Podcasts by Membership Geeks Podcast with Mike Morrison

333 - KPIs Every Membership Owner Should Be Tracking from 2021-11-23T01:30

Every successful membership site owner knows their numbers.

If you don’t know how your business is performing in key areas, then you have no basis for growth and making improvements, or an...

332 - 6 Ways to Create Interest and Buzz for Your Membership Launch from 2021-11-16T01:30

Preparing to launch your membership website? 

This can be both an exhilarating and terrifying time, with lots of tasks to tick off your checklist and limited time in which to get as m...

331 - Promoting Your Membership Using Social Media: A 12 Step Plan from 2021-11-09T01:30

Do you want to transform your tweeting into real results? Unsure where to start?

Social media is a tough nut to crack. You can post consistently and still see no results and no sales. The ...

330 - Tips and Techniques to Encourage Members to Consume Your Content from 2021-11-02T01:30

Are you struggling to get members to consume and complete your content once they’ve signed up?

If you want to keep members happy and improve member retention, the work doesn’t end once the...

329 - 5 Ways to Level up Your New Member Experience from 2021-10-26T01:30

First impressions are key, especially in the membership world. A good experience in the early days is absolutely crucial to encouraging engagement, community collaboration, and retention.

...

328 - Should I Include All My Products and Content Inside My Membership? from 2021-10-19T01:30

Do you want to offer a brand-new course or live event…separate from your membership?

Is this something you’re allowed to do, or will all hell break loose in your membership?

327 - How to Choose the Right Topic for Your Membership from 2021-10-12T01:30

If you’re thinking about starting a membership site, the very first decision you need to make is what it’s about.

Your choice of topic is fundamental to your success. A good choice is a st...

326 - 11 Signs That it's Time to Increase the Price of Your Membership from 2021-10-05T01:30

Is it time to finally increase the price of your membership?

It’s tricky to answer that because there are loads of different things to consider first. What are your costs? What value do yo...

325 - How to Maintain Harmony inside Your Membership Community from 2021-09-28T01:30

How do you keep the peace in your membership community? As a community leader, it’s your job to make the space your members inhabit welcoming, friendly, and harmonious.

But managing a big...

324 - Should I Charge Monthly or Annually for Membership Site? from 2021-09-21T01:30

Not sure whether to offer monthly or annual billing on your membership?

The way members sign up to your membership site can make all the difference in the buying decision.

You don’t...

323 - How to Inject New Life into a Stale Membership Website from 2021-09-14T01:30

Has the spark died down from your membership?

If you’re struggling with getting new members, old members are quitting, or engagement has dwindled, it’s time to reignite that spark.

...

322 - Selling a Membership Alongside An Existing Online Course from 2021-09-07T01:30

Do you have an online course you’re thinking of taking to the next level? Wondering if an online membership would make the perfect pairing?

A combination of courses and memberships can wor...

321 - Celebrating the 6th Anniversary of Membership Academy from 2021-08-31T01:30

Wow... 6 years of Membership Academy!

It's been a crazy year as we adjusted to running a membership during a pandemic and refocused our efforts and attentions on new areas of growth.

320 - How Perceived Value Impacts Your Membership Pricing Strategy from 2021-08-24T01:30

How do you choose the perfect price for your membership?

What’s the number one thing to think about? The truth is, there are lots of different factors at play. But one thing people overlo...

319 - Do Membership Sites REALLY Provide Passive Income? (Revisited) from 2021-08-17T01:30

Can a membership business ever really provide passive income?

Lots of so-called internet marketing gurus out there will point you in the direction of the membership model and claim it’s th...

318 - Hiring Your First Employees for your Membership Business from 2021-08-10T01:30

Are you ready to finally hire your first employee?

It’s an exciting yet daunting experience because there’s a lot to cover and plan for. But don’t worry, this episode takes you through all...

317 - Overcoming Perfectionism When Starting a Membership Website from 2021-08-03T01:30

Are you a bit of a perfectionist? A little bit of perfectionism can be a good thing. It can help you strive towards creating the very best content and value for your members.

But too much ...

316 - Why People Aren't Joining Your Membership Site from 2021-07-27T01:30

Is your membership not attracting enough members? Are you wondering where you’re going wrong?

In this episode, we cover nine of the most common reasons why people don’t sign up for a membe...

315 - 5 Essential Emails Every Membership Sales Series Needs from 2021-07-20T01:30

Are you ready to build your email list? Do you already have one but you’re not sure how to get the most value out of it?

Whether you’re starting from scratch or are revamping your email se...

314 - Why You Need to Take People Behind the Scenes of your Membership from 2021-07-13T01:30

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of a membership?

Maybe you’ve considered joining one in the past but just have no idea what to expect. Does your audience feel the sa...

313 - Musings About Money and Mindset in the Membership World from 2021-07-06T01:30

Are you comfortable talking about money?

Many aren’t and avoid the topic altogether. Others are on the opposite end of the spectrum and will flaunt it all day on social media.

As mon...

312 - 5 Toughest Membership Tech Decisions you Need to Make When Starting Out from 2021-06-29T01:30

Are you ready to build your membership website?

Before you get started, there are a few key tech decisions you need to make first. These decisions will influence every element of your mem...

311 - Switching Membership Enrolment Models: Closed to Open from 2021-06-22T01:30

Are you considering a switch from a closed to open-door membership? Maybe you’ve heard about all the benefits of open membership models and want to try it out for yourself.

Great! Open mem...

310 - Switching Membership Enrolment Models: Open to Closed from 2021-06-15T01:30

Are you toying with the idea of switching from an open to a closed-door membership model?

Hold on! Before you make the switch, there are some vital things to consider first. In this episod...

309 - Behind The Membership: Season 4 Highlights (aka The One where Callie Takes Over) from 2021-06-08T01:30

Good news... it's my birthday!! 

Bad news... I literally NEVER work on my birthday…

It’s one of my rules...

And as much as I love The Membership Guys podcast…&nbs...

308 - 7 Boring But Important Things You Need to Know When Running a Membership from 2021-06-01T01:30

Whether you are new to memberships, thinking about starting one, or have been doing it for years, there are some key things that everyone needs to know.

In this episode, I share some of t...

307 - 8 Ways to Reduce Stress When Running a Membership from 2021-05-25T01:30

Is your membership stressing you out?

When you first started your journey to being a membership owner, the chances are you didn’t picture sleepless nights and dreading going to work. In fa...

306 - When is it The Right Time to Start a Membership Site from 2021-05-18T01:30

Are you ready to launch a membership? Are you really ready?

If you’ve been toying with the idea of launching a membership for some time, you might be wondering if the timing is r...

My Fight with Depression - Mental Health Awareness Week 2021 from 2021-05-11T17:00

In this one-off bonus episode to mark Mental Health Awareness Week, I'm opening up about my history of dealing with clinical depression.

To say this is not a typical episode of The Members...

305 - 12 Universal Truths of Membership Marketing from 2021-05-11T01:30

What’s the secret to marketing your membership? Spoiler: there isn’t just one secret! There are multiple different methods to try, but there are some universal truths to always ...

304 - Ignore This Terrible Advice About Your Membership Business from 2021-05-04T01:30

There’s a lot of advice out there about memberships, some of it good, some of it downright awful! If you’re not sure who to listen to or you’re worried you’ve made a mistake about starting a mem...

We Want Your Feedback! - Bonus Episode from 2021-04-29T12:55

In this special one-off episode, we're asking you guys to help us shape the future direction of The Membership Guys Podcast by having your say on the topics you'd like us to hear more about.

303 - How We Built Our Audience Before Launching Our Membership from 2021-04-27T01:30

How can you launch a membership without any audience? The simple answer is you don’t have to. You need to put in the work to build that audience first.  

That’s exactly what ...

302 - 7 Simple Ways To Increase The Stickiness Of Your Membership By Signposting Future Value from 2021-04-20T01:30

How do you make your membership ‘stickier’? By that, we mean, how do you get members to stick around for your content?

The key is to give them something worth sticking around for. You migh...

301 - 6 Things To Do After You’ve Launched Your Membership from 2021-04-13T01:30

What should you do after you launch your membership?

Once the launch is all over and done with, what next? Do you just wait for more members to drop by? No, you’ve still got plenty of wor...

300 - The Untold Origin Story of The Membership Guys from 2021-04-06T01:30

Every superhero has an origin story…

And as we're celebrating a huge milestone of recording 300 episodes of The Membership Guys podcast, Callie and I decided to do somet...

299 - What To Do When Your Membership Topic Has a Natural'End Date' from 2021-03-30T01:30

What if your membership has a natural end date? While no membership will last forever, some hit a natural point where members drop off. 

This doesn’t necessarily mean the content was ...

