Membership Geeks Podcast with Mike Morrison

Are you struggling to encourage disengaged members? Member engagement can be a tricky thing. We want people to consume the content, engage with the community, and really use the membership that they’re paying for, but we don’t want to nag people with constant emails either. Once someone becomes disengaged, it can be difficult to nudge them back into action. In this episode I look at the ways you can maintain a careful balance between encouraging engagement without getting on people’s nerves, from soft unsubscribes to using email tags to using remarketing ads to gently encourage your members back to courses and back into the community.Essential Learning Points:Why it’s important to maintain a balance between nudging and naggingUsing tools in your CRM and messaging apps to create a buffer to reduce the naggingHow to use soft unsubscribes to reduce email overwhelmHow you can mix up the formats you use to send remindersMaking sure you don’t overdo it with your messages and emailsWhy it's important to remember that people engage in different ways Important Links & Mentions:Membership Academy Courses ConvertKitActiveCampaignIntercom DriftThe 90-9-1 Rule of Community EngagementKey Quotes:“If the reason they haven’t logged in is because they have something serious going on or a major change in circumstance, you don’t want to be that annoying person nagging them every week. Giving them the ability to soft unsubscribe from certain types of reminders and emails ensures that you don’t alienate or annoy those members.”“Mix up the format and how you get yourself in front of people to try and reengage them to log in, rejoin the community, or finish that course.”“You need to be smart and think about that bigger picture for the member and don’t overdo it, don’t try to force it and know when to stop. Make sure that you’re not going overboard.” 

Do you have an effective membership exit survey in place? It’s a depressing fact that no matter how hard you try, you cannot stop people from leaving your membership site. Cancellations are just par for the course in the membership game. But don’t despair, because there is one tool that can make all the difference and that all membership site owners should have in their arsenal – the exit survey. In this episode, I explain why it is so important to have exit surveys in place, what 3 simple questions will give you the information you need to change that person’s mind as well as creating a last final plea page, and gathering valuable data that could improve your content and marketing strategy in the future.Essential Learning Points:Why exit surveys are so important for your membership siteWhat questions to ask on an exit surveyWhat to do with that information once you have collected itHow to use the survey answers to create conditional messaging and a final plea pageWhy it is so important to keep your exit surveys simpleImportant Links & Mentions:The Membership AcademyThe Membership Academy – Enhancing Your Membership Site with Gravity Forms courseKey Quotes:“A membership exit survey is a critical tool in the arsenal of every single membership site owner.”“An exit survey is a great way to look at what changes you can make to improve the retention of the members you still have.”“If you can show people conditional messaging related to the reasons they’re leaving, then that enables you to make a relevant and very specific final plea to that member.”

Do you want to launch a membership, or have you launched already and now found that there are big, established competitors in your market?Don’t panic. Your competitors may have a massive library of content, years and years of experience under their belt, or thousands of members, but don’t let that intimidate you. Your size, your uniqueness, and your ability to zig when your competitors zag, gives you an edge – if you know how to take advantage of it.In this episode, I share many tips on how to differentiate yourself from the competitors. From zeroing in on your specialty and niche to emphasizing your personal brand and offering a personalized service, these tips will help you get a share of that membership pie.Essential Learning Points:1.   How understanding ‘why you exist’ can help you differentiate from your competitors2.   Why specializing and niching down on your topic and who you serve can help your positioning3.   The benefits of focusing on your personal side, embracing your underdog nature, and striving for quality4.   Why you should avoid getting wrapped up in competitor numbers and look for opportunities5.   What to avoid doing when dealing with competitorsImportant Links & Mentions:Bob Burg, “The Go Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea”The Membership AcademyThe Membership Mastermind Facebook GroupThe Membership Guys’ TwitterMike’s InstagramCallie’s InstagramKey Quotes:“If you can offer something that caters to a specific segment of your audience, then you are going to stand out and beat your competition every single time.”“Don’t be intimidated by that established competitor with a library of content. It’s all about what value and what results you can deliver.”“Don’t obsess about the fact your competitor has more members than you or that they have cornered a percentage of the market because, in all honesty, you only need a small percentage of the marketplace to succeed.” 

Are you finding Instagram a frustrating platform to promote your membership? Instagram is the one social channel where it is hard to add links to promote your content. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore it. As well as just using it as a content outlet to promote your blog, podcast, or video content, there are multiple ways Stories can be used to promote your membership business. In this episode, we share 7 ways you can make the most out of Instagram Stories. From creating native content to utilising interactive Stories badges. We have lots of suggestions about how you can use Stories to showcase your social side and promote your business at the same time. Essential Learning Points:How to creatively use Instagram Stories to promote your membershipWays to use native content on Stories to engage your membersThe benefits of using Stories to show behind the scenes contentHow you can use Stories to share social proof and brag about yourself The benefits of features like the Stories countdown and question badges to promote your content and engage your audienceImportant Links & Mentions:The Membership Academy The Membership Mastermind Facebook GroupThe Membership Guys’ TwitterMike’s InstagramCallie’s InstagramKey Quotes:“Instagram Stories has a lot of potential. But, you will have to be more creative to take advantage of it.”“You can use Stories to brag about your members and to showcase them. By shining, a spotlight on your member’s successes will show a different dimension to your business.” “Stories are great for getting existing members excited about what’s coming up and building connections, but also for enticing new members.”

Did your membership achieve its goals this year? If it did, congratulations! If not, could your approach to goal setting have improved your chances? As the year draws to a close, there's no better time to take stock of how far you've come. Reviewing the last 12 months is a great way to appreciate your achievements and the first steps to planning for your membership's future. Goal setting is a vital part of setting your membership up for success. But it can be challenging knowing what goals to set for your membership and, once you've figured those out, even harder to know the right way to achieve them. In this episode, we're sharing a practical goal-setting process that will help you determine where you want your membership to go and reveal how to get you there.Essential Learning Points:How the CO-STAR process can help you set and achieve goalsPractical goal setting examples and actionable steps Why your goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound)The optimum time period for a planning and review cycleImportant Links & Mentions:The Membership Academy The Membership Mastermind Facebook GroupThe Membership Guys’ TwitterMike’s InstagramCallie’s InstagramKey Quotes:“Any time you're setting goals, any time you're planning, you need to take stock. You almost need to audit what's going on right now.”“You need to be able to measure the goals that you're setting in order to determine if you're on track.”“You have to consider your priorities and the relevance of what you're spending your time on, and what you're prioritizing within your plan.”

