Note: If you are already an ASJA member, please take a minute to email a link to this post to any writer friends you know that may be interested in joining ASJA either as an Associate Member or a Professional Member. If they apply by November 30 and put your name on the application, you will be entered in the Fall Membership Drive raffle (for one of these great prizes) and referring members will also receive 25 percent off next year’s membership dues. You are helping your writer friends grow their career and helping yourself save money at the same time. Please also feel free to share your ASJA experiences in the comments to help other writers make the best decision for their businesses.

I have easily earned over $100,000 through my ASJA membership over my five years of membership.

Yes, you read that right. And in exchange, I’ve paid a little over $1,000 in dues during that same time period. I’m not a math person, but I’d say that’s a pretty good investment. And it’s impossible to quantify the many wonderful freelancer friends I’ve made through ASJA. I personally think that joining ASJA has been one of the single smartest things I’ve ever done for my career.

I’ve written about ASJA before on this blog, but I wanted to share about the Fall Membership Drive promotion (which can save you $50) as well as a new Associate Membership level that allows more writers to join ASJA. I’m not writing this because I get any personal benefit from you joining ASJA. But because I see firsthand every day how ASJA members who use actually the resources and programs benefit from it. Check out our Member Success Stories to see all of the different ways our members have benefited from ASJA resources and connections.

New Associate Level Membership

The most exciting news is that ASJA recently launched an Associate level membership, which means that writers can join at this level using regional clip or one published book. Clips written while on staff can be used to apply. Click here to learn more about eligibility requirements for Associate and Professional memberships.

Associate Members have access to the majority of ASJA programs, except client-facing programs such as Client Connections and Virtual Client Connections. However, Associate members receive at least six months of personal mentoring with a Professional ASJA member to help grow their career. This benefit alone is worth the membership dues compared to the cost of professional coaching.

Why Join ASJA?

But there are many other benefits for both Associate and Professional members, including Shop Talks on topics of interest to freelancers, access to listen to Virtual Pitch Slams (where professional members pitch top editors, such as Costco Connection, Discover and NextAvenue.org), and participation in special interest groups to find your tribe, six issues each year of the high quality ASJA Magazine and discounts on magazine, travel and more.

And if you have national level clips, you can join as a Professional member, which means you can meet with editors face-to-face at conferences through our amazing Client Connections program run by the amazing Wendy Helfenbaum as well as over Skype or phone throughout the year during Virtual Client Connections events. I personally had one Client Connections meeting that has earned me well over $50,000 in work over the past two years. You can also pitch editors during our Virtual Pitch Slam events as well as get additional job leads through our members only job board, Freelance Writer Search.

Check out the complete list of ASJA membership benefits here.

How to Save $50 during the Fall Membership Drive

Right now is a fantastic time to apply for ASJA. If you apply by November 30 and join ASJA by December 31, ASJA will waive the $50 initiation fee that you pay when you join. Note that you will still need to pay the $25 application fee when you apply. The next batch of applications will be going to the membership committee on November 5. If you apply now and join as soon as you get your acceptance letter, you will also get to use ASJA resources for the rest of 2017 dues free.

If I had never joined ASJA, my entire freelance career would look different. I would not have many of my current clients. I also probably would not have the skills and knowledge that I’ve used to grow my business to this point. Over the years, I have picked up so many tidbits at conference sessions, SIGs (special interest groups) and on the forum that have made a huge difference in my career. Even more importantly, I would not have most of my freelance friends that encourage me, celebrate my successes and listen to me vent on the bad days.

Please post any questions in the comments. I’d love comments from other ASJA members who can share their experiences to help other writers learn more about the organization.