298 - Avoid These 6 Common Member Retention Mistakes from 2021-03-23T01:30

We all want to win over as many new members as possible. But did you know that keeping those members is often more important?

Member acquisition is still essential. But unless you...

297 - From The Vault: 4 Simple But Effective Ways to Deliver Massive Value to Your Members from 2021-03-16T01:30

The guiding principle of membership sites is that they are a value exchange. People subscribe to your site and you provide them with enough reasons to keep their subscription going.

And s...

296 - From The Vault: Should I Host My Membership on a Separate Domain Name? from 2021-03-09T01:30

Choosing where to house your new membership site is a major decision. And you are not alone in feeling confused and uncertain about the options.

In this episode of the Membership Guys Podc...

295 - From The Vault: Tackling the 6 Biggest Challenges Every New Membership Owner Faces from 2021-03-02T01:30

So, you've launched your membership site and are ready to reach those goals and fulfill those dreams you imagined for yourself and for your membership.

A word of caution: you may face a fe...

294 - How to Create a Private Podcast for your Members from 2021-02-23T01:30

Did you know that private podcasting could enhance your membership business?

By now, most of us are familiar with podcasts. Many of us are avid listeners already. Private podcasting hasn’t...

293 - Have You Hit The Revenue Ceiling For Your Membership Business? from 2021-02-16T01:30

Did you know that every membership has a revenue ceiling?

The revenue ceiling refers to the absolute peak of how much your membership is capable of generating. Knowing wh...

292 - Are You Leaving Money On The Table in Your Membership Business from 2021-02-09T01:30

If you run a membership site (or any business for that matter), you've probably heard things like, "You're leaving money on the table," from other so-called business professionals.

291 - How to Encourage Engagement without Nagging Your Members from 2021-02-02T01:30

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 membershi...

290 - How to Create an Effective Membership Exit Survey from 2021-01-26T01:30

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 a...

289 - Competing with Established Memberships in Your Market from 2021-01-19T01:30

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 ...

288 - Using Instagram Stories to Promote Your Membership from 2021-01-12T01:30

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 me...

287 - Setting Goals for Your Membership Business: A Practical Process from 2021-01-05T01:30

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 ...

286 - Top 10 Most Popular Podcast Episodes of 2020 from 2020-12-29T01:30

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 t...

285 - Running a Membership over the Holidays – 6 Things You Should Do from 2020-12-22T01:30

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 hol...

284 - Branding Essentials for Your Membership Business from 2020-12-15T01:30

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 comm...

283 - Keeping Your WordPress Membership Site Secure from 2020-12-08T01:30

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 so...

282 - Should You Increase the Price Existing Members are Paying? from 2020-12-01T01:30

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 th...

281 - Celebrating the Milestones of Your Membership Business from 2020-11-24T01:30

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 t...

280 - Pros and Cons of Pre-selling Your Membership from 2020-11-17T01:30

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 m...

279 - Customer Service Essentials for Membership Sites from 2020-11-10T01:30

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. Listen

278 - Using Member Roundups to Increase Engagement from 2020-11-03T01:30

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.

277 - Breaking Down the 6 Different Types of Membership Launch from 2020-10-27T01:30

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 ...

276 - How to Change Membership Platform After You’ve Launched from 2020-10-20T01:30

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 ...

275 - Busting the Most Common Membership Marketing Myths from 2020-10-13T01:30

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 ...

274 - Advanced Membership Pricing Tips&Tactics from 2020-10-06T01:30

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, ther...

273 - 5 Ways to Encourage Discussion in Your Membership Community from 2020-09-29T01:30

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...

272 - Celebrating the 5th Anniversary of Membership Academy from 2020-09-22T01:30

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 Ac...

271 - From The Vault: How to Start Building an Audience for Your Membership Site from 2020-09-15T01:30

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...

270 - From The Vault: How to Set Boundaries with your Members from 2020-09-08T01:30

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 aloo...

269 - From The Vault: How to Win Back Cancelled Members from 2020-09-01T01:30

“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?

268 - How to Drive Traffic from Your Blog to Your Membership from 2020-08-25T01:30

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 owne...

267 - 6 Situations Where The Closed Door Membership Model Makes Sense from 2020-08-18T01:30

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 th...

266 - Why Signal vs Noise Ratio Is Key to Membership Community Engagement from 2020-08-11T01:30

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 membe...

265 - 21 Quick Tips for Improving Member Retention from 2020-08-04T01:30

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...

264 - 9 Key Terms Every Membership Site Owner Should Know from 2020-07-28T01:30

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 wa...

263 - Facebook Remarketing Strategies for Membership Websites from 2020-07-21T01:30

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 ...

261 - 7 Ways to Add Social Proof to Your Membership Sales Page from 2020-07-07T01:30

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;...

260 - 5 Stages of the Member Lifecycle from 2020-06-30T01:30

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 L...

259 - 8 Questions to Ask Before Purchasing Your Membership Plugin from 2020-06-23T01:30

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 s...

258 - 4 Essential Email Automations Every Membership Website Needs from 2020-06-16T01:30

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...

257 - 9 Ways to Increase Attendance for your Live Membership Calls from 2020-06-09T01:30

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 ...

256 - Why Every Membership Owner Needs to Focus on Improving their Content from 2020-06-02T01:30

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 ...

6 Areas to Focus on When Scaling Your Membership Business from 2020-05-26T01:30

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 ...

254 - Should I Offer a Trial for My Membership Site? from 2020-05-19T01:30

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 anyth...

253 - 7 Things To Do Before Releasing Your Next Piece Of Membership Content from 2020-05-12T01:30

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 ...

252 - How Often Should You Adjust Your Membership Sales Funnels? from 2020-05-05T01:30

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 d...

251 - Growing Your Membership with Joint Venture Promotions from 2020-04-28T01:30

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...

250 - How To Use Free Content To Sell Your Online Membership from 2020-04-21T01:30

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 en...

249 - 8 Things You Need To Know Before Starting A Membership Website from 2020-04-14T01:30

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...

248 - Overcoming The Fear Of Giving Away Your Expertise For Free from 2020-04-07T01:30

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 ...

247 - 5 Best Sources of Ideas And Inspiration For Your Membership Site from 2020-03-31T01:30

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 epi...

246 - 10 Ways Membership Owners Can Become The "Go To" Person In Your Industry from 2020-03-24T01:30

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 wo...

245 - From The Vault: How to Prevent "Hit and Run" Members Abusing Your Membership from 2020-03-17T01:30

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...

244 - From The Vault: Why Membership Site Owners Need to Niche Down (And STAY Niched) from 2020-03-10T01:30

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 wa...

243 - From The Vault: 5 Options For Starting a Membership BEFORE You’ve Grown Your Audience from 2020-03-03T01:30

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 to...

242 - Using Pinterest to Market Your Membership with Cara Chace from 2020-02-25T01:30

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?

Clearl...

241 - Should You Build Your Website Yourself or Hire Help - with Martin & Lyndsay from Jammy Digital from 2020-02-18T01:30

Some memberships need great video content. Others need a complex email campaign. Some need entirely unique elements.

All memberships need a website.

So how do you go about it? Do ...

240 - Using Facebook Ads to Promote Your Membership with Gavin Bell from 2020-02-11T01:30

In today’s digital-driven society, it often feels like you can’t go far without bumping into a self-proclaimed social media ‘expert’. So, when you encounter someone who everyone else calls an exper...

239 - 5 Mix-and-Match Strategies for a Successful Membership Site Launch from 2020-02-04T01:30

Build it and they will come.

While that approach may have worked for Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams; it most certainly does not apply to launching a successful membership website.
Listen

238 - Why You Should Run a Beta Test for Your Membership Site from 2020-01-28T01:30

Launching a membership site is an exciting but nerve wracking time.

You've probably put your blood, sweat and tears into creating this site, no doubt losing some sleep along the way.
<...

237 - Should You Allow Competitors to Join Your Membership? from 2020-01-21T01:30

We can all be overprotective of our content, especially when it comes to being open and allowing our competitors into our safe and secure membership site. I choose to have an open-minded attitude a...

236 - 4 Ways to Discover What Your Audience REALLY Want from your Membership from 2020-01-14T01:30

Do you know what people in your audience actually want from your membership?

When planning your membership site, it’s easy to fall into the trap of building something that we think would b...

235 - 9 Simple Marketing Tactics That'll Get You More Members from 2020-01-07T01:30

Your membership might be the best thing since sliced bread, but if you aren’t marketing it correctly, you aren’t going to be getting the sales you deserve.

There are some simple steps you...

234 - 10 Most Popular Podcast Episodes of 2019 from 2019-12-31T01:30

So, 2019 is done and dusted. Hopefully it was a successful one for you and your membership.

