Are Facebook groups a viable option for membership communities in 2022?
This is a debate that’s been raging in the membership space for quite some time!
The decision over where your paid community should live is still a big question for many membership owners…
But as is often the case when it comes to memberships, there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ answer.
There are pros and cons to all options.
It’s not exactly news that we’re not huge fans of using a private Facebook group for your membership community…
We’re sure you’ve heard Mike get on his soapbox about it once or twice!
But, we aren’t here to tell you that this option definitely isn’t right for your membership.
There’s a lot to be said from both sides of the argument…
And a lot of changes in recent years – both good and bad.
We’re here to give you the facts about both sides so you can make an informed decision based on the kind of membership you want to run.
So let’s go through the pros and cons of using Facebook groups for your membership community…
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Trying to build a membership website is a sizable undertaking for anyone…
But building one in under a day, that sounds unrealistic, right?
After all, you’ve got to wrestle with technology, create content and focus on building your audience – quite often ahead of your launch – all while generating a buzz to ensure you get that initial influx of members when you open the doors to your membership…
There are a lot of plates to spin…
Surely it’s not possible to do all of that in under a day?
Well, if you’re able to bring some of those elements to the table from day one…
So if you already have an established audience who are eager to buy from you…
Or a wealth of content curated from past projects, maybe via courses you’ve previously released or workshops you’ve delivered…
Then it’s entirely possible to build a membership website a lot quicker than you may think.
Realistically, if we’re just talking about the website itself, you can have it up and running and ready to take paying members in less than 24 hours.
Sounds awesome doesn’t it?
But this isn’t something we’d recommend for everyone…
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What do you fear most as a membership site owner?
Let us guess… Cancellations?!
We’ll let you into a little secret…
You’re not alone in this.
Cancellations are without doubt the big bad boogeyman of the membership world…
Even your friendly neighbourhood Membership Geeks face this fear with you!
No one likes them…
But the truth is, cancellations are inevitable…
They’re part and parcel of running a membership business.
There are strategies you can implement to reduce the number of cancellations and bring your churn down…
Things like nurturing and engaging your member base, solid retention processes and so on…
You can also put measures in place to slow your cancellation rate down…
But don’t kid yourself.
Cancellations are going to happen.
As membership owners that’s just something we have to accept….
And handle them gracefully so that we’re not burning our bridges with people who could easily come back and re-join the site in the future.
Sometimes the reasons for cancellation are beyond your control…
And often, they’re even beyond the control of your members…
After all, life happens!
But it’s important to know that there are some predictable drop-off points in memberships that you can identify ahead of time.
Let’s explore this in more detail…
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How much time does it actually take to run a membership site?
This is probably one of the most common questions we get asked…
And as with many things when it comes to memberships, there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ answer..
Some membership sites can quietly tick away in the background without really needing much attention…
Others, however, need you to work on them pretty much daily.
In general though, membership sites – or at least successful ones at any rate – aren’t really the holy grail of passive income that they’re sometimes portrayed to be.
After all, they do take a lot of work to run!
And your membership should be an ongoing value exchange between you and your members, either through the content you provide them or the community they’re part of.
That is going to need at least some ongoing time involvement on your part…
Checking in and engaging with your community, releasing new content and so on…
But how much time you dedicate to that is entirely up to you…
It could be half an hour a day, 5 hours a day or 8 hours a day.
To help you decide how much time you can, and want to, put into your membership site, let’s take a look at the more time consuming tasks your site might involve…
And some ways that you can minimise the time input needed directly from you.
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The Covid-19 pandemic was unkind to most sectors…
And performing arts is one that suffered more than most…
But that didn’t deter Jim Cooney.
He’s the founder of Amplified Artists, an award-winning director, choreographer, and educator, who managed to build his membership from the ground up, right in the middle of a global pandemic.
With his wealth of experience teaching in universities and offering guidance on a more personal basis, he decided to create a membership that could serve as an anchor for artists at a time when their industry had been decimated.
And as I’m sure you’ve already guessed, his membership journey has had its fair share of twists and turns…
Despite that, he’s managed to do more than just stay afloat, even as things have opened up a bit more.
So, without further ado, let’s go Behind the Membership to see how Jim managed to build a business and create value in a period of difficulty within his industry.
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Happy #membershipday!
It’s no secret that we love membership sites. But why do we love them?
The 3 F’s.
Freedom. Flexibility. Fulfilment.
A membership can bring you all these things and more, and today on a special Membership Day episode of the podcast, we’re diving into what the 3Fs mean for you as a membership site owner.
And don’t just take our word for it!
We’ve got some special guests in this episode too, sharing the impact that having a membership site has had on their own life and business.
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Did you realise there isn’t an official day celebrating the wonderful world of memberships?
Heck, when ‘National Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day’ is an actual thing, I think us membership site owners deserve to have a day of our own!
So we’re leading the charge to make February 28th officially Membership Day.
And we’d like to encourage you to take part and use this day to celebrate your fantastic membership and the amazing people who are part of it.
Membership Day is all about helping to raise awareness of and celebrate online memberships: the people who run them, the people who join them and everything in between.
