"Membership has its rewards"--for publishers.

M. Lee Smith Publishers LLC has found a creative way to generate more cash from subscribers to its Employment Law Letter, which is published in each of the 50 states with different law firms in each state providing the editorial content.

Subscribers are offered the opportunity to upgrade their subscriptions to "full membership" in a particular state's "Employment Law Center."

Renewal rates are commonly higher for "membership programs" than for basic subscription programs. Membership instills a loyalty, comparable to frequent flier or frequent buyer programs.

The primary benefit of the Law Center is accessibility to an electronic database, which subscribers can use to find the actual text of federal and state employment laws and regulations.

Publisher M. Lee Smith works with a Denver-based firm which compiles original source employment material, all federal and state statutes, and all regulatory court decisions and then makes this information available to Smith's subscribers.

"Members" also have access to the editorial content of the Employment Law Letters published in the other 49 states. There are a number of other membership benefits, including a quarterly "Special Report" and a monthly 2-page summary of that state's employment law developments and trends.

An introductory subscription to the Employment Law Letter for a state is $117. But if subscribers pay $287, they receive "full membership." The upgrade means an additional revenue of $170 from each subscriber in the first year. Renewal price for the newsletter is $147 and for the Law Center membership, $347.

Smith has 40,000 subscribers to the 50 state newsletters and nearly 13,000 have opted for the Law Center membership.

Meanwhile, in the past four months Smith has launched (or begun "partnering" in publishing) Drug-Free Workplace, Hospitality Workforce Trends, Benefits and Compensation Law Alert, and Alabama Law Weekly.