It was certainly a big one for us, with more highlights than you can shake a stick at - many of...

233 - 7 Types of Members That Every Membership Site Has from 2019-12-24T01:30

Although every membership site is unique, you’ll usually discover that seven types of members keep showing up in every single one of them. While some of these will mimic your ‘ideal member,’ others...

232 - Should You Charge a Joining Fee for Your Membership? from 2019-12-17T01:30

Are you thinking about charging a joining fee for your membership?

A joining fee is an arbitrary fee that new members pay on top of their first monthly payment. If you ask me, I think that...

231 - Tips For Dealing with a Downturn in Your Membership from 2019-12-10T01:30

You know your membership is going through a downturn when you notice a reduction in sales, fewer member signups and a potential slowdown to your overall growth rate.

When your membership e...

230 - The State of the Membership Industry - Retain Live Keynote from 2019-12-03T01:30

Is now a good time to have a membership site?

On this special episode of the podcast, you’ll get to listen in to the opening keynote from our very first conference ‘Retain Live 2019.’ It w...

229 - How to Fall Back in Love with Your Membership from 2019-11-26T01:30

Have you lost interest in your membership?

When you first launched your membership, you were probably bursting with excitement and enthusiasm. But, over time those positive feelings you as...

228 - How to Keep Your Membership Waitlist Engaged from 2019-11-19T01:30

A waitlist is a dedicated email list that people subscribe to in order to receive updates about a membership that you are going to launch in the future.

We are big believers in setting up ...

227 - Dealing with Payment Disputes in Your Membership from 2019-11-12T01:30

Payment disputes are a reality of running any business, including membership sites. Luckily, they don’t happen often. But when they do, they take valuable time away from your business and revenue g...

226 - Biggest Takeaways from the Online Membership Industry Report from 2019-11-05T01:30

In our early days of working with memberships, we stumbled across an article that claimed that the average member only stays subscribed for a mere 3 months.

You’ve probably heard this you...

225 - Using Offers and Promotions to Attract New Members from 2019-10-29T01:30

It's coming up to that time of year where promotions and discounts abound.

Whether it's Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas or New Year, the sales season is definitely upon us.

...

224 - 7 Principles Shared by Every Successful Membership Website from 2019-10-22T01:30

Despite what the slickest of snake oil salesmen will try to tell you, there is no secret sauce or golden formula for building a successful membership website.

The key to the long term succ...

223 - 7 Biggest Mistakes that Growing Membership Site Owners Make from 2019-10-15T01:30

The path to membership success is paved with a litany of mistakes.
Along the way you’re going to screw up, especially in the early days. It’s all part of the learning curve and it happens to th...

222 - How Your Service Business Can Move to the Membership Model from 2019-10-08T01:30

There are many reasons people are attracted to the membership model.
The most compelling for us is how dramatically different (and better) making recurring income from a membership is compared ...

221 - Retain Live 2019 Debrief with Mike and Callie - Part Two: The Event from 2019-10-01T01:30

Retain Live 2019 was a phenomenal success - especially for our very first live event!

However as we discussed during the first part of our "debrief", it was a little rocky in the build up...

220 - Retain Live 2019 Debrief with Mike and Callie - Part One: The Build Up from 2019-09-24T01:30

Two weeks ago, we kicked off our very first live conference: Retain Live 2019.

It's the first time we've run an event of this scale, and to say it was a new, interesting and challenging e...

From The Vault: Creating an MVP to Test and Validate Your Membership Idea from 2019-09-17T01:30

If you have a great idea for a membership, you need to validate whether or not it’s destined to fail or succeed. Like Rome, the world’s leading membership sites weren’t built in a day. They started...

From The Vault: How Much Should I Charge For My Membership Website from 2019-09-10T01:30

Deciding how much you should charge for your membership site is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. Charge too little and you risk losing out and making no profit. On the other hand, i...

From The Vault: 4 Key Differences Between B2C and B2B Membership Sites from 2019-09-03T01:30

Have you ever wondered what the main differences are between B2B memberships and B2C memberships?
When it comes to membership sites, most of the strategies that we talk about on the podcast an...

216 - Celebrating the 4th Anniversary of Membership Academy from 2019-08-27T01:30

Holy smokes, has it really been four years already?!

It honestly feels like yesterday that we were gearing up to open the doors to the Academy. I'm not sure we fully realised the awesome ...

What To Do (And What to Avoid) When Someone Cancels Their Membership from 2019-08-20T01:30

Like it or not, membership cancellations are going to happen. Hopefully if you run your site well those cancellations will come at the end of a long tenure, but regardless they will happen. How y...

Pay Attention to These 4 Things When Choosing a Membership Plugin from 2019-08-13T01:30

Having a hard time deciding which membership plugin is for you?
Although the main feature of a membership plugin is to give you control of the content in a restricted ‘members-only’ area of yo...

What To Do if Someone Tells You That They Can't Afford Your Membership from 2019-08-06T01:30

Have you ever had somebody tell you that your membership is overpriced?
Honestly, it would be a surprise if you haven’t. Discussions like this are usually followed up with a bargaining attempt...

5 Things That Have Moved the Needle For Us (And a Few That Didn't) from 2019-07-30T01:30

Our members often ask questions about how we run our membership and how our business has grown over time.
The first thing we tell them is that our success didn’t fall out of the heavens and on...

211- How Membership Owners Can Combat Subscription Fatigue from 2019-07-23T01:30

How do you ensure that your membership doesn’t get the chop when your members decide it’s monthly subscription payment Armageddon?

With so many businesses moving into the membership space...

Does The Membership Model Have a Future or Is It a Passing Fad? from 2019-07-16T01:30

Memberships have been a hot topic in recent years.
Everybody is talking about them, and it seems like everyone and their dog is starting a new membership; but what happens when all of this hyp...

209 - Updating The Membership Guys Brand - Behind The Scenes from 2019-07-09T01:30

It's an exciting time for us here at The Membership Guys as we unveil a fresh new update for our brand, and also announce that Member Site Academy is now Membership Academy!

While on the ...

4 Things That Have Made Us More Productive Membership Owners from 2019-07-02T01:30

Membership site owners wear a lot of hats and juggle a lot of tasks on a day to day basis.
With so many moving parts, and so many plates to keep spinning, anything that we can do to streamline...

Using Segmentation to Increase Leads and Member Sales from 2019-06-25T01:30

Are you trying to be all things to all people with your content?
The truth is, the more broad your content is, the less compelling, relevant and effective it's likely to be for the individual ...

6 Simple Ways to Make Your Members Feel Extra Special from 2019-06-18T01:30

Are you delivering an exceptional member experience?
Your membership could have the best content in the world, but if your member experience isn't up to scratch then people just aren't going t...

How to Attract Better Members Who Will Stick Around Long Term from 2019-06-11T01:30

Attracting the right people to your membership is essential for the growth of your business.
Not all members are created equal - the best ones will consume your content, positively engage with...

The Tools We're Using For Our Membership - 2019 Edition from 2019-06-04T01:30

We regularly get asked for our recommendations on the top tools for membership website owners.
The truth is that there’s no such thing as the “perfect” membership site setup that will work for...

203 - Behind The Membership: Building a 7 Figure Bass Empire with Scott Devine from 2019-05-28T01:12:53

This week we're doing something a little different on The Membership Guys Podcast!

You may or may not know that we actually have another show called 'Behind The Membership', which is host...

Using the 'Splinter' Strategy to Sell More Memberships from 2019-05-21T01:30

Memberships can be challenging products to sell, as often they're made up of so many different things that it's hard to get specific in your marketing.
One way to counteract that is with the "...

7 Things You Need to Validate Before Starting a Membership from 2019-05-14T01:30

It's easy to get carried away in those early days of planning and building a membership site.
So many people get overexcited by their idea and a little too swept up in the process that they sk...

Ask Us Anything: Mike and Callie Answer Your Questions from 2019-05-07T01:30

We're celebrating a huge milestone for The Membership Guys Podcast as we hit our 200th episode!

To mark the occasion, we thought we’d do something a little special...

So both Calli...

12 Types of Content To Include In Your Membership Site from 2019-04-30T01:30

Membership websites are a value exchange.

As long as you keep delivering value to your members - in the form of content, resources and ongoing investment in your product - they'll keep gi...

What To Do When Someone Steals Your Membership Content from 2019-04-23T01:30

When publishing content online - whether freely or inside a membership - there's always the chance that someone will copy or steal your hard work.
In truth the only way to guarantee that this ...

How to Reduce the Price of Your Membership (Without Alienating Existing Members) from 2019-04-16T01:30

Reducing the price of your membership might sound like the last thing you'd ever want to do.
As time goes on and you add more content, the value of your membership increases - so surely you'd ...