As such, there’s no right or wrong way to celebrate it!
But if you’re feeling stuck for ideas, here’s 10 ways you could celebrate to get your creative juices flowing…
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How can you personalise and tailor your member experience?
This is something that many don’t even think is possible when it comes to memberships…
Especially when you can potentially have hundreds or thousands of members in a community…
How on earth can you tailor an experience for so many?
Yes memberships are a one-to-many business model…
But that doesn’t mean you can’t offer a personalised, memorable experience for your members.
In fact, it’s important that you do…
Because if the member has a more personalised experience, they’re more likely to extract the elements of your membership where they get the most value…
And this will help them achieve the outcome they aimed for when joining your site…
And make them want to stick around for a long time.
And that’s the goal, right?
So how can you personalise and tailor your member experience?
Let’s walk through 10 techniques…
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Launching and building a successful brand isn’t easy…
We all know that…
But pivoting an already successful business to a completely different model is even more difficult…
Especially in the midst of a global pandemic.
That’s what Lucy Walker, from Lucy Walker Jewellery and The Metalsmith Academy had to do in 2020.
Realising the need to expand her business and navigate the ever-changing global restrictions of Covid-19, she transitioned from delivering in-person courses on jewellery making to launching her membership website.
And since then she hasn’t looked back.
But while she’s been hugely successful as a membership owner, the past twelve months haven’t been without their challenges.
As we go Behind The Membership, I speak to Lucy to get some insight into how she braved the transition.
How she managed the highs and lows of life as a membership owner, the lessons she’s learned so far and everything else in-between.
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Are you running your membership on the side while managing an existing client focused or service based business?
Maybe you’re a web designer who still builds websites…
Or a music teacher dealing with private students…
And to be quite frank, you’re feeling stuck…
You want to make the transition from working with clients to running your membership full-time…
But you’re not sure how to do it…
Or even if the time is right to make the switch!
We’ve been there…
And completely understand that it’s a HUGE decision to make…
So we’ve decided to help you out…
Here are some tips on how to switch from working with clients to running your membership full-time…
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After 7 years we have a very sad announcement to make…
The Membership Guys are no more.
I know, I know… what a devastating way to start the New Year!
But the good news is that we’ve just undergone a little bit of a rebrand and henceforth shall be known as…
Membership Geeks!
This is a change that is several years in the making, so tune into today’s very special episode of the podcast to discover why we’ve rebranded, what it means going forward, and get the inside track on some of the exciting things we have planned for 2022 and beyond.
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Is it me or has 2021 been a bit of a blur?!
It’s definitely been another strange year as we’ve all tried to navigate life running a membership in the midst of a global pandemic…
That being said, with only a few days left of 2021, it’s time for our traditional end of year recap show.
Listen for our top 10 most popular episodes of The Membership Guys podcast in 2021.
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As we come to the end of the year, this is the time when everyone tends to get a little bit thoughtful and reflective…
Looking back on what’s been achieved over the past 12 months and planning for the coming year.
For more established membership owners the year ahead might be fully mapped out so they know what to expect.
But for those new to the membership world, what lies ahead is largely unknown…
And a little bit scary!
While we don’t have a crystal ball to tell you exactly what’s going to happen over the next 12 months…
We can try our best to prepare you for some of the things you’re likely to discover in your first year of running a membership site.
So if you’ve recently become a membership owner or are about to launch your website, read on…
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Back in October 2021, all Facebook properties went down for five hours…
That meant no Facebook, no Messenger, Instagram, Workplace or WhatsApp…
And the whole internet erupted into a panic.
While for most it was a minor inconvenience…
For those businesses relying on Facebook groups, social media marketing, or website access through Facebook logins, it was a stressful time.
Some membership owners had no access to their communities…
Members weren’t able to login into their subscription sites using their social accounts…
Scheduled live training sessions were cancelled…
It was a little bit chaotic to say the least!
The outage itself may have only lasted a matter of hours…
But what it did for me was serve as a reminder of the risks of relying on a third-party platform for building any element of your business.
Or in other words, building your membership on rented land…
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Are you using email marketing to drive member signups?
If done correctly, a strong email strategy will increase the flow of people into your membership sales funnel, turning complete strangers into paying members.
In simple terms, they’ll come into your world, consume a free piece of content…
Maybe by reading your blog, listening to your podcast or downloading a lead magnet…
And they’re left wanting more, so subscribe to your email list to receive regular updates from you.
And once they’re on your list, that’s when the hard work begins…
Because it’s not enough to have these people simply reading your emails…
You want to inspire them to take action…
To press the ‘join here’ button your sales page and enter your membership community…
But how can you do this?
Here are six ways to level up your email marketing efforts so you can convert more subscribers into paying members…
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How would you like to make more money in your membership today?
It’s a no brainer, right? Of course you do.
As membership owners, we’re naturally always looking at ways to increase revenue.
Most of the time this will include planning long-term sales and marketing strategies, but what about the here and now?
Good news!
There are tactics you can implement today to inject some additional revenue into your business…
And I’m here to share them with you.
Here are four things you can do today to drive membership revenue…
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