You did it! You’ve launched your membership…
All the hard work, blood, sweat and tears has paid off and your vision has now become a reality.
Congratulations!…
Now what?
You see, launching a membership isn’t just about opening the doors to your site…
It’s about what you do post-launch…
The first 30 days after you launch your membership are absolutely crucial…
So how can you make the most of this time and get your membership site off to best possible start?
Here are six things you should do after you’ve launched your membership…
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Every superhero has an origin story…
And as we’re celebrating a huge milestone of releasing 300 episodes of The Membership Guys podcast…
Callie and I decided it’s finally time to share ours.
This is something we’ve never done before!
We’re typically very private, focusing on creating content that helps people rather than creating content about our personal lives…
But seeing as we’re superheroes of the membership industry…
(because we are, right?)…
And “with great power comes great responsibility” and all that…
We’re sharing how we got to where we are today – overcoming some very big challenges along the way – with the hope that maybe it can help you on your journey to achieve the freedom, flexibility and fulfilment that comes with owning a membership site.
Because for us, that’s what it’s all about.
Enjoy!
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What should you do when your membership topic has a natural ‘end date?’
A fixed point when members have achieved what they set out to do and simply don’t need to stay subscribed to your membership.
For example, planning for a wedding or a birth, working towards a qualification or navigating the application process for college…
All of these topics have a very definitive outcome, that once achieved renders your membership redundant.
There are also topics that your members will simply outgrow…
Like a beginners level membership on podcasting, for example, which members will eventually complete and potentially want to move onto the next level.
If your membership topic has a natural ‘end date’, you might be banging your head against a wall trying to figure out what you can do to make people stay in your community after they’ve achieved what they joined to do…
But should you just accept it?
Or do you find ways to adapt your business to prevent members from leaving?
Let’s look at your options…
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If there’s one thing you need to have at the core of your membership strategy, it’s member retention.
Attracting new members is one thing…
But making them actually want to stick around in the long term is a completely different ball game.
And the last thing you want to have is a business that’s leaking members left, right and centre!
So, how can you make sure that your retention rate doesn’t spiral downwards?
Avoiding these six common member retention mistakes will help…
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Membership sites are a value exchange…
When a member makes the decision to enter your community and pay you on an ongoing basis…
It’s important that you hold up your end of the bargain and consistently deliver.
In other words, you need to give members a reason to stick around…
And very often this comes in the form of creating content and being present every day in your forum or Facebook group …
These are the primary means of providing that value…
But there are other simple tactics you can utilize that ensure you deliver massive value to your members…
Ones that don’t rely on you constantly creating premium content.
Let’s find out what they are…
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Choosing whether or not to host your membership site on a separate domain sounds like a straightforward decision.
But the reality is, it’s not that simple…
Deciding where your membership site will live has implications on every aspect of your business, from tech and member experience to branding.
So it’s no wonder that people struggle with this…
And why it comes up time and time again inside our Facebook group and Membership Academy community…
It’s a big decision!
So where should your membership site live?
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Let’s be honest… running a membership business is not as easy as it seems.
Like with all good things, it does have its challenges.
And when you’re at the beginning of your membership journey these challenges can seem all the more overwhelming.
If this sounds familiar, don’t worry, we’re here to prepare you for what’s ahead!
So let’s dive in…
Here’s how to tackle the six biggest challenges every new membership site owner faces.
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It’ll probably come as no surprise to you that I am a huge fan of podcasting…
And I mean huge…
That’s why I’ve recorded hundreds of episodes over the years…
In fact, I’d go as far as to say that The Membership Guys and Membership Academy wouldn’t be where it is today without our podcast…
It has genuinely helped us grow our business.
But while we’ve always seen podcasting as a great way of attracting new members, it’s not something we’ve ever really explored as a medium for serving people inside your membership…
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Here’s a question which may terrify you:
Do you know what the revenue ceiling is for your membership business?
It’s entirely possible – even likely – that this is something you’ve never contemplated…
Perhaps you had no idea until now that a revenue ceiling existed, in which case, you’re not alone…
Or maybe you’re aware of the revenue ceiling, but you’re not sure how to calculate it for your membership.
Whatever the case, it’s important to be aware of it, because whether we like it or not, the revenue ceiling exists for every membership…
Yes, even the most successful ones!
So, how can you figure out what your ceiling is and whether or not you’ve already hit it?
We’re going to help you answer that and explain what you can do to raise that ceiling higher.
So let’s dive in…
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Everything’s working well for you running your membership…
It’s growing nicely, is giving you a good income and you enjoy it so much that it hardly feels like “work”…
But the advice you’re constantly hearing from others around you is making you question whether you should be working harder at growing it faster, or exploring additional revenue opportunities alongside your membership.
They’re telling you that you MUST offer private coaching… develop other products… run live events…
And then they tell you: “If you don’t, you’re leaving money on the table”
This is a phrase we’ve heard so many times over the years…
People being told that they’re running their business the wrong way if they’re not exploiting these opportunities…
But the truth is, you’re the only one who can determine that…
So are you leaving money on the table in your membership business?
Let’s find out…
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There’s fine line between encouraging engagement in your membership and simply nagging your members.
The last thing you want to do is get on their nerves…
As membership site owners, we want our members to consume content, interact in the community, and use the membership they pay for…
After all, if they don’t, they won’t be a member for very long…
But once someone becomes disengaged, your constant messages reminding them what they haven’t done won’t make them want to login.
It will most likely have the opposite effect…
So, how can you encourage engagement without alienating your members?
Here are some of our top tips…
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Cancellations suck.
But unfortunately they’re unavoidable.
And while there are a few things you can try to pre-empt and prevent cancellations, they won’t work all of the time.
That’s why every membership site owner should have in place a very useful tool at our disposal to make the best of the situation…
A strong membership exit survey…
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You’re excited to launch your membership and are working through the planning process – validating your idea, researching your audience and the marketplace…
And then you see it.
A huge well-known brand already has a membership – just like yours – and is operating in your target market.
Or maybe you’ve already launched your membership, but are quickly running out of ideas on how to standout from the big names in your space.
Either scenario is a difficult one to manage.
The thought of competing against a major player can be daunting to say the least…
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So we say goodbye to another year – and what a year 2020 was!
It was certainly a busy year for Membership Academy, as world events pushed us to refocus on how best to serve our community – leading to some big changes and additions.
We thought it would be useful to recap all of the new additions and features from Membership Academy during the past 12 months, just in case you missed anything!
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Instagram is by far one of the most popular social media platforms in the world.
Everyone from influencers and small businesses to large corporates are using it daily to promote their brands…
And you can see why with all its nifty features.
But that’s not what Instagram was originally designed for.
Its original purpose as a photo sharing app was for users to post images of food, sunsets and selfies.
That’s why out of all of the social media platforms, Instagram isn’t always the easiest one to use to promote your membership business…
One of the main reasons for this is that it doesn’t allow you to share a link in your posts like you can on other channels such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
So how do you actively promote your membership without the ability to post links?
Use Instagram Stories.
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Just like that, another year is over…
And what a year 2020 has been!
Rather than dwell on what could only be described as an insane 12 months, let’s end the year on a high and think about what we’ve all achieved.
With only a few days of the year left, it’s time for our traditional end of year recap show. Listen for our top 10 most popular episodes of The Membership Guys podcasts in 2020.
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