Should I Create a Membership Website or an Online Course? from 2019-04-09T01:30

Whether you're teaching a specialist subject, or want to support others who share your interests; it's now easier than ever to reach a global audience and get paid for sharing your time, skills, ex...

From The Vault: What To Do If Your Membership Launch Fails from 2019-04-02T01:30

We can spend months creating content, writing workbooks, pulling our hair out, and spending a small fortune on promoting a new membership site and then when we finally launch it… nobody joins.
...

From The Vault: How to Deal with Problem Members Inside Your Community from 2019-03-26T01:30

One of the best things about running a membership website is that we can market and position it in a way that we attract the sort of members that we most want to work with.
However no matter h...

From The Vault: How to Streamline the Production of your Membership Content from 2019-03-19T01:30

Creating membership content can be one of the most time consuming parts of running a paid membership website.
If you’re billing people on a recurring basis, you need to deliver value on a recu...

The Worst Membership Experience EVER - with Callie Willows from 2019-03-12T01:30

Less than a month ago, Callie bought a book.
Unbeknownst to her, that simple act would be the start of the single worst buyer experience she's ever encountered, as she found herself subscribed...

How Big Does My Membership Need to Be In Order to Be Successful? from 2019-03-05T01:30

Many people measure success according to vanity metrics.
How many followers you have rather than how much engagement you get; how much your turnover is rather than how much net profit you make...

Should You Drip-feed Your Membership Content? from 2019-02-26T01:30

If you’ve spent much time looking at online courses or membership sites and their associated plugins and software, then you are probably already familiar with the terms ‘drip feeding’ and ‘content ...

How Do I Know That I'm Delivering Enough Value in My Membership? from 2019-02-19T01:30

It can be difficult to judge whether or not you're delivering enough value in your membership for the price you wish to charge.
That's mostly because "value" is an abstract concept.
There...

4 Unusual (But Effective) Membership Content Strategies from 2019-02-12T01:30

While the majority of online memberships tend to fall into the same 2 or 3 models in terms of how they deliver their premium content; there is much to be learned from those membership sites that do...

Should Your Membership Offer Multiple Different Levels? from 2019-02-05T01:30

One of the key decisions to be made when planning a membership is whether to offer multiple membership levels or a single 'all access' option.
While we always advocate for simplicity, there ar...

6 Tasks You Should Outsource To Make Your Membership More Manageable from 2019-01-29T01:30

Most membership owners - especially those earlier on in their journey - try to do everything themselves
Chris Ducker refers to this as "Superhero Syndrome" - where you convince yourself that e...

Essential Features of a Successful Membership Sales Page from 2019-01-15T01:30

Your membership sales page is perhaps the single most important piece of the puzzle for attracting member signups.
Whether it's a cold lead or someone who has been following you for years - it...

Planning Your Content for the next 12 Months with Janet Murray from 2019-01-08T01:30

Most online memberships involve content.
A lot of content.
Not only are you creating content for your membership, but often you're blogging, podcasting or creating videos as part of your ...

6 Types of People Who Should Start a Membership Website from 2019-01-01T01:30

Considering starting a membership website in 2019?
Perhaps you should be...
In this episode I look at 6 types of people who are especially well suited to starting a membership site, and d...

Lead Generation Essentials for Membership Site Owners from 2018-12-18T01:30

Lead generation is a critical part of the sales process for membership owners.
For most membership businesses, this means getting people to subscribe to your email marketing list, where you ca...

Why You Should Keep Things Simple with Your Membership from 2018-12-11T01:30

It's easy to get carried away when creating a membership website.
We often turn to other memberships for inspiration, and as a result end up with a wishlist of shiny bells and whistles that we...

Running a Membership over the Holidays - 6 Things You Should Do from 2018-12-04T01:30

As the year draws to a close and many inside your membership and your wider audience will be in a festive mood, what sort of things should you be doing as a membership owner?
Whether you're a ...

Where to Find Reliable Tech Support for your Membership Site from 2018-11-27T01:30

Membership websites have a whole mess of moving parts - plugins, themes, integrations, payment processors - they all add up to make memberships one of the most complicated types of sites that you c...

Growing Your Membership by Doing Things That Don’t Scale from 2018-11-20T01:30

The "one to many" aspect of a membership site is what makes it such an attractive business model.
The ability to leverage your time, skills, experience and expertise in order to serve hundreds...

5 Ideas to Take a Successful Membership to the Next Level from 2018-11-13T01:30

Much of what we discuss here at The Membership Guys revolves around building and growing a successful membership.
But once you've reached a point where you can call your membership "successful...

Tactics to Pre-empt and Prevent Member Cancellations from 2018-10-30T01:30

Cancellations are an inevitable part of the member journey.
Everyone running a membership deals with them.
However that doesn't mean you just have to sit back and let cancellations happen...

Why Member Lifetime Value is More Important Than Churn from 2018-10-23T01:30

Are you worried about the churn rate of your membership?
Many membership business owners look at the numbers dropping and panic. They might even believe that the membership business model is f...

How To Avoid Your Membership Becoming a Burden from 2018-10-16T01:30

Creating a membership is an exciting time. The creative juices are flowing, the sense of accomplishment from building and launching something new can be exhilarating, and there's an undeniable buzz...

9 Ways To Save Money When Running Your Membership from 2018-10-09T01:30

With so many moving parts involved in building and running a membership site, the costs can quickly add up.
And while constantly trying to penny-pinch and always going with the cheap option is...

From The Vault: Utilizing Guest Experts for your Membership Content from 2018-10-03T01:30

While in a lot of cases people will have joined your membership to get the benefit of your particular expertise; bringing in experts in complimentary topics can add a lot to your offering.
Not...

From The Vault: Strategies for Increasing Your Membership Pricing from 2018-09-26T01:30

During the course of running your membership site, there will inevitably come a point where you want to increase your pricing.
Maybe your offering has changed, perhaps you're responding to inc...

From The Vault: How to Decide Which Content Should Be Free vs Paid from 2018-09-19T01:30

Membership websites come in all shapes and sizes; but the type we primarily deal with here on The Membership Guys consist primarily of content and community.
Given that content marketing is, w...

Repurposing Your Membership Content with Amy Woods from 2018-09-12T01:30

The typical membership site owner creates a LOT of content.

Not just for their paying members, but as part of their marketing strategy too.

It's a lot of work - so anything you can...

Looking Back at Year 3 of the Member Site Academy from 2018-09-05T01:00

Wow, time flies when you're rocking the membership world!

In what has become an annual tradition - we're celebrating the 3rd anniversary of Member Site Academy with a very special episode...

How to Deal With Negative Feedback About Your Membership from 2018-08-29T01:30

As your membership grows, so too does the likelihood that you'll encounter negative feedback from your members.

You can't please everyone, it's a fools errand to even try. But what do you...

6 Ways to Use a Podcast to Promote Your Membership from 2018-08-22T01:30

Podcasting can be an extremely effective outlet for experts and influencers to expand their reach, grow their audience and demonstrate their credibility.
And for membership owners, a podcast c...

No, Average Member Retention Is NOT Only 3 Months from 2018-08-15T01:30

"The average length of time someone will stay subscribed to your membership is just 3 months."
You’ve heard that before, right?
You’ve no doubt seen "experts" throwing this statistic arou...

What Does Facebook Announcing Paid Group Subscriptions Mean For the Membership Space? from 2018-08-08T01:30

On June 20th, Facebook officially announced that they are trialling the option for Group admins to charge a recurring subscription fee to their members.
This is definitely a huge move, and one...

5 Options For Starting a Membership BEFORE You've Grown Your Audience from 2018-08-01T01:30

We're constantly banging the drum on how important it is to have an established audience BEFORE you build and launch a membership.
However for some people the temptation to rush headfirst into...

4 Ways You Can Use a Membership to Supplement Your Existing Business from 2018-07-25T01:30

When we talk about membership sites, typically it's in the context of being the main part of the membership owner's business.
However that's not the only way to do it.
In this episode of ...

How Many People Can I Realistically Expect To Join My Membership? from 2018-07-18T01:30

This is the ultimate “how long is a piece of string” question.
There’s no exact science or specific formula that will accurately predict how many people are likely to join your membership.
Listen

Creative Ways to Improve Your Member Experience with Andrew & Pete from 2018-07-11T01:30

In today's online world you're increasingly competing with a lot of noise and distraction when it comes to your members time and attention.
How do you stand out?
What can you do to delive...

How To Level-Up by Creating a Membership Ecosystem from 2018-07-04T01:30

So your membership is ticking along nicely, you're bringing in new members at a steady rate (and they're sticking around too), you've got your systems and processes nailed and everything is running...