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. It has certainly been a big year for Callie and I.We’ve: Grown our team with two full-time hires - Kathryn, our Head of Digital Content and Tom, our Graphic Designer.  Launched some amazing new features in Membership Academy including our Game Plans and Member Huddles, and…Created another year’s worth of The Membership Guys weekly podcast and season 4 of Callie’s Behind The Membership podcast. It’s been a lot of fun! We hope it’s been a successful and productive year for you and your membership. With only a few days left of 2020, 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. Thank you so much for your continued support of the show this year - I really appreciate each and every one of you. Here’s to an awesome 2021. Episode Links (not in order - don't want to ruin the suspense!):Using Facebook Ads to Promote Your Membership With Gavin Bell8 Things You Need to Know Before Starting a Membership Site  9 Simple Marketing Tactics That’ll Get You More MembersUsing Pinterest to Market Your Membership With Cara Chace Should You Allow Competitors to Join Your Membership?7 Things to do Before You Publish Your Next Piece of ContentWhy Signal vs Noise Ratio is Key to Membership Community Engagement Should You Build Your Website Yourself or Hire Help - With Martin and Lyndsay from Jammy DigitalCelebrating the 5th Anniversary of Membership Academy How to Use Content Marketing to Sell Your Online MembershipCheck out previous years' countdowns:10 Most Popular Episodes of The Membership Guys Podcast 201910 Most Popular Episodes of The Membership Guys Podcast in 201810 Most Popular Episodes of The Membership Guys Podcast in 201710 Most Popular Episodes of The Membership Guys Podcast in 2016

How are you planning to run your membership over the festive season?As a membership site owner, you have the freedom to choose how you run your membership all year round. However, the holidays present unique opportunities for producing content, running promotions, and taking the time to sit back and relax.In this episode, I tell you the six things you can start doing now to plan for the holiday season. From what seasonal content to plan, to when to start thinking about next year, these six things will help you figure out how your membership can effectively navigate the festivities.Essential Learning Points:Which content types are perfect for the festive seasonHow to run a seasonal promotionWhy taking a break is essential to your membership’s successHow to prepare your members for your reduced availabilityWhat to reflect on and how it can shape your membership’s futureHow to start planning for the year aheadKey Quotes:“The holidays are a great time to run a promotional campaign, whether it's a discount, whether it's a promotion where you offer some bonuses, some sort of event marketing, like a summit or a challenge.”“Even if you've got to force yourself to take some time off, know that time away is actually an extremely important investment in your business.”“If you haven't hit your goals, or things haven't gone the way you want, that's business. That's life. A lot of the time, these goals are arbitrary, they’re guesses, they’re best estimates. So, don't dwell. Make a deliberate effort to focus on the positives from your year.”

How do people view your brand?Businesses don’t achieve brand loyalty because they’ve picked a great color scheme for their website. You earn brand loyalty by aligning and effectively communicating your principles and purpose.You probably already know your membership’s values, vision, and mission, but does your audience? These key elements play a big part in how people view and interpret your brand. Your brand is far more than just your logo.In this episode, I break down what elements make up a brand and how you can use them to set up your brand for success. Essential Learning Points:What a brand actually is (and what it isn’t)Why your brand’s principles are importantHow to position your brand correctlyImportant Links & Mentions:Simon Sinek’s book, Start with WhyMembership Academy CoursesSubscribe to the Membership AcademyThe Membership Mastermind Facebook GroupKey Quotes: “People don't buy what you do. They buy why you do it.” “Imagine your brand as a person and think about what its personality would be like – what it would be like to hang out with them, what it would do, what it would be into, how it would talk, how it would sound.” “Your purpose, your mission, your vision, and your values: getting clear on those will inform everything else you do. This is the heart of what your business and what your brand is all about.”

Does your WordPress membership site have sufficient security measures in place?Many membership site owners live in fear of their website being attacked, and for good reason...If someone manages to hack into your Wordpress website, install something nasty or delete or steal your data, it could cripple your membership business.That's why it's so important to be extra vigilant and make sure you take adequate steps to keep your site secure...In this episode, I'm sharing my top tips for keeping your membership site secure and advising which plugins and services you can use to help.Essential Learning Points:Whether or not WordPress is an insecure platform to build your site onWhy it's crucial that your membership site has security measures in placeThe eight top tips to proactively safeguard your membership siteWhat you can do if the worst happens and your site is hackedImportant Links & Mentions:ManageWPSucuriWordfenceWP EngineLiquid WebBackupBuddyWP Fix ItFixRunnerKey Quotes:“The fact that WordPress powers 455 million sites definitely makes it more of a target. The counterbalance to that is that there's also a lot of people involved in keeping it secure and responding extremely quickly to any issues.”“If you need to give admin access temporarily to your web designer, or maybe someone from tech support at your plugin company, make sure you remove their account after they no longer need it. It's not about not trusting those people, it's about there being an additional potential account that someone could get into.” 

Are you considering increasing the price your existing members are paying?When you first launched your membership, you might have offered your initial members an amazing deal to entice them to join. However, it’s now a few years later and your membership has evolved. You’ve added lots of new content, your community’s grown, and your membership is much more valuable.You’ve increased the price for new members, and now you’re questioning the fee that your initial members are paying – and thinking about raising the cost of their subscriptions.In this episode, I explain why this is a short-sighted approach and highlight why you shouldn’t increase membership prices for your long-term members.Essential Learning Points:Why you might be considering raising costs for existing membersThree reasons why you shouldn’t put existing member prices upThe one situation where you can increase existing member pricesImportant Links & Mentions:The Membership Guys Facebook GroupMembership AcademyKey Quotes:“People who invest in a tech company when they're still working out of their dad's garage, they deserve the return. They deserve to be in that stronger position, years down the line, than investors who waited until they could back a winning horse.”“Remember just how important those earlier members are to your long-term journey.”“It doesn't matter that your membership has increased in value because you would not be in the position to grow your membership to where it is now if not for those initial members.”

