Do you know what people in your audience actually want from your membership?
When planning your membership site, it’s easy to fall into the trap of building something that we think would be good, rather than something that’s based on research into what your audience really want (and need).
In doing so, you risk spending hours creating content and investing in features, only to be left scratching your head when people simply don’t engage in the way you hope they will.
Whether it’s your membership offering; your blog, podcast or video channel; or even just the updates you post on social media – discovering what people actually want and need is critical to connecting with your audience and driving them to action.
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Your membership might be the best thing since sliced bread, but if you aren’t marketing it correctly, you aren’t going to be getting the sales you deserve.
There are some simple steps you can take to get the most out of marketing, reach more people, and turn those on-the-fencers into fully-fledged members.
Here are 9 simple membership marketing tactics that’ll help you get ahead…
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So, 2019 is done and dusted. Hopefully it was a successful one for you and your membership.
It was certainly a big one for us, with more highlights than you can shake a stick at – many of which you’ve heard us ‘document’ right here on The Membership Guys Podcast.
We’re wrapping up the year with what has become a bit of a tradition here at The Membership Guys – our end of year recap show where we look back at the top 10 most popular episodes of the podcast throughout the past 12 months.
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While every membership is unique, we all have our own idea of who our ‘perfect member’ is.
However the reality is that not everyone will fit into that one perfect bucket.
Everyone is different. Well… kind of…
The longer you run your membership, the more you’ll find that there are essentially seven main types of members out there…
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Not sure whether you should charge a joining fee for your membership?
A “joining fee” is a one-time extra charge that new members pay on top of their first subscription payment.
As a membership owner, this means extra cash in your pocket.
Surely that’s a good thing, right? Well, not quite…
Personally, I’m not a huge fan of joining fees.
That’s not to say that they’re wrong or you shouldn’t have one.
I’m just saying that they aren’t for me and I’m going to tell you why in this post, along with a few situations when a joining fee may be necessary.
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Are you experiencing a downturn in your membership?
A downturn could be when you see a decrease in sales, an increase in cancellations, or a general ‘slowdown’ of your overall growth rate.
When this happens it can be incredibly scary, but there’s no need to panic.
It doesn’t necessarily mean that your membership is failing and thankfully, there are ways that you can deal with a downturn so that you can turn things around.
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What’s happening in the world of online memberships?
Is now a good time to have a membership site? And, what does the future of the membership industry look like?
Knowing the state of the membership industry is a great way to help you prepare months or even years in advance.
Thankfully, you don’t need a crystal ball to predict any of this because we’ve done all the hard work for you.
We’re about to reveal six key shifts that we see happening in the membership industry and how you can prepare for these challenges so that you’re in a position to be ready for anything.
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Naturally as membership site experts we have a penchant for online learning.
However sometimes you really just can’t beat a good book.
Fortunately there are several great books out there that form essential reading for anyone looking to start and grow a successful membership site.
Read on for our top recommendations…
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Have you lost interest in your membership?
When you first launched your membership, you were probably bursting with excitement and enthusiasm. But, over time those positive feelings you associated with your membership faded and now you can’t remember why you ever got into this in the first place, am I right?
If you have a lack of interest and enthusiasm for your membership site, it’s time to make a change…
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We are BIG advocates of setting up a waitlist for your membership.
But once you do, what’s next for those people who sign up?
There are lots of ways you can keep your waitlist interested and engaged with you and the launch of your membership site…
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Payment disputes are a reality of running any business, including membership sites.
Luckily, they don’t happen too often – but when they do, they take valuable time away from your business and revenue generating activities.
So, knowing what to do and how to minimize the risk is important.
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In our early days of working with memberships, we stumbled across an article that claimed that the average member only stays subscribed for a mere 3 months.
You’ve probably heard this yourself. It’s a claim that’s been repeated and republished so much, that it became readily and widely accepted.
But it’s nonsense.
There’s not a single shred of data or evidence for that ‘3 month’ claim. No source data, report or study cited, anywhere.
The fact that this claim persisted for so long is part of a larger problem. There is no reliable data available about the online membership industry.
Truth is, this market is relatively tiny. It’s a niche, of a niche, of a niche.
What data we do have comes from either the broader subscription industry, or from membership associations.
Neither of which reflect the online membership world.
We figured it was time to change that.
It’s time for some real data and benchmarks for the online membership industry.
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It’s coming up to that time of year where promotions and discounts abound.
Whether it’s Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas or New Year, the sales season is definitely upon us.
While these kind of sales are traditionally for physical products, there’s no doubt that digital products have jumped onto the bandwagon over the last few years, and you’ll see more and more discounts being offered.
But what about membership sites? Should you capitalize on these busy promotional periods where some kind of special offer is almost expected?
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Despite what the slickest of snake oil salesmen will try to tell you, there is no secret sauce or golden formula for building a successful membership website.
The key to the long term success of your membership site lies beyond marketing tactics, sales spiel and fancy production values; and the memberships which do best are those which – at their heart – understand and embrace a core set of fundamental principles.
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The path to membership success is paved with a litany of mistakes.
However you will come to a point where it feel like you truly have your house in order, you’re now on the right track and those initial stumbles are far behind you.
But time and time again we see seasoned membership site owners falling into the same traps as they attempt to manage and grow their business.
In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the most common pitfalls for experienced membership owners and, more importantly, how you can avoid them.
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There are many reasons people are attracted to the membership model.
The most compelling for us is how dramatically different (and better) making recurring income from a membership is compared to servicing clients on a one-on-one basis.
This is particularly true if you’re a “one man band”, where you’re solely responsible for the delivery of what you sell
In this article I’m going to explain why the membership model is far superior to offering one-to-one services, as well as show you how you can start incorporating memberships and subscriptions into your own business.
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