Mark Asquith On Changing Your Core Business Model from 2018-06-27T01:30

Making the move from working one on one with clients, to running a "one to many" subscription business like a membership can be a daunting transition.
It's one Mark Asquith made several years ...

Where To Host Videos For Your Membership? from 2018-06-20T01:30

Most memberships in the online space feature some form of video content.
But the question of where to host these videos continues to confuse many membership site owners.
In this episode o...

What Should Be Your Membership's Refund Policy? from 2018-06-13T01:30

Refunds suck.
Let's face it - someone asking for their money back is never cause for celebration.
But the fact is that while it might hurt your feelings, hurt your wallet or just flat out...

6 Quick & Easy Membership Sales Tactics To Try Out This Month from 2018-06-06T01:30

Much of the marketing advice you'll come across conditions you seek out a magic bullet that will unlock a tidal wave of leads and sales.
The blueprint for the perfect funnel; the foolproof lau...

The 3 Questions That Will Accelerate Your Membership Growth from 2018-05-30T01:30

A clear understanding of what makes your audience tick is key to ensuring your marketing is on point.
So often people forget this.
They get swept up in the latest quick fix marketing tric...

How to Tap Into Your Existing Members to Create Social Proof. from 2018-05-23T01:30

Social proof is a powerful marketing tool.
Everyone expects you to talk about how awesome your membership is - that's a given - but when others back you up then it's a whole different ball gam...

5 Biggest Risks Facing Membership Owners from 2018-05-16T01:30

There's an element of risk involved with every type of business.
Particularly online.
However when it comes to membership sites there are a few things in particular that you want to pay s...

8 Simple Ways to Add a Personal Touch to your Membership from 2018-05-09T01:30

The one-to-many aspect of the membership model is one of it's greatest benefits.
Being able to serve your audience on a larger scale is what attracts a lot of membership owners to this type of...

The Potential Downsides of Using Gamification from 2018-05-02T01:30

Gamification is the strategy of using gameplay elements as a means of encouraging engagement with your product, course or membership.
Typically with membership sites, this manifests itself as ...

3 Ways To Enable Shared Group Access To Your Membership from 2018-04-25T01:30

Are you in an industry where there may be a demand for group access to your membership?
Whether it's partners in the same business, employees in a single company, or even just an entrepreneur ...

Should You Let Members Cancel Their Subscription Themselves? from 2018-04-18T01:30

Cancellations suck. There's no denying it.
Obviously a member ending their subscription is pretty much the worst case scenario. By nature of the business model it's pretty much the last thing ...

4 Ways to Improve Your Live Member Calls from 2018-04-11T01:30

Live calls are a great way of delivering value to your members without a lot of the headaches and added effort that goes into creating many other forms of member content.
Webinars, live Q&A's,...

Should Membership Trials be Free or Paid? from 2018-04-04T01:30

Offering a trial is a great way of moving people off the fence and encouraging them to give your membership a try.
However should that trial be free, or should it involve a nominal charge?
Listen

From The Vault: How Much Content Do You Need to Launch Your Membership? from 2018-03-28T01:30

The launch of a new membership site can be a nerve-wracking time, and adding to that anxiety is the question of whether you have enough content to open your doors.
Is there a set amount of con...

From The Vault: Can You Launch a Membership Site Without an Audience? from 2018-03-21T01:30

If a membership site launches with no audience to notice, has it truly launched?
In this episode we answer the much asked question of whether it's possible - or advisable - to launch a members...

From The Vault: Avoiding Burnout When Running a Membership Site from 2018-03-14T01:30

It's very easy to fall into bad habits as a membership site owner when it comes to over-working and putting too much pressure on yourself.
This often leads to burnout, which in turn adversely ...

Why Membership Owners Should Attend Conferences from 2018-03-07T01:30

Conference season is upon us!
For some that means cramming into a drab hall in a hotel out in the middle of nowhere, listening to long-in-the-tooth experts drone on for hours on end.
For ...

11 Proven Tactics for Starting a New Membership Community from 2018-02-28T01:30

When it comes to membership sites, you’ll often find that people will come for the content, but they’ll stay for the community.
An active community is the glue which holds a successful members...

How Writing a Book Can Help Your Membership with Chris Ducker from 2018-02-21T01:30

Have you ever thought about writing a book?
Perhaps you already have?
Being a published author can be a huge feather in the cap for anyone running a membership site - particularly one whi...

How to Generate New Ideas for Membership Content from 2018-02-14T01:30

Your membership content comprises a large part of the ongoing value your site offers.
But how do you keep momentum going once the ideas and inspiration for what content to create start to run ...

Why Membership Owners Need to Niche Down from 2018-02-07T01:30

The most successful memberships are those that cater to a specific niche.
Having a niche makes your offering more targeted, which increases the likelihood of someone identifying with the probl...

7 Ways to Make More Money with your Membership from 2018-01-31T01:30

If you're trying to make more money from your membership business there are two ways you can go.
One is to try to increase revenue from your existing membership site - and the other is to look...

4 Simple Ways to Deliver Massive Value to Your Members from 2018-01-24T01:30

Far too often, creating content gets confused with delivering value.
Membership owners find themselves on a treadmill of grinding out epic course after epic course because they're convinced it...

Are You Undercharging For Your Membership Site? Probably Not... from 2018-01-17T01:30

Membership pricing is an inexact science.
It's natural to wonder whether you've found the sweet spot in terms of what you should be charging your members.
However we've seen an increasing...

You Need To Prioritize These 8 Things in Order to Grow Your Membership from 2018-01-10T01:30

In those early stages of running a membership, your priorities are pretty clear. Most of the time you're mainly going to be focused on getting enough new members to pay the bills, and making sure y...

6 Reasons to Start a Membership Website in 2018 from 2018-01-03T01:30

Anyone who has followed us for a while will probably know that we tend to put more effort into talking people out of starting a membership than we do to trying to convince people they should start ...

Most Popular Podcast Episodes of 2017 from 2017-12-27T01:30

And just like that, another year is almost over!
How was your 2017?
In what's becoming a bit of a tradition, I'm wrapping the year up by taking a look back at some of the fantastic episod...

Implementing a Consistent Strategy for Marketing Your Membership from 2017-12-20T01:30

When it comes to marketing your membership, not everything is about finding that killer sales funnel or running huge promotions.
More often than not, membership success comes from maintaining ...

Overcoming 5 Common Objections to Joining Your Membership from 2017-12-13T01:30

Your membership won't be right for everyone, and there are countless random reasons why someone may decide not to join.
However in our experience of working with hundreds of memberships, we of...

7 Ways to Get New Members Once Your Membership Launch is Done from 2017-12-06T01:30

In many ways your membership launch is some of the easiest marketing you’ll ever do.
Bringing something fresh to market almost automatically attracts curiosity and attention, and the timely na...

3 Membership Tactics We're Currently Experimenting With from 2017-11-29T01:30

Much of what we do as membership site owners involves experimentation.
Regardless of what some people may try to tell you, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy or magic formula for membershi...

Are You Making These 7 Fatal Membership Mistakes? from 2017-11-22T01:30

I'm going to let you in on a little secret...
Everyone - even us - makes mistakes with their membership website.
In fact it's often from those mistakes that we learn the most important le...

The State of Social Media Marketing with Mike Stelzner from 2017-11-15T01:30

Social media marketing has changed dramatically over the past few years.
From the rise of live video, to the huge drop-off in organic reach for Facebook pages. New platforms launching and disa...

5 Types Of Content That Will Help Build Member Engagement from 2017-11-08T01:30

When charging a monthly payment for access to your membership site, member engagement is key.
It’s not enough to have static content that never changes, as once that’s been consumed by your me...

Do You REALLY Need to Add a Community to Your Membership? from 2017-11-01T01:30

We often talk about how crucial community is to long term membership success.
In many memberships, even though members join for the content it's actually the community that they stick around f...

5 Things You Need to Know Before Shopping For a WordPress Membership Plugin from 2017-10-25T01:30

Trying to pick the right WordPress membership plugin can be a painstaking process.
It's harder still if your expectations and understanding of what a membership plugin will and won't do are un...

How to Attract New Members Without Feeling Like a Sleazy Marketer from 2017-10-18T01:30

Sales and marketing are crucial parts of your role as a membership site owner.
Even the best membership website in the world will fade away into obscurity if you’re not doing anything to attra...

Simple Ways to Create Member Content From Things You're Already Doing from 2017-10-11T01:30

Producing membership content can be taxing.
Especially if your members expect something fresh on an ongoing basis.
And if you’re also creating free content as part of your marketing strat...

