(+) Why Isn't Your Society Accepting Credit Card Payments?

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.

Most genealogy societies now have web sites to publicize their activities and to attract new members. However, I am still amazed at how many of those sites have an online application for membership that states something similar to the following:

"To join the society, please print the following application on your printer, fill it out, put it into an envelope, enclose a check, and mail it to the society."

That is so 1990s!

I suspect that many would-be members stop when they see such requirements and then move on to something else. They don't join simply because it isn't convenient to do so.

The problem is even worse when international boundaries are involved. Are you in the United States but want to join a society in Canada or England or Germany or elsewhere? If so, you cannot simply send a check. You have to obtain a money order in Canadian dollars or British pounds or in Euros and mail it to the society. Such foreign money orders are expensive. The fees for foreign money orders are often higher than the fee for joining the society!

Is your society losing new members as a result? Luckily, in this day and age there is a simple solution: your society can easily accept credit card payments.

The remainder of this article is for Plus Edition subscribers only. SUBSCRIBE NOW to read this article.

If you have a Plus Edition user ID and password, you can read the full article right now at no additional charge in this web site's Plus Edition at http://eogn.com/wp/?p=23817. This article will remain online for several weeks.

If you do not remember your Plus Edition user ID or password, you can retrieve them at http://www.eogn.com/wp/ and click on "Forgot password?"

If you decide to subscribe to the Plus Edition right now, you will be able to immediately read this article online. What sort of articles can you read in the Plus Edition? Click here to find out.

For more information about subscribing to the Plus Edition of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, visit http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/plusedition.html.