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The Rule of Seven: A Strategic Principle for Predictable Association Growth

  • Writer: The Ways and Means
    The Ways and Means
  • Nov 25
  • 3 min read

Updated: Dec 2

young executive with computer and smart phone

The Association Executive's Imperative: Budgeting for Attention, Not Just Exposure


The marketing Rule of Seven, which maintains that a potential member needs to encounter a marketing message at least seven times before they are likely to take action, was first identified by the American movie industry in the 1930s. This historical principle is not outdated; if anything, the Rule of Seven has become even more relevant today.


The 'Rule of Seven' strategy mandates a multi-channel approach—a core component of moving beyond the stressful, disorganized communication methods often seen across the sector. By documenting your strategic plan and establishing clear goals, you avoid the 'juggling act' mindset that paralyzes growth. CSAE: Is Marketing for Associations Just a Juggling Act?


For associations, this principle applies not only to membership recruitment but also to any strategic objective: recruiting employees, raising awareness, changing perceptions, building brand, or selling courses.


The challenge is that in the 21st century, every message is competing fiercely for limited attention spans across multiple devices. Your mandate is to budget not just for exposure, but for the predictable attainment of focused attention required for action.


Strategy: The Multi-Faceted, Multi-Platform Approach to Association Growth


The Rule of Seven does not mean repeating the same ad seven times on a single platform.

That leads to ad blindness; the audience quickly stops seeing the ad. Instead, you must ensure your audience see your message expressed in multiple ways across multiple platforms.


This requires a nuanced, multi-faceted approach to reach and engage potential members. The core principle is leveraging platforms based on search intent versus demographics:


  • LinkedIn: Key Strategic Role: Reaching specific professional roles and industries for membership drives. Target and Function: Offers precision targeting by job title, industry, and seniority.


  • Google Search: Key Strategic Role: Catching prospects when they’re most likely to act. Target and Function: Responds directly to stated needs by bidding on keywords based on search intent.


  • Google Display: Key Strategic Role: Reminding prospects who have visited your site (Remarketing). Target and Function: Useful for event-based marketing and increasing brand awareness across the web.


  • YouTube: Key Strategic Role: Optimal platform for video advertising and in-depth storytelling. Target and Function: The second-largest search engine globally; allows targeting by interests, habits, and viewing patterns.


  • Facebook / Instagram / TikTok: Key Strategic Role: Essential for community building, promoting events, and engaging younger audiences (Gen Z). Target and Function: Instagram and TikTok are critical for visual storytelling and achieving viral reach with short, authentic content.


The Rule of Seven Guide: A Framework for Accountability


For your association to achieve the desired growth, ensure your marketing strategy hits all the necessary touchpoints and maximizes investment, your team must use a disciplined framework that moves beyond simply creating ads. The full, detailed checklist is available for download here:



This guide outlines three critical areas the checklist forces clarity in:


  • Define Your Target Audience: You must clearly define who you are trying to reach, what their specific wants and needs are, and who they trust for recommendations.


  • Identify Your Core Message: Define the primary benefit of joining and the unique value you offer. This aligns directly with the THINK, FEEL, DO methodology used across your strategic planning: When they see your materials, what do you want your audience to THINK, FEEL, and DO?


  • Cross-Channel Execution: Use the guide to map your message across diverse channels ranging from Google Search Ads and LinkedIn to Public Relations and Word of Mouth.


Conclusion: Mitigating Risk Through Consistency


For association executives, investing in a multi-channel strategy based on the Rule of Seven is a core principle of risk mitigation. It recognizes that a single message will fail and ensures your valuable communication cuts through the barrage of information competing for attention.


By adopting a disciplined approach to message frequency and platform diversity, you move toward a highly predictable and successful outcome for membership recruitment and all other strategic goals.


The team at The Ways and Means Marketing Inc. developed this resource to help associations build effective, multi-touch strategies.


Download the Rule of Seven Guide and Checklist Now: Gain the strategic framework to optimize your multi-channel marketing efforts.


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