Bucking the trend: 5 Ways to Break from the Membership Norm from 2017-10-04T01:30

There's a single, absolute truth of memberships, and indeed business in general: there is no 'one size fits all' approach.
What works like gangbusters for one membership, can end up completely...

Should I Host My Membership on a Separate Domain Name? from 2017-09-27T01:30

Choosing which domain name to host your membership site on should be a simple decision.
But it’s easier said than done – as evidenced by the fact that this question comes up perhaps more than ...

4 Ways to Ensure That Your Members Will Stick Around from 2017-09-20T01:30

Keeping your members engaged and happy is key to maximizing your member lifecycle and, as a result, ensuring the long-term success of your membership site.
When members aren't engaged, that's ...

Creating an MVP to Test your Membership Idea from 2017-09-13T01:30

One of the biggest reasons memberships never get off the ground is that the initial idea for the product just wasn’t right.
While you can research the market and survey your audience until the...

Reflections on Year 2 of Member Site Academy from 2017-09-06T01:30

Just like that, another year is over. As we reach the 2nd anniversary of Member Site Academy, we have some insights and lessons to share from the past 12 months.
In what is sure to become a tr...

6 Biggest Challenges Every New Membership Owner Faces from 2017-08-30T01:30

So you've toiled for weeks and months - planning the perfect membership, wrestling with tech to turn those plans into reality; and now that you've finally opened the doors you can take a big sigh o...

Should I Charge Monthly or Annually for My Membership Site? from 2017-08-23T01:30

How regularly you charge your members has an effect on generating sales, engagement inside your membership as well as member retention. Not to mention the implications on your business itself in te...

How Much Should I Charge for My Membership Site? from 2017-08-16T01:30

Deciding on your membership pricing is often easier said than done.
You'll always be too expensive for some people, and too cheap for others. And until you launch your membership and actually ...

How to Maintain Harmony Inside your Membership Community from 2017-08-09T01:30

An active online community can play a huge role in getting your members to stick around long term. However even just a small negative element can quickly turn your community into a toxic place tha...

How to Maintain Harmony Inside your Membership Community from 2017-08-09T01:30

An active online community can play a huge role in getting your members to stick around long term.

However even just a small negative element can quickly turn your community into a toxic ...

How to Maintain Harmony Inside your Membership Community from 2017-08-09T01:30

An active online community can play a huge role in getting your members to stick around long term.
However even just a small negative element can quickly turn your community into a toxic place...

How to Inject New Life Into a Stagnant Membership from 2017-08-02T01:30

Momentum plays a huge part in your membership growth. In fact you’ll often find that there’s a snowball effect which kicks in once you achieve a certain level of growth, where everything seems to p...

Grant Baldwin on Growing Your Membership with Public Speaking from 2017-07-26T01:30

One of the most effective ways to position yourself as an authority in your industry is through public speaking, and done right it can be a great way to grow your membership business.
However ...

Membership Tech Reality Check from 2017-07-19T01:30

With our community of thousands of membership site owners, we see the same patterns emerging when it comes to wrestling with membership tech.
People starting their site build and then 6 months...

Jeff Goins on Monetizing your Skills & Creativity from 2017-07-12T01:30

We've all come across the concept of the "starving artist" - the notion that to pursue creativity and artistry is to sacrifice any hope of making money. Jeff Goins is on a mission to dispel this my...

How to Avoid Overwhelming your Members from 2017-07-05T01:30

When you either have a large amount of content inside your membership, or you’re continuously adding new content on a regular basis – there’s a real risk of overwhelming members.
And when memb...

Chris Ducker on Running Live Events to Grow Your Membership from 2017-06-28T01:30

Chris Ducker is the founder of the YouPreneur membership community and the man the man behind popular events such Tropical Think Tank and the upcoming YouPreneur Summit.
It's through these liv...

Tips and Tricks for Increasing Membership Sales from 2017-06-21T01:30

Looking to increase your membership sales?
Who isn't, right?!
We often find that rather than huge complex sales strategies and eye-watering ad budgets, it's usually a culmination of minor...

Why Membership Owners Should Start a Podcast from 2017-06-14T01:30

Podcasts have made a significant resurgence in recent years, having never quite hit their full potential back when they first became “a thing” in the mid-2000’s.
This growing popularity, coupl...

Insights & Advice from 16 Experienced Membership Owners from 2017-06-07T01:30

We made it! 100 episodes!
To celebrate our centennial, I invited 16 fellow membership site owners to share insights, experience and advice from their journey so far.
I asked my guests to ...

Should You Offer a Money Back Guarantee? from 2017-05-31T01:30

To the uninitiated, money-back guarantees can feel a bit like those scenes in cartoons when someone puts a freshly baked pie on an open windowsill. Someone is bound to come along and grab a slic...

Advanced Tips and Tactics for Offering a Membership Trial from 2017-05-24T01:30

Offering a membership trial can help you take people from sitting on the fence to joining your membership, by giving them a risk-free test-drive of your membership.

But it isn’t as simple ...

How to Win Back Lapsed and Cancelled Members from 2017-05-17T01:30

So many membership owners live in fear of their members cancelling.
It kind of makes sense, because the goal of a membership site is to retain its members for as long as possible and so when s...

Keys to a Successful Membership Launch from 2017-05-10T01:30

A membership launch isn't as "do or die" as with other types of products such as online courses, software or services.
But getting your launch right is important for giving you the initial inf...

How to Choose and Research Your Membership Idea from 2017-05-03T01:30

The right idea can make or break a membership website.
Far too often, people steamroll ahead into worrying about which membership plugin they're going to use or how much content they need with...

What you Need to Know About Amazon's New Subscriptions Marketplace from 2017-04-26T01:30

Amazon have just announced the launch of a new digital subscription marketplace called "Subscribe With Amazon".
This will enable people to tap into their sales tools and, of course, their huge...

5 Reasons I Dislike the Closed Door Membership Model from 2017-04-19T01:30

In many ways, launching a new membership website is one of the biggest marketing opportunities you'll experience as a membership owner.
So it makes sense why some people may advocate for const...

How to Stay Motivated as a Membership Site Owner from 2017-04-12T01:30

Running a membership site is the best job in the world… but it’s still a job.

Some days you wake up and just aren’t feeling it. Your motivation is AWOL and you’ve not got a colleague to co...

Why You're Losing Members and What You Can Do About It from 2017-04-05T01:30

Like it or not, your members won’t stick around forever, losing members is just part and parcel of operating a membership site. However there’s plenty that you can do to make sure that you’re not l...

How to Increase Engagement within your Membership Site from 2017-03-29T01:30

Getting someone to join your membership site is great, but it’s just the beginning.
Before you have time to celebrate, you really need to figure out how you are going to get that member to sta...

Why Membership Site Owners Need to Embrace Change from 2017-03-22T01:30

Great memberships are never truly finished.
That’s actually one of the best things about the membership site model. If you are writing a book, creating a course, programming your piece of soft...

How to Increase Annual Membership Renewals from 2017-03-15T01:30

Member retention is key to the long term success of a membership website; however if you offer both monthly and annual billing people often end up so focused on keeping monthly subscribers that the...

Carrie Green on Conditioning Yourself for Membership Success from 2017-03-08T01:30

As founder of the Female Entrepreneur Association, Carrie Green credits investment in personal development and conditioning herself for success as the keys to having the right mindset to grow her m...

How to Use Gamification to Improve Member Engagement from 2017-03-01T01:30

Gamification is a technique that has gained huge popularity in enhancing user experiences and the effectiveness of e-learning within online courses and membership websites.
And as lifelong vid...

How to Deal with Problem Members from 2017-02-22T01:30

One of the best things about running a membership website is that we can market and position it in a way that we attract the sort of members that we most want to work with. However no matter hard y...

4 Tips for validating your membership site or online course idea from 2017-02-15T01:30

When inspiration strikes and you come up with an idea for a membership website or some other product or service that you're convinced is a winner, all too often it's easy to get carried away in try...

6 Reasons That Your Membership Website Absolutely Sucks! from 2017-02-08T01:30

Are you worried that your membership website kind of sucks? Hopefully not.
I'm sure you’ve got plenty of happy members who are giving you great feedback and showing you that your hard work is ...

Are Your Long-Term Members Really Loyal? from 2017-02-01T01:30

Is the fact that someone continues subscribing to your membership really a sign of loyalty?

So much of our time as membership site owners is spent trying to attract new members, and worry...

6 Things Membership Owners Need to Stop Worrying About from 2017-01-25T01:30

Membership owners have a lot on their plates in the day to day running of their website. There's more than enough to think about without piling onto your worries by concerning yourself with situat...

6 Things Membership Owners Need to Stop Worrying About from 2017-01-25T01:30

Membership owners have a lot on their plates in the day to day running of their website.