Are you celebrating the milestones in your membership business?If not, you should be!Whether it's an anniversary or hitting an important goal, it's worth making an effort to mark those significant achievements.In this episode, I share my top tips for celebrating your membership milestones in style...

Turning your membership idea into a reality can take a lot of time and, often, a lot of money.As such you might be trying to find a way to raise funds earlier in the process.Some membership owners do this with a pre-sale.A pre-sale works like this: you have a great idea for a membership, so you test its viability by taking it to your audience to see if they are willing to invest in your concept (even though it doesn't exist yet!).If they are, then you can generate seed money to help finance the development of your membership.However, before pre-selling your membership idea, it's important to know the pros and cons...Essential Learning Points:How a pre-sale works, and how it relates to terms like "seed launch" or "founder launch"What the three main benefits to a promoting a pre-sale areThree big drawbacks to a pre-sale that you need to considerOur preferred alternative launch strategy with better chances of successImportant Links & Mentions:Pros and Cons of Offering Lifetime MembershipsCreating an MVP to Test and Validate Your Membership IdeaThe Lean Live Launch StrategyThe Membership Guys Facebook GroupMembership Academy Key Quotes:“The vast majority of ideas don't go any further than just thoughts in a brain or scribbles on a page. This kind of pre-sell, having money change hands, makes you more committed.”“If you don't get a good response to a seed launch, that doesn't tell you anything. That isn't a sign that your membership is not going to be successful.”

Customer service is at the heart of the member experience.No matter how great your membership site is, you’re going to have members contacting you for additional support at some point.Providing your members with good customer service is an easy way to elevate their experience of your site, and similarly a bad customer service experience will quickly turn their opinion of your membership sour.In this episode, I break down the 4 step approach to master your customer service strategy, as well as specific tactics for streamlining customer service as your membership scales.

As a membership site owner it’s easy to tie yourself in knots trying to come up with the best ways to get your members to engage with your site, your content, and your community.From fancy progress tracking to complex loyalty schemes; laborious member outreach programs through to advanced gamification systems.However it can be easy to forget that often some of the less glamorous methods of engagement are the most effective.So in today's episode I’m going to take a look at one of my favourite tactics for member communication, engagement and retention – the humble “member roundup email”.

When people think about launching a membership, they think about the day that they finally open their doors for the very first time and welcome their first crop of new members.It's a big deal!However that grand opening isn't the only opportunity you have to launch...There are different launch types for each stage of your business, depending on how far along you are in the membership site creation process, or what you might need your members to do to help get your product ready for market.Listen in for a full breakdown of the 6 different launch strategies you can use at various stages of your membership journey... Essential Learning Points:Validating your membership idea by running a pilot programThe difference between launch strategy for open memberships vs closed doorHow to generate seed money to help you develop your membership ideaThe best way to reduce the stress of a big launch and ease yourself into the membership modelImportant Links & Mentions: The 6 Different Types of Membership Launch When the closed door membership makes senseJeff Walker's book, LaunchCreating an MVP for your membershipThe lean live launch strategyMembership AcademyThe Membership Guys Facebook Group Key Quotes:“Your big launch event will usually be a week or two, where you're doing lots of promotional marketing activity to get as many eyeballs as possible on your launch – in the hopes that you'll get that influx of initial members.”  “The beta launch can be extremely useful for helping you to ensure that you are in absolute top shape, or as close as you can get to top shape, before you open the doors to your membership. And, it has the great side effect of also ensuring that you already have people there in your community.”“If you know you need a little bit of a softer entry into the world of running an online membership, then a soft launch can work for you.”

Have you launched your membership and then found yourself regretting your choice of technology that runs your website? Or maybe you haven't yet launched but you live in fear of that turning out to be your reality.“What if I make the wrong choice and then in 6 months’ time I discover I’m stuck with it?”Because of this we see a lot of people have a lot of anxiety about deciding on which platform or plugin is right for them. In this episode I reveal everything you need to know about switching your membership platform.Essential Learning Points:The questions you need to ask yourself before deciding to switch platformsWhy data migration is the most crucial aspect of switchingHow to communicate this big change to your membersWhat you need your members to do, and how to get itThe reality of what switching platforms can cost youImportant Links & Mentions:Guide To Choosing A Membership Plugin Key Quotes:“This isn't something you do on a whim, or because a new tool sounds cool and has got a lot of buzz. This isn’t a small decision...”When communicating, make sure you address the question that's going to be in their minds. “What's in it for me?” Focus your message on how the new system is going to benefit them.“At all times in all memberships there will be a percentage of the member base who are only there because of inertia. The only reason they’re still members is because they keep forgetting to cancel their subscription.”“Don’t start switching over, then run a couple of tests and regret the change you’ve made. Test first and test thoroughly, before you do anything else.”

Do you know the difference between good marketing advice and bad marketing advice?The marketing industry is full of information. Some can help you build meaningful customer relationships and effectively generate sales. But some is based on misinformation, pressure tactics, and “shortcuts” that could lead to slower audience growth or even a damaged reputation.I find it so infuriating that people are being pressured and pushed around by membership marketing myths that they believe are the industry standard. In this episode, I get on my soapbox to bust the most common marketing myths and help steer you away from the nonsense.Essential Learning Points:Why pressurizing leads can drive them to buy elsewhereHow to prevent your customers getting buyer’s remorseWhy a good product isn’t enough to generate salesThe number of followers you really needImportant Links & Mentions:Open Every Day by Ross O'Lochlainn1,000 True Fans by Kevin KellyOur free Membership Mastermind Facebook GroupMembership AcademyKey Quotes:“Successful marketing is all about getting the right message, to the right person, at the right time.”“Some people are just not ready to buy when you’re ready to sell. Your business and how you market it is actually more about being there when someone is ready to buy, rather than trying to force the sale too quickly.”“If you’re not able to connect the dots and to compel people to put their hand in their pocket and pay you for the solution to their problem then it doesn’t matter how great your membership is, it doesn’t matter how great your product is. “Build it and they will come” is not a valid strategy.”

