The Membership Guys Podcast - Practical Advice For Membership Website Owners

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 Callie and I opened the floor up to you, and invited our members and wider audience to ask us absolutely anything you wanted - about anything! We’ve picked the best questions and answered them together in this special 200th episode. Enjoy! Episode Summary: How we handle working together, and our top tips for running a business with your spouse If we could go back in time, what would we do differently with our membership? What were those early days like for us? What challenges did we have? Did we have any doubts or fears? PLUS we discuss everything from community engagement to videogames, movies to content strategy and more!  

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 giving value to you in the form of their continued subscription payments. So what content can you actually include in your membership in order to ensure you keep up your side of the bargain?

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 won't happen is to not publish anything online. However this doesn't mean you should just roll over if it happens to you. In this episode I give my top tips for dealing with people stealing and copying your content, with specific examples of the process we use in our own business. Episode Summary: The two main types of content theft that membership owners are susceptible to, and what you can do about them. Why the worst type of theft is the one where the offender likely doesn't realise that they're doing something wrong! What copyright theft actually means, and how to identify and gather evidence on more nuanced cases The process (and exact wording) that we use for approaching people who have ripped off our content

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 be considering putting your prices up, not down? Why would you want to go backwards? However there are some situations where lowering your price might make total sense. Maybe what you're offering has actually changed? Maybe you got your pricing wrong from the start? Maybe you started off very hands-on but now you want to remove yourself from the picture. These are just a few scenarios where a price decrease might be considered. In this episode I discuss the implications of reducing your price and how to navigate the change in a way that doesn't cause problems with your existing members. Episode Summary: Situations where you might need to consider reducing the price of your membership site Why it's more complicated than you might realise to reduce the price of existing subscriptions Our top tips for making pricing

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, experience and expertise. Two of the best models for doing so are online courses and paid membership websites. However with those terms often used loosely and interchangeably, it can be tricky figuring out which is best for you. In this episode, we discuss the differences between courses and membership sites, and talk through the key factors to consider when choosing which to create.

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. We all dread this as membership owners; and when it happens, the panic sets in and we start scrambling to rearrange the website, add testimonials, and change prices. This is all completely irrelevant stuff and won’t turn things around. So what should you do if your new membership fails?

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 you try to get only the “right type” of people in your membership, you will inevitably experience problem members. Sometimes it will be a personality clash, where certain members just rub you up the wrong way; however there will be instances where you need to deal with potentially toxic elements among your member base. So how do you deal with them? I address that question and more on the latest episode of The Membership Guys Podcast. Episode Summary: The questions you need to ask yourself before dealing a ‘problem’ member How to implement a two-tier “strike” based approach to dealing with issues When it’s the right time to kick out difficult members The process and steps to take when removing someone from your membership

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 recurring basis; and often delivering that value involves some form of content. In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, I discuss how to approach content strategy for your membership, and the steps to take in order to ensure your production process is streamlined so you’re not constantly grinding to put out new content. Episode Summary: Two key mindset shifts to embrace that will change how you approach your membership content What content you should be creating, and how to deliver more while actually REDUCING your workload The steps you need to take before hiring someone to help you to produce content The one thing that will make a monumental difference to your content production process

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 to a membership she never signed up for, with no clear way out. In the interests of seeing how far the rabbit hole of terrible business practices went, she decided to see it through... Join us on this rather unusual episode of The Membership Guys Podcast as we take a step by step tour through how NOT to run a membership (or any other business, for that matter!) Episode Summary: Why tricking people into joining your membership is a seriously dumb strategy! (And could land you in serious trouble) Ignoring support emails and deleting comments from your community will hurt your rep and cost you customers Trying to hold members hostage and making it impossible to cancel doesn't work Why seeing people who lack integrity and use bad practices motivate us to be better

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; how many members you have rather than their average lifetime spend. But is success as a membership site owner all about how many members you have? Or is it about the money you make? Or the lifestyle your membership affords you? I give my take in this week's episode of The Membership Guys Podcast... Episode Summary: Are your goals ambitious enough? And if they're not, does that make you a bad entrepreneur? Why member numbers are meaningless when it comes to assessing the success of your membership Would you trade in a measure of personal happiness for a measure of increased profit? How small membership sites can actually be more attractive

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 dripping’. Drip feeding is essentially time-releasing your content so that it isn’t all available to someone immediately after they sign up to your site. But unlike simply providing ongoing content (where new content is released into the general membership regularly), your content is released on a set schedule based, usually, on when the member signed up. While this can be a great way to stagger content, prolong subscriptions and avoid 'hit and run' members; there are some downsides to consider. In this episode, I discuss the pros and cons of drip-feeding your membership content.

