Membership sites are considered one of the easiest and fastest ways to develop consistent income flow. In part, this is true.
What a lot of leaders in the industry don't or won't tell you, is that to be successful (and have it be worth you time) you should have a decent size email list, social following, and past/current client lists in order for this to launch and sell well.
I have helped many clients set up monthly membership sites because that's what their mentor or coach has told them to do, but for some it was way too soon in their business. We would spend months sometimes setting it up. The client spent their time planning, creating, recording, and pouring themselves into a membership -- to see that no one bought or only a very few enrolled. And in order for a membership to be successful and become a consistent income flow that can actually sustain you, you need more than a few people paying each month.
Now to be fair, when you create something like a membership, it's best to do it as an actual "launch" where you have a plan and your showing up on social media, running ads, and otherwise, calling attention to your new membership offer. So if you have an email list, past and current clients who would love to continue to work with you, and you're prepared to create new content every month, then you're ready for this income stream.
It's true that a successful membership site can provide income stability, but timing is everything.
YOUR MEMBERSHIP STRUCTURE
Just like coaching packages, you can set up a membership site in countless ways and structures. You can release pre-recorded content every week, every other week, once a month.
You could deliver content live. Or a combination of pre-recorded and live content.
For example: Let's say you're offering a monthly meditation experience to help people deepen their practice. You could deliver pre-recorded content weekly and have 1 live retreat per month. Or you could deliver content live every other week. It's up to you.
Typically, a monthly membership offers new content every month. Of course, like everything there's exceptions. You have the freedom to set it up so it fits inside your boundary statements and financial goals. You can structure it any way you'd like.
Spend time getting clear on what you need, what content you'll deliver and when & how you'll deliver it so you are putting this together in an organized way. Being organized is the foundation for membership success so you can repeat the creation process each month.
Please don't be deterred by my opening comments. I just believe that you should have all the information before you put your time, money, and energy resources into something.
If you want to start a membership now and you're ready to channel your expert knowledge into monthly content, I say commit and GO FOR IT!
CREATING A CONTINUAL FLOW OF VALUABLE CONTENT
When you first start a membership site, it seems simple enough to create content every single month or whatever period you’ve promised. For some, after a year or two, it can start getting slightly more laborious.
However, if you find out that most people drop out after three months, one way to overcome this issue is to provide only a year’s worth of new content on a drip basis, and then make them permanent members after a year. Then you create a marketing plan to bring in new members year round.
CONVINCING PROSPECTS THAT MEMBERSHIP IS WORTH THE INVESTMENT
Getting people to sign up for a membership can be difficult because most people don’t like the idea of making a long-term monthly commitment. Offering free trials or a one-time payment option with a few added bonuses can help incentivize people to pay for the entire year in one payment.
Dealing with Members Dropping Out
The attrition rate for a typical membership sites is three months. That means that most of your members are going to drop out within three months of joining your membership. Knowing this in advance can help you design some safeguards. For example, you can start creating buzz or sneak peaks of the content that's coming to keep their interest peaked.
I've seen some people set up incentives inside the membership, like surprise bonuses at 3-, 6-, and 12- months. Or offering a one-to-one call with each member once they hit 6 months. Gifting them customized merch or live bonus trainings is a popular choice too because you can deliver it to everyone at once.
Finding Good Help
While running a membership site might seem like it’s not that much work, you'll be dealing with technical issues, people issues, and production issues. To ensure everything works together, you need to find good help such as community managers (some people love volunteering for this), a content planner and creator to keep new content in the pipeline (if that's you, then you should always know what you're creating for the next several months). and someone to handle the tech set up, maintenance and troubleshooting.
Don’t allow any of these challenges to stop you from setting up a membership site. This is a great income stream option, it's scalable AND depending on how you design it, could become a perfect (nearly) "hands-off" revenue stream.
This income stream is full of profit potential and can offer a profound client transformation experience.
Please share in the Facebook group what you've learned about yourself and your business. I will be in the Facebook group every day to answer your questions and support your growth.
Till tomorrow,
Be brilliant.
Be imperfect.
And always, be you.
Melissa