How much should you charge for your membership site? And, what should your pricing strategy look like?Well, the answers to both of those questions depend on your membership. However, there are some advanced pricing tactics that successful membership sites use when it comes to determining their prices.As I’m sure you’re aware, getting the price of your membership right is so important. But it’s often more than that, you also need to make sure that you use effective pricing strategies to convince people to join your membership. In this episode, I reveal my top and most advanced tips and tactics to help you with your membership pricing strategy!Essential Learning Points:The differences between B2C and B2B pricingWhy you need to consider the numbers within your priceHow to create compelling discountsThree ways to leverage price anchoring for your membershipImportant Links & Mentions:ResponseSuiteMembership Academy Key Quotes:“The more choices you give, the more you add friction to the buying process, which can lead to decision fatigue.”“With a decoy product, you specifically create an option with the entire purpose of that option being that it makes your main option look better. You actually don't want people to buy this product.”

Is your membership community a ghost town? Are you constantly banging your head against a wall trying to figure out ways to get your members to actually converse with each other? This guide has got the answers.We’ve said it many times before - people come for the content but they stay for the community. However, getting an active, thriving community inside your membership is easier said than done.It’s not a case of just setting up a Facebook group and assuming that all the conversations will start flowing, and connections will happen automatically. You need to put in the work to drive the discussion and the connections within your community. It can take quite a bit of time to get the discussion flowing, particularly in the early days where this can feel like trying to push a boulder up a hill. But these steps will help get it done.Essential Learning Points: Start The Discussion YourselfEncourage “Low-Hanging Fruit” ConversationsDon’t Rush To Answer Every Questions YourselfTag Other Members In DiscussionInclude Your Community As Part Of New Member OnboardingImportant Links & Mentions:The Membership Academy - https://www.membershipacademy.com/The Membership Guys Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/MembershipGuys/groups Key Quotes:“You’re going to have to be the one who drives the conversation. It’s not going to be a case of creating a forum or a Slack channel, giving people the link and seeing the engagements and discussions just happen.”“If you’re getting to every question first and answering straight away, you’re shutting down discussions before they get a chance to start. So, it can be worth strategically stalling.”“Embrace the role of not just the expert who answers questions, but as the community leader. Embrace being the person who creates connections between your members and facilitates the best path of learning.”“The best way to encourage people to be active in your community is to get them in there early and ensure your community is an integral part of the member experience.”

Wow... 5 years of Membership Academy!And what a rollercoaster ride our fifth year has been.Listen in as Callie and I recap the highs and lows of the past 12 months of Membership Academy, and look ahead to what's in store in the next year and beyond.In this episode, Callie and I discuss:The real impact that running our first conference had on our membership businessHow we navigated personal illness and a global pandemicChanges we've made to our content strategy, and the results we're seeing so farThe big step up we're taking in the coming yearDig further into our journey so far...Inside the launch of the Membership AcademyLooking Back at the First 12 Months of the Membership AcademyInsights & Reflections on Year 2 of the Membership AcademyLooking Back at Year 3 of the Membership AcademyCelebrating the 4th Anniversary of Membership AcademyAs always, we want to thank each and every one of your for your support over the past 5 years - whether you're a podcast listener, Facebook group member, blog reader or one of our highly treasured Academy members (or indeed, all of the above) - we just want to take this opportunity to thank you, sincerely, for being with us on our journey.

A membership has many moving parts, lots of technical elements, and will take plenty of hard work to get started.But there is one element of running a membership site that is constant and, if you don’t have it, you won’t keep your membership alive.If you don’t have an audience, you won’t have a membership.So, if you’re just starting out and eager to get your membership going, it’ll pay dividends if you invest in finding and growing your audience now. This classic episode of The Membership Guys will show you how.Essential Learning Points:Why it’s important to build your audience before you release your productWhere the best places are to look for your potential audienceHow finding your audience will also help you fine-tune your membership content and marketing strategyWhere you can go to learn more about establishing and growing your audienceImportant Links & Mentions:How to Generate Email Leads for Your Membership SiteUsing Segmentation to Increase Leads and Member SalesHow To Use Content Marketing To Sell Your Online MembershipMarketing Tactics for Attracting New Members4 Ways to Discover What Your Audience REALLY Want from your Membership Key Quotes:“If you’re building a product, you need to have someone to sell it to!” “Passionate people find each other and they congregate around different places online.”“A lot of your initial audience building efforts are going to center around finding where your particular crowd are and hanging out with them.”“Don’t take it for granted that your existing audience will have an interest in what you’re doing with your membership.”

Setting boundaries is essential if you want your membership to be productive and positive for you – and your members.But how do you do it without cutting people off, coming across as aloof or inaccessible, and how can you ensure your members are having their questions answered whilst still respecting your boundaries.It’s certainly a balancing act, but it’s one you can perfect by putting into practice some of these tips and tricks. We’ve tested and refined these approaches over time with our own Membership Academy and our members have also found these approaches to be beneficial in their memberships too.Tune in to find out how we, and many other membership site owners, set healthy boundaries with our members that benefit everyone. Essential Learning Points:Why opening yourself up to more communication can actually reduce contact overwhelmSome of the best tools and tactics we’ve used to set healthy boundaries within our membershipWhy setting the right boundaries will benefit your members as much as youImportant Links & Mentions:Is Starting a Membership Website the Right Move for You?Recommended Tools & ResourcesHow to Add an Online Forum to your Membership WebsiteLive Membership Q&A with Mike and CallieMembership AcademyKey Quotes: “Your members will contact you and any successful membership site owner will respond when they do reach out. That’s not to say that you can’t set boundaries and that you can’t be the one to set the terms.” “When people know that they don’t have to try hard to reach you, that takes the urgency out of the equation.” “Nobody should be in a position where they send you a message and they have no idea of when to expect a response.” “Setting and managing expectations is good not just for you, but for your members too.”

