journalist, featuring three top trade journalists discussing their approaches to building their reputation and reach. On October 29, we will host a webinar on how editorial teams can build a robust talent pipeline.
- We just relaunched our LinkedIn Discussion Group for B2B media professionals to facilitate discussion of the hottest issues and get advice from our peers.
- We’re opening up Azbee Award submissions for 2025 on November 1 – stay tuned for some exciting new categories and updates to our annual competition!
- We’re actively working behind the scenes to explore new programs we can offer, including digital credentials for B2B skills and a mentorship program.
We hope you can support our efforts and renew your membership with us.
Whether you’re volunteering with us, attending our webinars, or submitting for the Azbee Azbees, we’re excited to have you as part of our community.
If you’re interested in volunteering with ASBPE, you can earn a free membership if you give back at least 12 hours per year (or one hour per month). Please reach out to us if you have any questions or would like to volunteer. Thank you for all your support.