There's more than enough to think about without piling onto your worries by concerning yourself wi...

6 Things Membership Owners Need to Stop Worrying About from 2017-01-25T01:30

Membership owners have a lot on their plates in the day to day running of their website.
There's more than enough to think about without piling onto your worries by concerning yourself with si...

Marketing Tactics for Attracting New Members - Part One from 2017-01-11T01:30

Sales are the lifeblood of a successful membership business.
While being able to hang onto those members is critical to the long term health of your site, the best retention strategy in the wo...

9 Signs That You Shouldn't Start a Membership Website from 2017-01-04T01:30

It's a new year, time for resolutions and focusing on new projects; and for many that means deciding to start a membership website.
However rather than joining the countless people out there d...

Why It's Important to Take Time Away from Your Membership from 2016-12-21T01:30

As the holiday season approaches, it's a good time to remind ourselves of the value of taking time away from your membership.
In some circles, working every hour under the sun and being so bus...

How to Attract New Members by Running a Free Challenge from 2016-12-14T01:30

Most memberships are focussed on helping people to reach a goal or achieve some sort of positive outcome.
Whether you enable this with courses, worksheets and tools, community or something els...

Luria Petrucci on Using Live Video to Market Your Membership from 2016-12-07T01:30

Live video is hot right now, and it's only set to become ever more powerful as a marketing tool.
A lot of memberships we see are centered around an authority or expert of some type; and it sta...

Where to Find the Audience for your Membership Site from 2016-11-23T01:00

Building an audience is essential to the success of your membership.
After all if you have no audience to speak of, then who are you going to sell to? Where are your members going to come from...

Shutting Down Your Membership Website from 2016-11-16T01:00

When starting a membership, you have to be in it for the long haul. However despite your best intentions the time may come when you're considering shutting down your membership site.
However i...

Do You Need to be an Expert to Start a Membership Website? from 2016-11-09T01:30

Typically the type of membership sites we talk about here involve an expert using their skills, knowledge, experience and expertise to teach other people and help them achieve their goals.
But...

Dealing with the Ugly Side of Running a Membership from 2016-11-02T01:30

I think it's fair to say that we're pretty big fans of the membership model.
You don't call yourselves "The Membership Guys" and dedicate yourself to teaching this stuff if you're not...
...

How to Streamline the Production of your Membership Content from 2016-10-26T01:30

Creating membership content can be one of the most time consuming parts of running a paid membership website.
If you're billing people on a recurring basis, you need to deliver value on a recu...

How to Avoid Paralysis by Analysis When Creating Your Membership from 2016-10-19T01:30

Creating a membership website involves a lot more work than most people expect.
Memberships have a lot of moving pieces; not just on the technology front, but also when it comes to strategy, m...

4 Key Differences Between B2C and B2B Membership Sites from 2016-10-12T01:30

Most of the strategies, principles and tactics we cover here and inside the Member Site Academy apply across the board regardless of which niche or market your membership website is in.
Howeve...

Why Your Membership NEEDS More Than Just Content from 2016-10-05T01:30

It's easy to fall into the trap of playing the "numbers game" when it comes to creating your membership content.
Taking pride in having more courses, more tools, more bells and whistles than t...

How to Create Amazing Educational Content with Colin Gray from 2016-09-28T01:30

When it comes to creating membership content, it can be easy to get sucked into the "numbers game", focusing on churning out quantity rather than quality.

Your members join because they h...

Busting the 8 Most Common Myths about Membership Sites from 2016-09-21T01:30

Every topic and every industry has its fair share of bad advice, outdated information and dubious “best practices”; and there’s certainly a lot of that out there when it comes to the subject of mem...

How to Switch from Selling Courses to Running a Membership from 2016-09-14T01:30

If you've been selling one-off courses for a while, then deciding to transition to the membership model is a big move with more things to think about than you may realise.
We've worked with pl...

Adding Multiple Revenue Streams to an Existing Membership from 2016-09-07T01:30

While running a membership site can highly profitable on its own, it doesn't have to be the only piece of your business puzzle.
Complementing your membership website with a diverse range of pr...

Looking Back at 12 Months of the Member Site Academy from 2016-08-31T01:30

This past year has been an exciting one for us, and as we reach the 12 month anniversary of the opening of the Member Site Academy we're feeling a little reflective.
To celebrate this mileston...

Getting Value from Live Events as a Membership Owner from 2016-08-24T01:30

When you're running an online business like a membership website, the idea of going to live events as a way of growing that business may be counterintuitive when you're spending so much time behind...

Amy Porterfield on Using Webinars to Promote Your Membership from 2016-08-17T01:00

When trying to attract new people to your membership site, giving potential members a taste of what's on offer before asking them to part with their cash and invest in your product is a great way o...

Utilizing Guest Experts for your Membership Content from 2016-08-10T01:30

While in a lot of cases people will have joined your membership to get the benefit of your particular expertise; bringing in experts in complimentary topics can add a lot of additional value to you...

Adding an Online Forum to your Membership Site from 2016-08-03T01:30

I regularly talk about how your members will join for the content, but they'll STAY for the community; and that's something we see reflected in every successful membership site we've been part of.<...

How to Prevent Hit and Run Members from 2016-07-27T01:30

As membership site owner, the ability to protect our premium content is at the heart of how your business functions.
And when that protection is threatened you, naturally, start to panic.
...

Pros and Cons of Lifetime Memberships from 2016-07-20T02:00

It's easy to see why the strategy of offering lifetime memberships is a divisive one.

Unquestionably the biggest benefit of the membership model lies in recurring revenue, so the notion o...

Negotiating Member-Only Perks and Offers from 2016-07-13T08:32:04

Most memberships will consist of two things - premium content (such as courses and tutorials) as well as community.
While the quality and depth of those elements will vary greatly from site to...

Janet Murray on How to Get Media Attention for your Membership from 2016-07-06T01:30

It's easy to assume that mainstream media coverage is the domain of celebrities, huge businesses and crazies claiming to know where the aliens took Elvis.
As such, most membership site owners ...

Setting Boundaries with your Members from 2016-06-29T05:30

One of the more challenging changes that comes with moving to the membership model is dealing with the increase in how many people are contacting you and vying for your attention.
Supporting h...

Live Membership Q&A featuring Callie Willows from 2016-06-22T05:30

To celebrate the 50th episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, we decided to do something a little different.
Not only did we bring Callie onto the podcast (for only the second time!) but we di...

How Much Content is Enough to Launch My Membership? from 2016-06-15T05:00

The launch of a new membership site can be a nerve-wracking time, and adding to that anxiety is the question of whether you have enough content to open your doors.
Is there a set amount of con...

Amy Schmittauer on Building Authority through Video Marketing from 2016-06-08T05:00

In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast I'm joined by Amy Schmittauer from Savvy Sexy Social to talk about how you can build authority by incorporating online video into your marketing strat...

How to Find and Hire a Web Designer for your Membership from 2016-06-01T06:00

Finding the right web designer is like navigating a minefield.
With so many people out there claiming to know what they're doing - and often no real way for the typical prospective membership ...

Nathan Chan on Growing Your Instagram Following from 2016-05-25T08:33:21

In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, it's the concluding part of my interview with Nathan Chan of Foundr Magazine in which we discuss marketing your business and growing your brand on In...

6 Ways to Give New Members a Warm Welcome from 2016-05-18T12:00

In this episode we discuss the importance of giving new members a warm welcome and ensuring that they feel part of your community from the instant they join.
This is an area so sorely missed w...

Using an Online Summit to Launch Your Membership with Yann Ilunga from 2016-05-11T10:00

If you want to make an impact and grab a lot of attention for the launch of your membership site, then running an online summit can be a great strategy to use. This is especially true if you need t...

Nathan Chan on Building a Successful Publishing Brand from 2016-05-04T07:00

In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, I'm joined by Nathan Chan of Foundr Magazine.
The founder of Foundr. And yes, I made that joke 30 seconds in. He'd heard it before.
What wa...

Social Media Marketing World Takeaways from 2016-04-27T06:00

Fresh on the back of attending Social Media Marketing World 2016, we're sharing our top takeaways from the event for creating content and promoting your membership site through social channels.
Listen

Strategies for Increasing Your Membership Prices from 2016-04-20T05:00

During the course of running your membership site, there will inevitably come a point where you want to increase your pricing.
Maybe your offering has changed, perhaps you're responding to inc...

John Lee Dumas on Podcasting to Grow Your Membership from 2016-04-13T05:00

Podcasting is a fantastic way of promoting and growing amembership website.
Not only does it help you to establish you as an authority anddemonstrate your expertise - things that are particula...