“Cancellation” is a word that sends a shiver down the spine of any membership site owner, but are membership site owners missing a trick when it comes to how they handle cancelled members?In our own membership, Membership Academy, 25% of members who leave end up rejoining. This is why it’s essential not to burn your bridges – and to put a rock-solid win-back strategy in place.Join us in this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast to learn what a win-back campaign is, how to structure it, and what some of the essential tactics you need to use are.Essential Learning Points:Where many membership site owners are getting it wrong when it comes to cancelled membersHow to create a win-back sequence that gives lapsed members a great reason to come backWhat the three key notes you need to hit are if you want to create a compelling case for re-joining your membershipImportant Links & Mentions:Try These Tactics to Pre-empt and Prevent Member Cancellations4 Essential Email Automations Every Membership Website NeedsFacebook Remarketing Strategies for Membership WebsitesWhat To Do (And What to Avoid) When Someone Cancels Their MembershipMembership AcademyMembership Mastermind from The Membership Guys Key Quotes:“People may leave your membership site for a variety of reasons and many of those reasons will have nothing to do with them being unhappy with your membership.”“You need to give people enough time to realize what they’re missing, to get past the issue that may have caused them to leave in the first place.” “As part of your win-back campaign, you should be asking outright – what would it take for you to return?” “At Membership Academy, we find that about 25% of members who leave come back.”

Your blog and your website host all of the content used in your marketing – so how do you join the dots between your blog and your membership?There are plenty of ways membership site owners can do this, but many don’t because they’ve heard bad advice from marketing ‘gurus’ or they’re worried about sounding salesy.The good news is there are direct and indirect ways of linking from your blog to your membership – and all of them are good, easy ideas to implement!So, listen in to this episode to learn why it’s so important to build that path from your blog to your membership and how you can do it – with examples from ourselves and our members at Membership Academy.Essential Learning Points:Why it’s so essential that you use your blog as a promotional channel for your membershipDirect and indirect approaches you can use to drive traffic your membership from your blogWhy you need to discount one particular piece of advice that some internet marketers swear byImportant Links & Mentions:How To Use Content Marketing To Sell Your Online MembershipMembership AcademyHow to Decide Which Content Should Be Free vs PaidHow to Generate Email Leads for Your Membership SiteFacebook Remarketing Strategies for Membership Websites Key Quotes:“Your blog is a primary place to promote your membership.” “Often all someone needs to be ready to buy is awareness that you have a solution to their problem.”“We get so many people clicking through from the CTA on our thank you page and we have so many members inside our community whose sales significantly increased once they added that CTA to their thank you pages as well.”“You need to make sure, if you’re getting people subscribing to your email list, that you have an initial series of emails that sells your membership.”

Despite my protests over the years, I’m ready to admit that there are a few instances where it is a good idea to use a closed door membership model.Some of them are very niche, some of them require a few “ifs” and asterisks, but they are entirely valid and are all better suited to a closed door model.This episode is well worth checking out if you’re just starting out or if you’re trying new things with your membership. It could make a foundational difference to the way you run your membership!Essential Learning Points:What the difference is between closed door and evergreen membership modelsThe six situations that suit a closed door membership model bestThe one universal truth that applies to every membership modelImportant Links & Mentions:5 Reasons Why I Dislike the Closed Door Membership Launch StrategyWhy You Should Run a Beta Test for Your Membership SiteCreating an MVP to Test and Validate Your Membership IdeaLean Live Launch strategyPromoting Your Membership Site with an Affiliate Program Key Quotes: “If your model uses cohorts – a set intake of students and schedule – then the closed door model is essential.” “If you’ve been running your membership for a year or two and you know that there is a clearly-defined off-season period – where demand subsides and sales drop – then you might be better served by taking sales and marketing out of the equation for that period.”“Whether you choose an evergreen model or the closed door approach, keep in mind that you still need to show up for your existing members.”

Community is often the heart of membership sites but working out the best way to introduce it to your membership isn’t as easy it might seem.Often, we see debates around how to host membership communities that end up focusing on quantity of engagement, rather than quality.Quantity isn’t a bad thing, but it’s not always what you’re actually aiming for.If you want to find the signal in the noise and determine the right community model for your membership site, you’re going to need to dig a little deeper into your purpose, your membership structure, and the goals your audience have.This episode of The Membership Guys podcast will help you do that digging!Essential Learning Points:What the Signal vs Noise ratio is in communities and why understanding the differentiation is importantWhy understanding your membership and its purpose is key to deciding the role your community should playWhat we have learned (and are still learning) about our own experiments with forums and Facebook groupsImportant Links & Mentions:Should I use a Forum or Facebook Group for my community?Do You REALLY Need to Add a Community to Your Membership?How to Add an Online Forum to your Membership WebsiteMembership Mastermind from The Membership GuysKey Quotes:“It is crucial to understand that activity and engagement are not the same thing.”“The importance of your signal to noise ratio will depend on how important community is to your membership.”“We’ve clearly defined the role of the forum and the Facebook group, and how the two connect. Because of that, we’re not experiencing any problems.” “The type of role that your community plays is entirely up to you and it’s going to be dependent on what you know will work best for your audience.”

Member retention is critical to the long-term success of your membership website.It costs 7-10 times more on average to win a new member than it does to hold on to an existing one; and if you’re losing more members than you bring in then your business won’t last long!In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, we’re giving you 21 quick tips for improvements you can make to your membership strategy in order to improve your member retention.

