As fantastic as your membership may be, joining might not be a no-brainer decision for everyone.

Some people may sit on the fence for quite some time before making the decision whether or not to sign up. Why?

Well, there are all sorts of random reasons…

But from our vast experience of working with countless memberships, we often see the same common objections pop up time and time again.

And we've decided to share them with you…

So, with that said, here are the five most common objections people have to joining memberships…

And more importantly what you can do to overcome them… 

1. Your membership is too expensive

Ever heard the well-known quote from Oscar Wilde “A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing?”  

That can quite often be the case when someone is weighing up the decision whether or not to join membership.

They're looking at the cost and not thinking about the value…

So, it’s up to you to highlight the value both in terms of what's inside your membership and what members actually have access to – content, savings, discounts, etc.

More importantly, you need to highlight the results your members get because no one can put a price tag on great results.

If you can switch the thought process for a potential buyer from thinking about cost of your membership to the value they'll get from joining, then that's a game changer.

It's about nailing your value proposition.

Another way to tackle this issue is to provide multiple payment options.

Your potential members weighing up their options.

So, instead of paying a bulk sum for a year's worth of access to your membership, let people pay on a monthly basis.

Even though the figure will end up roughly the same, providing a choice with a lower price tag will encourage more people to sign up. 

2. Some people aren’t fans of recurring subscriptions

You can’t blame people for not perking up at the sight of a recurring subscription, considering the hurdles most people have to jump through these days to get out of their subscriptions.

So, the key here is to highlight how easy and effortless it is to cancel your subscription (and ensure that’s actually true!)

If that doesn’t work, it may be worth going for a non-recurring approach.

Seems a little counterintuitive for memberships, right? 

But, if you know your audience will respond to this method better, then why not? 

Useful tip: If you’re going the non-recurring route, then consider this mainly for longer periods, such as annual memberships.

Also, make sure there are prompts for people to manually renew their membership at the end of their period.

3. People want proof

People want to know that you can deliver the results you promise on you sales page and in your marketing…

That you're the real deal… 

And providing social proof is how can you prove this.

You need to show them what real members have actually achieved after being part of your membership.

That’s where things like testimonials come in.

It’s worth going beyond the usual text-based reviews on this one because that doesn’t truly prove anything.

Incorporating images or video testimonials certainly goes a long way in building trust.

You could also offer a money-back guarantee, a trial period for new members or take potential members behind the scenes of your site.

These are different forms of risk reversal that can help encourage people to take the plunge.

4. Uncertainties around sharing payment information

In this day and age, you can't really blame anyone for being wary about sharing their payment details.

If you aren’t a big name brand, it’s natural for people to be careful about divulging personal information. 

One sure way to start establishing legitimacy is to have a valid SSL certificate on you website…

This validates and ensures that the information put into your credit card form is secured, encrypted and not susceptible to being intercepted.  

You could also offer a more trusted alternative payment option, like PayPal.

While people may not know you yet, they definitely know and trust PayPal.

So, that takes the uncertainty off the table.

5. They aren’t sure if it’s the right time or if your membership is the right fit

No matter how straightforward and in-depth you think your sales page is, there’s always going to be someone who isn’t quite clear on the specifics. 

So we recommend putting a section on your sales page on “who is this for?”

In that section, you can lay out a detailed description of who your membership would be great for…

And more importantly, who your membership might not be for.

Your potential members after reading your sales page and realising your membership is right for them.

It's also worth adding some form of live chat, or at the very least, a prominent button that you can anchor to the bottom right-hand side of your sales page where people can click to ask questions before joining. 

You could also incorporate some of those risk reversal strategies mentioned above, such as a trial or money-back guarantee, so people can see inside the membership and get a feel for whether it’s right for them.

Hopefully, the above tips will help you to guard against those common objections and increase your new member signups in no time.

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