When Someone Has the Same Idea for their Membership from 2016-04-06T05:00

When that burst of inspiration for a membership site starts turning into a fully fledged idea and plan, it's easy to think that you've stumbled onto something truly unique.
However as Mark Twa...

Which Currency Should You Use For Pricing Your Membership? from 2016-03-30T04:30

One of the biggest benefits of running a membership website is the ability to tap into a truly global audience.
However that does present the problem of having to decide which currency to use ...

Jill Stanton on Using Facebook Groups to Grow Your Membership from 2016-03-16T05:00

Facebook groups are a fantastic way of cultivating a community of like-minded people, all interested in a particular topic, product or problem.
It's little wonder, then, that running such a gr...

How to Identify Your Membership Drop-Off Points from 2016-03-02T06:00

Cancellations are the one things most membership site owners hate and fear, but are also something we can't avoid - no matter how hard you try to hide the "cancel" button!
Your onboarding, eng...

Chris Ducker on Building a Global Membership Brand from 2016-02-24T06:00

Running an online membership removes the barriers for doing business around the world. Regardless of where you're based, your members will come from far and wide.
This represents a huge opport...

5 Reasons Why We Love The Membership Model from 2016-02-17T06:00

With Valentines Day just passed, love is in the air, and in this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast I'm professing my deepest feelings for my one true love... the membership model.
Tune in...

Pat Flynn on Validating Your Membership Site Idea from 2016-02-10T06:00

We've had countless people approach us over the years in need of help in figuring out why their membership site launch hasn't quite gone to plan; and in almost every case it's because they jumped h...

Using Urgency Tactics to Promote an Evergreen Membership from 2016-02-03T07:00

Should your membership site always be open, or only open for limited periods throughout the year?
It's a question that comes up frequently; and while we tend to fall on the side of having an "...

3 Ways to Keep Your Members Hooked for Longer from 2016-01-27T06:00

Retention is crucial for a successful membership site.
It costs more to win a new member than it does to hang on to an existing one; so it stands to reason that you should have a strategy in p...

James Schramko on Running an Authority-Led Membership Community from 2016-01-20T07:00

As a recognised authority in your field, gaining access to you can be a major reason why people will join your membership website. This introduces a whole host of additional challenges when trying ...

Can You Launch a Membership Site Without an Audience? from 2016-01-12T23:46:31

If a membership site launches with no audience to notice, has it truly launched?
In this episode we answer the much asked question of whether it's possible - or advisable - to launch a members...

Can You Launch a Membership Site Without an Audience? from 2016-01-12T23:46:31

If a membership site launches with no audience to notice, has it truly launched? In this episode we answer the much asked question of whether it's possible - or advisable - to launch a membership ...

Can You Launch a Membership Site Without an Audience? from 2016-01-12T23:46:31

If a membership site launches with no audience to notice, has it truly launched?

In this episode we answer the much asked question of whether it's possible - or advisable - to launch a me...

The Membership Economy with Robbie Kellman Baxter from 2016-01-06T16:47:20

As more and more businesses start focusing on memberships and subscriptions, what can you do to set up your membership website for long term success?
In this episode, I'm joined by Robbie Kel...

Tools We Use for Our Own Membership Website from 2015-12-30T07:00

We regularly get asked for our recommendations on the top tools for membership website owners.
The truth is that there's no such thing as the "perfect" membership site setup that will work for...

Pros and Cons of Using a Cloud-based Membership Platform from 2015-12-23T07:00

Much of what we discuss in terms of membership site strategy and marketing is universal; however when it comes to the technical side of things we tend to focus almost exclusively on WordPress-based...

Top Reasons Why People Join a Membership Site from 2015-12-16T07:00

The reasons people have for joining your membership are as varied as the makeup of your membership. Ask 10 members why they joined your membership and you’re likely to get 8, 9, or 10 different ans...

Video Marketing Strategy with Emmy Wu from 2015-12-09T08:00

Would you like to know how to effectively use video for marketing your membership site? Joining us to talk about video, launch strategies and a lot more is Emmy Wu.
Emmy is a phenomenally tale...

How to Choose a Membership Plugin from 2015-12-01T21:36:39

Without question this is the one thing we're asked about more than anything else. So how do you figure out which membership plugin to use for your website? Find out in this episode...

Creating Compelling Courses with Janelle Allen from 2015-11-24T17:39:33

In this episode I talk to online course creation expert Janelle Allen. Janelle shares her insight and experiences in the field of e-learning, and has some great tips for anyone creating courses as ...

Developing a Leading Membership Plugin with Blair Williams from 2015-11-10T17:56:59

In this episode I talk to Blair Williams - creator and founder of MemberPress - about the history of the plugin, essential features membership sites need to get ahead, the state of the WordPress me...

Improving the Member Experience with Nathalie Lussier from 2015-11-03T17:45:36

In this episode I talk to renowned digital strategist and co-founder of AccessAlly, Nathalie Lussier. As well as discussing her transition from programmer to online marketer, Nathalie shares tips a...

How to Improve Member Retention from 2015-10-27T13:41:34

In this episode we're talking about churn - what is it and how do we reduce it? PLUS discover our top tips for improving member retention and reducing cancellations.

Is Creating a Membership Site Right for You? from 2015-10-20T17:49:05

Discover the 5 questions you NEED to ask yourself in order to determine whether creating a membership site is actually the right move to make...

Passive Income from Membership Sites? from 2015-10-13T21:02:52

Find out where we stand on the idea of "passive income" when it comes to membership websites...

Should my membership site be always open or time-limited? from 2015-10-06T18:41:23

One question which comes up regularly is whether you should keep your membership site open all of the time, or whether limited joining periods are better. Find out what we think...

The 7 Pillars of Successful Membership Sites from 2015-09-30T12:00

Discover the 7 essential elements every successful membership site has, and how you can make sure your own site is up to scratch

Launching the Member Site Academy - Part Three from 2015-09-23T12:30

In the third and final part of our "launch diary", we discuss the big day of opening the Academy to the public, the approach we took, what worked, what didn't and what we'd do differently.

Launching the Member Site Academy - Part Three from 2015-09-23T12:30

In the third and final part of our "launch diary", we discuss the big day of opening the Academy to the public, the approach we took, what worked, what didn't and what we'd do differently.

Launching the Member Site Academy - Part Three from 2015-09-23T12:30

In the third and final part of our"launch diary", we discuss the big day of opening the Academy to the public, the approach we took, what worked, what didn't and what we'd do differently.

Launching the Member Site Academy - Part Two from 2015-09-16T18:56:14

In the second part of our launch diary, we discuss the challenges faced and lessons learned in the final week before opening the doors to the Member Site Academy.

Launching the Member Site Academy - Part One from 2015-09-03T13:34:07

We recently opened the doors to the Member Site Academy - our very own membership site. In this series of episodes we're discussing the build up to launch, the challenges we faced, what worked, wha...

How to Deal With Member Cancellations from 2015-08-25T15:16:07

Losing members is just part and parcel of operating a membership site. However there’s plenty that you can do to make sure that you’re not losing members for the wrong reasons...

Using Offline Marketing to Grow Your Membership Site from 2015-08-11T15:20:35

In this episode we discuss how you can use offline marketing techniques, including business networking, to promote and enhance your membership website.

Using Offline Marketing to Grow Your Membership Site from 2015-08-11T15:20:35

In this episode we discuss how you can use offline marketing techniques, including business networking, to promote and enhance your membership website.

Using Offline Marketing to Grow Your Membership Site from 2015-08-11T15:20:35

In this episode we discuss how you can use offline marketing techniques, including business networking, to promote and enhance your membership website.

Trial periods and risk reversal from 2015-08-02T16:10:29

In this episode I discuss the benefits of offering a trial period for your membership site, and why risk reversal can be the key to increasing your sales

Facebook group vs Forum for your membership community from 2015-07-23T19:55:39

In this episode we discuss the pitfalls of using a private Facebook group for your paid membership community, and why an on-site forum is a better option.

How to get your membership site up and running in record time from 2015-07-23T19:53:22

What do you do if you need to get your membership website or online course up and running in just a few days? In this episode we're talking about how you can bootstrap the creation and launch of...

What to do if your membership site launch fails from 2015-07-23T19:51:58

It's every prospective membership site owners' nightmare - months of toiling over your product, only for it to fall flat when it finally launches. In this episode, we look at what you can do if ...

Getting advice on the best plugin to use from 2015-07-23T19:45:51

With so many options for membership site plugins, asking for advice from others can be a total crap shoot. In this episode, we look at why most advice on plugins is useless, and how you can make...

Building&leveraging authority from 2015-07-23T19:40:37

In the first episode of The Membership Guys podcast we discuss why it's important for membership site owners to build authority and leverage this for their business.