Every industry, topic and niche has its fair share of jargon.And memberships are no different.There’s already so much to juggle as a membership site owner, so the last thing you want to have to worry about is needing to wrap your head around all of the lingo!So to make it easier for you, we’ve rounded up the 9 key terms and phrases you need to know if you run a membership.

Facebook remarketing is one of the most exciting developments in online advertising in recent years. Now, instead of being limited to picking demographics and targeting options that we think relate to our target audience; we can actually leverage actual user behaviour to determine which ads they are shown.This enables us to show the right message to the right person at the right time, which dramatically improves the effectiveness of our Facebook ads.When it comes to membership sites, there are 6 key ways in which you can really leverage Facebook remarketing - and I'm sharing them all in this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast

Running a membership site is a juggling act. There’s a seemingly never-ending list of things to keep on top of; and with much of the focus revolving around things like producing content and marketing to bring in new members it’s easy to see why some of the basics get missed. However it’s often the relatively minor day to day activities that have the real impact on how successful a membership site is. In this episode I discuss 4 such activities you should make sure you’re doing each and every day in your membership

Social proof is a powerful, persuasive factor when it comes to making buying decisions. If we see others behaving in a particular way, buying a product or, say, joining a membership site; then we're far more inclined to follow suit. More and more, customers are basing their buying decisions on what other people recommend, rather than promotions, discounts and other sales tactics. In this episode, I share 7 ways that you can add social proof to your membership sales page.

Memberships are a marathon, not a sprint. Unlike other products where the sale is the end of the journey, with memberships it’s just the beginning. That “journey” – the Member Lifecycle – typically breaks down into 5 key stages: acquisition, onboarding, engagement, retention and reactivation. In this episode, we’re looking at each of these 5 stages and what they mean for you as a membership website owner.

Choosing the right membership plugin is a task that’s easier said than done. The fact that it can be a bit of a nightmare switching plugins after your membership has opened its doors is something which makes your decision even more important. There is no “one size fits all” best membership plugin for every situation, and so the process of deciding which to go with involves identifying your specific needs and then narrowing down the options; however making the final choice often requires you to dive deeper. To help you be sure you’re making the right choice, here are 8 questions you should ask before you purchase your membership plugin.    

Email automation can massively power up the marketing and operation of your membership site; enabling you to trigger various different actions and email sequences according to how your audience and your members behave. In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, I identify the 4 essential email automations that every membership website should have in place.

Live content is a great way of delivering ongoing value to your membership without the level of upfront work and other hassles that typically go into producing courses, tutorials or other types of “pre-made” content. However including this type of content in your membership does add a new wrinkle to worry about – member attendance. If the turnout for your live membership calls is low, this can directly affect the quality of what you’re producing; not to mention being demoralizing to you and possibly even be discouraging for other members who may interpret poor attendance as a sign of a disengaged community. In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, I share 9 ways that you can increase live call attendance

People join your membership because they have a goal they want to achieve; an outcome they want to realise – and it’s your content that’s going to get them there. But with so many plates to spin running a membership website, it’s easy to settle for “good enough” when it comes to creating that content. In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, I discuss why it’s important to focus on improving your content, and give you some examples and steps to start this process within your own membership.

In the early days of running your membership, you’ll find yourself preoccupied with the day to day, short-term stuff. How many new members did we get this week? Have we had any cancellations? Do I have enough time to get this new piece of content out to members? However once things have settled and stabilised then it’s time to think bigger in terms of how you’re going to scale and grow your membership over the long term. When that time inevitably arrives, there are 6 key areas you’ll need to focus on. Listen to this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast to discover what they are...

When it comes to offering trials of your membership site or online product, opinions tend to be divided between those who consider it a smart strategy and those who believe you shouldn’t give anything away, no matter what. We’re big fans of utilising trial periods as part of your pricing strategy; however we recognise that they’re not something which will necessarily be right for everyone. If you’re still on the fence, this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast provides some food for thought to help you determine whether to implement trials into your own strategy.

Most membership sites include some form of premium content locked away behind a paywall.But locking your membership content down is a double-edged sword.You could have the most incredible content in the world, but if the only people who know about it are your paying members then you’re missing on an opportunity to get so much more bang for your buck.So before you hit ‘publish’ on your next piece of membership content, try implementing the 7 tactics from this episode.

Your sales funnel is a key part of attracting new members to your community; and so it's no surprise that some membership owners have a constant itch to tweak and tinker with every little detail.Knowing when to adjust your sales funnel is an imprecise art, but people often fall foul to making changes too often.In this episode, I discuss how often you should be adjusting your sales funnel, how you can avoid the constant urge to make changes, and why making constant tweaks can actually hurt your business.Essential Learning Points:Why you should adjust your sales funnel once a quarter (at most)Why data, not desire, should lead your decision-making if you do make adjustmentsHow overanalyzing paralyzes the effectiveness of your sales funnelImportant Links & Mentions:Membership AcademyHow to Generate New Ideas for Membership Content Tools for Creating Your Membership Sales FunnelGuide to Choosing a Membership Plugin 5 Things That Have Moved the Needle For Us (And a Few That Didn’t) 4 Must-Have Email Automation Sequences For Your Membership SiteKey Quotes:“You should be stepping away and letting your automations do their thing.”“Unless you’re getting masses of traffic, testing and tweaking the real small stuff is pointless.”“It’s very possible to over-engineer, overthink, and self-sabotage by constantly chasing that mythical perfect sales funnel or constantly messing around with all the pieces of the puzzle.”