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 is no scientific formula behind it; it's not something you can accurately measure - it's entirely subjective, based entirely on individual perception. So how do you know if you're getting it right? It is even possible to know?! That's what we're tackling in this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast. Episode Summary: What 'value' truly means in the context of online memberships The most common mistakes people make when pricing their membership and assessing what it's worth Questions you can ask yourself to get a better measure of whether you're delivering enough for what you're charging What do your members care about most, and how does that factor in to their perception of the value your membership offers

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 things a little differently. In this episode I discuss 4 content strategies for memberships that are fairly uncommon but certainly effective, and discuss ways in which you could incorporate aspects of those strategies into your own business. Episode Summary: Why platforms such as Patreon and the creator programs offered by YouTube and Facebook are giving way to a new breed of online membership. How some memberships give away their content for free initially, and then charge money for access to their archive How one of the oldest offline content distribution models could be used for a membership website Giving your members "credits" to allow them to purchases limited quantities of content

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 are definite pros and cons to consider. In this episode I discuss the key things you need to consider when deciding whether to have multiple levels in your membership, and provide my top tips for making this strategy work. And I also share a 'middle ground' for people who prefer to stick with a single level. Episode Summary: Pros and cons of offering multiple different membership levels The benefits of keeping things simple in your membership (especially at the beginning) How "price anchoring" can increase sales, and an alternative way to leverage it Why you shouldn't differentiate your membership levels based on content alone

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 everything in your business rests on your shoulders; that you’re the only person who can possibly handle it all. But it’s a fallacy. You shouldn’t be trying to do everything yourself because it’s just not sustainable, especially as your membership grows. In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, I highlight 6 key areas of your membership business that you should look to outsource in order to free you up to focus on the things that only you can do. Episode Summary: Why trying to do everything yourself is actually bad for your membership (and your members!) Outsourcing isn't just about offloading tasks you're no good at or think are 'beneath you' How to change your mindset about paying for specialist help Why you need to be the "rockstar" and not the "roadie"

This year we embark on our biggest and most daunting challenge to date - running our very own live conference: Retain 2019 It's something we've wanted to do for years, and we're beyond excited to bring together hundreds of membership site owners from around the world for 2 days of amazing speakers and high-level networking. But the journey has not all been smooth sailing... In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, I take you behind the scenes of the story so far, revealing our thought process, strategy and sharing the highs and lows of orchestrating this kind of event. Episode Summary: Why we've waited until now to run our first conference of this scale What happened that almost made us throw in the towel and cancel the entire event The specific steps we took to validate our idea for this event, including our pre-sale strategy Insights into choosing speakers, picking a location, approaching sponsors and more

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's your sales page that needs to seal the deal and help them to make the final decision to join your membership. So it's crucial that you get it right! In this episode I walk through the key elements that every membership sales page should have in order to maximise new member sales. Episode Summary: Why you need to zero in on the problems and pain points your potential members have, and how to use that info on your sales page The importance of transparency, particularly when it comes to your membership pricing What "risk reversal" is and why it plays such a big part in crafting an effective sales page Pre-empting your customers questions and overcoming objections that might stop them from joining

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 marketing strategy too. It can be a lot to handle! That's why it's crucial to have a solid plan for your content production, so you know well in advance what you need to create in order to schedule accordingly and avoid constantly doing everything at the last minute. In this episode I'm joined by Janet Murray to discuss how to plan an entire year's worth of content, and the tips and tools you need to help you stay on track.

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 discuss some of the various strategies they could consider.

And so another year draws to a close... How was 2018 for you and your membership? Rather than lament the passage of time, once again we're wrapping up the year by taking a look back at the most loved episodes of The Membership Guys Podcast, counting down the top 10 most downloaded episodes of the past 12 months. Thanks to each and every one of you for your continued support of the show - here's to even more membership awesomeness in 2019!