Number of Association Members

 ~ 4,500

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Industry

Financial services

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Challenge

NAPFA’s member magazine played an important role in keeping its community informed and connected, but the editorial process needed more structure and consistency. With multiple contributors, internal stakeholders, and a third-party publisher involved, content planning and coordination had become increasingly complex.

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NAPFA also wanted to restructure the magazine to bring in more authors, including contributors from within the membership and across various groups and committees.

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Solution

Out & About Communications stepped in as NAPFA’s editorial partner in January 2024. Working as an extension of the internal team, we took ownership of the end-to-end editorial process while respecting the foundation and relationships already in place.

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Our approach focuses on both operations and content. We’ve strengthened the editorial infrastructure behind the magazine while refining how issues are curated and planned. This creates space for more contributors, more perspectives, and more timely and relevant stories, all while giving NAPFA and its publishing partner clearer visibility into what’s coming next.

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Deliverables

• Editorial Oversight and Issue Management: Out & About serves as the editorial hub for the magazine, overseeing article curation, coordinating with authors, editing content, managing schedules, and ensuring each issue comes together on time. We also act as the primary liaison between NAPFA, contributors, and the publisher to keep the process running smoothly from start to finish.
• Content Restructuring and Voice Expansion: We reworked the editorial approach to bring in more authors from both within the NAPFA membership and outside the organization. This includes highlighting voices from various NAPFA groups and committees to better showcase the work being done across the association and create a more inclusive and representative publication.
• Editorial Calendar and Cross-Team Transparency: We created a shared editorial calendar that provides visibility for NAPFA, Out & About, and the publisher. This planning tool clarifies responsibilities, improves lead time for contributors, and makes it easier for everyone involved to understand priorities and timelines without disrupting existing workflows.

Results

The impact of a stronger editorial foundation showed up in reader engagement. Year-over-year, the magazine achieved an 11% increase in open rates and a 21% increase in click-through rates, indicating members are opening it more often and engaging more deeply with the content.

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Beyond the metrics, the magazine has evolved into a more dynamic and representative platform for the NAPFA community. It now highlights a wider range of perspectives, delivers timely and relevant content, and reinforces the value of membership through a consistently high-quality editorial experience.