One of the strongest ways you can grow your membership at speed is to start a joint venture promotion.First of all, you may be asking what exactly a joint venture promotion is… Put simply, it’s working with someone who has a sizeable audience who you want to speak to in exchange for commission or some other value exchange.Now that we’ve got that cleared up – do you want to know how you can use joint venture promotions to boost your membership sign-up rates?Well, that’ll take a while to write out. Why not listen to this episode to find out instead?Essential Learning Points:The different ways you can grow your membership numbersWhy contributing guest content to partners’ sites is a great starting pointHow to step up your joint venture promotions with affiliate programsWhy the cost of affiliate programs is worth it for the value they provideHow to perfect your joint venture promotion strategy and where to go for more information Important Links & Mentions:Membership AcademyLead Generation Essentials for Membership Site OwnersPromoting Your Membership Site with an Affiliate ProgramHow Much Should I Charge For My Membership Website?Utilizing Guest Experts for your Membership Content Key Quotes:“You have to think about whether you want to offer a one-off commission or commission on the recurring element of the payment. This depends on how much you’re charging and your profit margin.”“You will not be able to reach the number of people a joint venture partner can get you if you instead choose to spend their commission fees on standard marketing.”“Make sure that any leads opting-in to your email list from your co-promotion have a short funnel before they can be turned into sales… Your joint venture partner isn’t going to want to wait 60 or 90 days!”

Content marketing is the most valuable strategy a membership site owner can deploy. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again and again and again!But having a blog or a podcast isn’t enough – not for the most successful membership sites, at least. To really ramp up your content marketing to the top tier, there are certain approaches you might want to consider that will help you create a killer content marketing strategy.In this episode, you can discover six of the ways you can give your content marketing strategy an extra boost and start recruiting more members with the power of free content.Essential Learning Points:Why content marketing is so effective for promoting your membership siteSix genius ways to create a killer content marketing strategyWhere you can go to talk to other membership site owners to perfect your marketing Important Links & Mentions:Creating Compelling Courses with Janelle AllenHow to Tap Into Your Existing Members to Create Social ProofShould Membership Trial Periods be Free or Paid?Membership Mastermind Facebook groupMembership Academy Key Quotes:“If you can prove to people that you can solve their small problems, they’re going to trust you to solve their larger problems.”“Your community is such a powerful aspect of your membership, so why not shine a spotlight on those people?”“Make people aware of the divide between free and paid content and value in the latter.”

Whether you’re at the start of your journey to running your own membership website or a seasoned pro, there are some universal truths of this world that we all need reminding of every now and again.The Membership Guys and our podcast exist to make running a membership easier, more accessible, and less stressful. These 8 must-know facts are the cornerstone of running a happy, successful membership.So, wherever you are in your membership site journey, these tips will either be revelatory moments or timely reminders of the core tenets of your chosen path.Essential Learning Points:Why new and established membership site owners alike can benefit from these ideasThe 8 truths of being a membership site owner – from compromise to cancellationsWhere you can go for more help, advice, and guidanceImportant Links & Mentions:Key Things to Consider When Preparing Content for your Membership LaunchHow to Choose a Membership PluginThe Membership AcademyWhere to Find Reliable Tech Support for your Membership SiteWhat Should Be Your Membership Refund Policy?Key Quotes:“If you’re not technically inclined, it’s very much worth investing in somebody to help you with that side.”“You need to be in this for the long-haul.”“When people join your membership, they have some degree of expectation that they’ll get access to you.”

Most memberships are based on the owner’s expertise and knowledge, so why would you start giving it away for free?It may feel counter-intuitive, but content marketing has proven time and time again to be a hugely successful way of growing memberships.The fear of free content is one of the most common topics in The Membership Academy, so I’ve brought together the three reasons why you really don’t need to worry about sharing free content and why, in fact, it is likely to help your membership grow.If you want to face your fears and learn to embrace free content as part of your marketing strategy, this episode will do the job.Essential Learning Points:Where the value of your membership truly liesHow you are always in control of your content and how you share itWhy human nature is going to stop most people from abusing your free content Important Links & Mentions:The Membership AcademyPeople Come For Content And Stay For CommunityWhy Your Membership Website NEEDS More Than Just ContentHow to Decide Which Content Should Be Free vs Paid. Key Quotes:“Nobody joins a membership because you have the most stuff. They join memberships because they want solutions to their problems.”“You can control the depth of your free content.”“The best memberships offer so much more than what’s in their content library.”

Consistently producing valuable, relevant content for your membership is not easy work. If you’re feeling stuck for inspiration or ideas at the moment, I might be able to help!In this episode, I go through 5 of the best ways you can find ideas and inspiration for your membership site.They’re all different in their ways, but there is an overarching principle to them all – and that’s that we need to listen. Stepping back and taking the time to observe and reflect can really change things for the better.So, take a break now – step back from what you’re doing and reflect on this episode of The Membership Guys podcast. Who knows what ideas you’ll end up with?Essential Learning Points:Why listening is one of the most underrated skills and will reveal a lot to youHow to maximize your email list to generate ideas and right wrongdoingsWhat you can learn from other membership sites to create better content for your ownImportant Links & Mentions: 11 Ways Membership Site Owners Can Leverage Social Media Groups 4 must-have email automation sequences for your membership siteThe Membership AcademyMembership Mastermind from The Membership GuysKey Quotes:“Just listening, observing, and paying attention to the recurring questions and challenges people discuss is worth its weight in gold.”“So often, as business owners, we overcomplicate things. We overstuff things. We keep selling beyond the sell. We try and pack in 5 or 6 objectives into a single email.”“It’s really easy as a membership owner to become detached from the experience of being a member or student.”

When people want to learn something or make progress, they look for the experts. As a membership site owner, you want to make sure that means they’re looking for you.In the competitive world of online membership sites, being good isn’t enough – you need to be able to prove it and show up as the expert wherever you can.How do you do that?Well, the very first step is to listen to this episode of The Membership Guys podcast! I go through 10 different ideas you can follow to make your authority as an expert in your field abundantly clear to your prospective members.Essential Learning Points:Why you need to be clear on what you do before it’s clear to anyone else10 ways you can become the go-to person in your industry, including: creating a signature product, leveraging social proof, and deciding the role you playExamples of these ideas in action, to prove how well these ideas work! Important Links & Mentions:Why Membership Site Owners Need to Niche Down (And STAY Niched)Smart Passive IncomeFemale Entrepreneur Association12 Types of Content To Include In Your Membership SiteSocial Media ExaminerOnline Membership Industry ReportThe Membership Guys booksGrant Baldwin on Growing Your Membership with Public Speaking Promoting Your Membership Site with an Affiliate Program Key Quotes:“You need to make sure that you’re taking steps to position yourself as the go-to person in your industry.”“If you’re not clear on what your niche is or what your role is, what your message and mission are, then how are your audience supposed to know that you are the right person to help them?”“The online world affords you so many opportunities to have a voice, a platform, to showcase your expertise.”

