Let's start with a postulate: The American Philatelic Society is worth saving, and membership in the APS is worth having and worth the $45 or so that it costs. The question then is how to save the society, because certainly the membership losses, the demographic makeup of the society, and the declining revenues don't bode well for APS long-term viability.
The APS membership has slipped to about 33,000 from a high of over 60,000 members. There are plenty of reasons for this, but the Internet, the economy, and the decline in stamp collecting interest are among the most obvious. Membership levels are now as low as they can be for the Society to offer the level of service it is now offering. If membership continues to decrease, cuts in service will be required, making membership even less appealing. You will see a death spiral. Once someone joins the APS, they are usually very loyal members, with death or illness by far the most likely reason for membership termination. So the goal is to attract new members in larger quantities because our retention rates are so good.
The APS already has a program where they pay for new member referrals (this is a credit for APS dues or services). Many dealers with large email customer lists would be pleased to send an APS email to their client list in the hopes that some of their customers would join (I know we would be very happy to send such an email to our thousands of customers. We have never been approached, and our initiating these conversations have always been met with a "we'll get back to you"). There are many eBay and Stampwants sellers with tens of thousands of customers. One dealer I know of has had over 100,000 different online stamp purchasers over the last ten years. I bet you he would send a well designed APS solicitation to his customers. Perhaps the APS can offer an introductory first year's membership for a reduced price like publishers do with magazine subscriptions. The society could have new members at very little marketing cost. The point is that what the APS has done in the past is not working. We need to try new things