The Membership Guys Podcast - Practical Advice For Membership Website Owners

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 Twain once said - "There is no such thing as a new idea", and this often rings true for membership website concepts. So what do you do when you discover that there's someone else out there with the same idea for a membership site as you? Check out this latest episode of The Membership Guys Podcast for my advice...

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 when it comes to pricing your membership. In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, I give my opinion on how to decide on which currency to use as well as some other factors you need to consider when setting your pricing for a multi-currency market...

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, without doubt, one of the best ways to promote your membership site; then it can be a real challenge trying to figure out which content should be free - via blogs, podcasts and the like - and which content should comprise your paid membership. In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, I tackle this subject and look at some of the things to consider when deciding whether your content should be free or paid...

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 group can be a highly effective strategy for membership site owners, for a wide variety of reasons. In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, I'm joined by Jill Stanton from Screw The Nine to Five, who shares her insight into not only running a popular, highly successful free Facebook group; but also how she leverages this to benefit her paid membership community. (Warning: this one gets a little bit sweary, so those of a sensitive disposition may want to give it a miss!) In this episode, Jill and I discuss: Running a free Facebook group vs using a group for your paid membership Advice on how to get people engaged and active in your group Tips and techniques for attracting new members to your Facebook group The specific strategy that Jill uses to get people from her Facebook group to join her membership webs

You’ve got plenty of loyal members who continue to pay for your membership – but are you taking member retention for granted? Some members may be paying for your membership without any delays or issues, but that doesn’t mean that they are happy and satisfied.  You can’t assume that just because somebody is continuing to pay, that it means they are 100% pleased with their experience. The truth is that inactive paying members probably don’t even realize they’re still paying for their subscription! So, what’s the best course of action if you think you’ve got paying members who could be getting closer to the exit door? On this episode of the podcast, I reveal exactly what you should do, and I share three main reasons why you shouldn’t take member retention for granted.  Essential Learning Points: The real reasons why members who are not engaged with your membership continue to pay for it Three reasons why you should never take member retention for granted Why you need to make sure you deliver constant

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, engagement and retention strategies are key to prolonging the member lifecycle - however another key thing to consider is that often your members will have common "drop-off points", where you're most at risk of losing them. In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, I discuss how you can identify your common member drop-off points, and more importantly what you can do to deal with them.  

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 opportunity for membership website owners to build a global brand. In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, I'm joined by http://www.chrisducker.com (Chris Ducker) - founder of Youpreneur - to talk about his experiences in launching a membership site that is truly global.   In this episode, Chris and I discuss: Refining how you position yourself and an authority, and how to escape the "pigeon hole" The important of "serving" your community How launching a membership site has changed Chris' approach to live events and speaking gigs Chris' top tips for building a global brand with your membership site. ...and loads more!

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 and find out why we're so enamoured with membership websites, and why they appeal to us far more than any other business model out there.

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 head first into wrestling with membership plugins and creating content - skipping past the crucial task of actually evaluating and validating their idea. I'm joined on this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast by Pat Flynn, founder of the extremely popular Smart Passive Income blog and podcast; and author of the brand new book http://www.willitflybook.com (Will It Fly), which teaches you how to test your next business idea so that you don't waste your time and money. In this episode, Pat and I discuss: Why idea validation is so important for membership site owners Where to start if you have an idea and you're not sure how to figure out if it's worth pursuing What to do when you simply have more ideas than you can handle How to 'course-correct' if you've skipped the idea validation stage and you're now regret

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 "evergreen" membership that's always open, it's hard to deny the appeal of using the urgency and scarcity that are only typically effective with a limited-opening approach. In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, I discuss some ways in which evergreen membership site owners can utilise urgency and scarcity in their marketing strategy without having to close the doors of their site.

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 place  for ensuring that your members stick around. In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast I discuss 3 specific tips and techniques that you can use to keep your members hooked and subscribed for longer.

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 to run and grow your community. In this episode, I'm joined by James Schramko from SuperFastBusiness, who shares his insight and experience from years of running a successful membership site that leverages his own authority as a highly regarded expert in online business and marketing. In this episode, James and I discuss: How James went from managing a Mercedes Benz dealership to running a successful membership community The roadblocks that get in the way of people turning their ideas into reality Handling access to him and managing member expectations across multiple "tiers" of membership Building a larger business with your membership site at its core ...and a lot more!

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 site when you do not have an audience. I also discuss why audience building is particularly important for membership website owners, as well as my top tips for how you can get started on building an audience for your site, fast.

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 Kellman Baxter - author of the bestselling book 'The Membership Economy' and a leading strategist helping big name businesses such as Netflix and SurveyMonkey to perfect the membership model. In this episode, Robbie and I discuss: Common mistakes businesses make when they attempt to transition to the membership model Robbie's top tips for member retention The core differences between transactional businesses and membership businesses The keys to surviving and thriving in The Membership Economy What the future holds for the membership model

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 everyone - it all depends on what it is you want to achieve with your membership site, what features and functionality you need it to have, which email and payment software you're using and a whole bunch of other details that determine which tools are the best fit for you. In this episode, we talk about the tools we use for our own membership website - the Member Site Academy - as well as the reasons why we choose those particular options.

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 membership websites. However there is a growing market in alternative cloud-based membership platforms such as Rainmaker or Kajabi which can solve a number of problems for anyone trying to 'DIY' their membership site. In this episode we discuss why we use WordPress, what is meant by "cloud service" vs "self-hosted", which cloud-based alternatives are out there and what the pros and cons of each approach are. We also discuss alternative 'self-hosted' solutions outside of WordPress, such as forum-only platforms such as Xenforo.

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 answers. But there are some reasons that are more common – eight of them, in fact. In this episode, I break down the eight top reasons people join membership sites, why it’s important to know them, and how you can use this information to create more sustainable growth in your membership. Essential Learning Points: The eight most common reasons people join memberships Why some members are going to stick around longer than others How you can use data about your members’ motivations to grow your membership Important Links & Mentions: https://www.themembershipguys.com/should-you-use-a-forum-or-facebook-group-for-your-community/ (Should you use a Forum or Facebook Group for your community?) https://www.themembershipguys.com/guest-experts-membership-content/ (Utilizing Guest Experts for your Membership Content) https://w

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 talented videographer and launch strategist who has helped countless course creators and membership site owners to implement video into their marketing and sales strategy. In this episode, Emmy and I discuss: - Video content vs other mediums - How to make your videos stand out from the competition - Emmy's top tips for using video as part of a launch funnel - The rising popularity of live-streaming apps like Periscope and Blab - The most effective way of using videos for a membership site owner

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...

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 part of their membership website.