Have you ever dealt with a hit and run member? If you’re not sure what one is – lucky you! These are the members who sign up, download everything, and dash back out the door before your beautifully crafted welcome email has settled in their inbox.Hit and run members abuse your trust and are generally bad apples. They’re rightly a concern for membership providers, but what can you do to stop them? And, are they even worth worrying about?In this From the Vault episode, I share some of the best ways you can prevent hit and run members, dive into whether they’re a genuine concern for most membership providers, and why you can’t let your fears take your eyes off the prize.Essential Learning Points:If someone wants to access your content and circumvent your membership badly enough, they will always find a wayWhy putting up a few simple barriers won’t cut itFour ways you can prevent hit and run members, which double up to add value to your genuine membersWhy you shouldn’t let one bad apple spoil the bunch – and why you should spend more time making your membership great, not protectedImportant Links & Mentions:Membership AcademyShould You “Drip Feed” Your Membership Content?Chris Ducker on Running Live Events to Grow Your MembershipHow to Use Live Video to Market Your Membership with Luria Petrucci 5 Ways Membership Site Owners Can Capitalize on Facebook Live7 Types of Members That Every Membership Site Has12 Types of Content To Include In Your Membership SiteKey quotes:“If Hollywood movie studios haven't found a way of stopping people from getting their stuff for free, then what chance do you and I stand?”“If you're just repeating content because you're worried that people can access everything – that, to me, isn't a good enough reason to delay the delivery of value to your members.”“It would be absolutely crazy to prioritize locking people out over providing a positive member experience for the good portion of your membership base.”

Having a niche is good. Scratch that. It’s essential. Finding your niche, owning it, and staying there is one of the surest ways you will find success in running your membership.If you want to niche down and dominate your market, there are three ways to do it – we reveal how in this episode of the podcast from our ‘From the Vault’ series!Essential Learning Points:The advantages of being a specialist at something, rather than a generalistThree key areas you must analyze if you want to find your nicheHow a niche can strengthen what you’re selling, not weaken itHow niching down can make running your membership easier for you and more valuable for your members Key Quotes:“Solving a specific problem is essential. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you can’t just blend in with the crowd. You need to have a speciality.”“Fandom comes from resonance. But, it’s harder to connect and resonate with your audience when you’re trying to be all things to all people.”Important Links & Mentions:Our Membership Mastermind Facebook groupMembership AcademyBehind the Membership and Member MachineKevin Kelly’s 1,000 True Fans essay

Can you start a membership before you’ve grown your audience? It might sound tricky, but there are some sure-fire ways you can get started. Whether you’re right at the start and haven’t told a single soul about your membership or you’re partway there with a small audience, there are ways you can grow your membership right now and get on the path to having a successful business. Every successful membership has its own unique story of how it got member number one (and all the others after them!). These are five ways you can get to that stage. Essential Learning Points: Validate that your audience exists – you need to have more than just a hunch, find proof that your audience is out there and that they want your solution Build, borrow, or buy an audience – there are three ways to grow your audience from scratch Sell a big-ticket product before your membership – give people a one-off product that requires less commitment but proves your value A soft launch is still a launch – don’t be afraid to start small and quietly Offering your membership for free isn’t a sin – but there are some important caveats to be aware of Key Quotes: “There’s a big difference between having your own audience and having a market. You don’t necessarily have your own portion of the market, but there needs to be a market actually there.” “Having a small intimate coaching program is perfectly suited to having a smaller following and a smaller audience.” Important Links & Mentions: How to Generate Email Leads for Your Membership Site 12 Types of Content To Include In Your Membership Site How to Attract New Members by Running a Free Challenge Promoting Your Membership Site with an Affiliate Program Lead Generation Essentials for Membership Site Owners Creating an MVP to Test and Validate Your Membership Idea How to Use Upsells to Generate More Revenue from Your Membership Site The Membership Academy Facebook Pixel guide Google Ads guide

Pinterest, it’s for wedding planning and redecorating inspiration, right?Or is it a platform with over 300 million users that some businesses are generating 200% ROI from?Clearly, it’s time for a rethink on Pinterest!That’s why I asked Cara Chace to join me on this episode of The Membership Guys podcast. Cara is one of the best in the business of Pinterest marketing – and she runs her own membership, so she’s even more clued up about how we membership site owners can get the most out of this underutilized platform!If you want to know how to start marketing your membership on Pinterest, Cara is the only person you want to hear from. My conversation with Cara on this episode has given me so many ideas and lightbulb moments and I’m already starting to implement them on Pinterest. I’ve no doubt you’ll find it just as useful, so sit back and enjoy… Just remember to take notes!Essential Learning Points:Who Cara is, what she does, and her expertise in PinterestThe basics of PinterestWhat best practice on Pinterest looks likeWhat you want to avoid doing on PinterestHow to advertise on PinterestHow to develop a Pinterest marketing strategy for your membership Important Links & Mentions:Pinterest PowerUpChace DigitalCara’s PinterestCara’s InstagramCara’s FacebookCara’s LinkedIn9 Simple Membership Marketing Tactics That’ll Get You More Members How to Generate Email Leads for Your Membership SiteHow to Decide Which Content Should Be Free vs Paid Key Quotes:“The fundamental thing that you have to understand is that it is not social media. It is a visual search engine. It has much more in common with Google than it does Facebook or Twitter.”“People go to Pinterest to get inspired, to learn, to solve a problem.”“Pinterest boards are so important that Google indexes them!”“It’s not about creating more content, it’s about creating more pins for the content you have.”