Membership Geeks Podcast with Mike Morrison

Does old automatically mean useless or outdated when it comes to membership content?

Definitely not. In fact, there are so many things you can do to breathe new life into your archived content. Especially, when the core subject matter is still as relevant as the day it was first posted.

This episode of the Membership Geeks podcast is all about six concrete ways you can reuse your old content and drum up some engagement in the process.

We’re talking about everything from repurposing content to simply giving it a touch-up. By tuning in, you’ll get six handy tips to refresh and reuse your existing content to maximize its value.

Essential Learning Points:

• Why watch alongs offer a great way to engage with your audience
• How repurposed content helps you meet your audience where they are
• How you can grow your audience by giving content away for free
• How to drum up new members through a cohort experience
• Why you should always have something available for your members to tackle next

Important Links & Mentions:

• Membership Geeks

Key Quotes:

“Regardless of when you actually released the content, the first time someone views it, it is new to them.”

“Anytime you can give people direction or show them the next step, it's going to massively improve their experience as a member.”

“While our instinct is to protect our paid content at all costs, it’s worth noting that repurposing your older content into free content doesn't diminish its value at all.”

Can you use science to boost your membership numbers?

It’s not magic but getting to grips with the science behind how people make purchase decisions will help you transform your own content.

Kenda Macdonald, CEO of Automation Ninjas, international keynote speaker, and author of the best-selling book, Hack the Buyer Brain, joins this episode to talk about the science behind why people choose to sign up (or not) for a membership.  

Tune in to hear what behavioral automation is, how the five stages of awareness work, what neuroscience tells us about buying decisions, and much more!

Essential Learning Points:

• What behavioral automation is
• How the buyer journey typically works
• The problem with relying on marketing funnels
• What neuroscience tells us about the buying decision
• The five stages of awareness and how they can help you build better content
• The problem with using scarcity tactics
• How Kenda uses automation for her membership

Important Links & Mentions:

• Automation Ninjas
• Hack the Buyer Brain
• The Marketing Automation Academy
• What is Awareness and Why Does it Matter?
• Kenda’s LinkedIn
• Membership Geeks
• Membership Academy

Key Quotes:

“Understanding the brain and then tracking physical behavior are two parts of what I would say is behavioral marketing automation.”

“We need to create something that's more flexible, more personable, and more catered to where someone is in their own personalized customer journey.”

“We should be utilizing our content to help people make better choices. That is why people consume such a huge amount of content because they want to learn, they want to make the right choice about something.”

Fresh on the back of attending Social Media Marketing World 2022, we're sharing our top takeaways from the event, common themes and trends membership owners should be aware of, and specific tactics to try out in your social media marketing strategy.

• How social media marketing is once again becoming more focused on content creators
• NFT's, Metaverse and Web 3.0 - what does it all mean in terms of marketing your membership?
• Key changes to how what we post on social media is about to change significantly
• Specific tips and tactics for Tik Tok, Instagram and more

• Promoting Your Membership using Social Media: A 12 Step Plan
• Using Instagram Stories to Promote Your Membership
• Membership Academy

With more businesses migrating online, how do you give yourself an edge?

Amanda Schonberg, a chef and marketing enthusiast, shares the answer to that question in this informative episode. She’s not just a skilled baker, she’s also passionate about generating sales and taking her business to new heights. And it looks like she’s cracked the code.

In the spirit of community, she’s gone on to teach fellow bakers how to strike that balance between craft and business with her own membership – The Entrepreneur Community.

In this episode, we hear about Amanda’s inspiring membership journey —the highs, lows, and everything in between.

Essential Learning Points:

• How Amanda uses 4 Cs to offer value to her members
• Amanda’s transition from working a business partnership to sole proprietorship
• Why serving before selling works
• How to use fun to create engagement
• The importance of combining creativity with business skills

Important Links & Mentions:

• Membership Academy
• Entrepreneur Community
• Baking for Business

Key Quotes:

“I always emphasize a community of competition, we reach one by teaching one, so we strive to help each other out.”

“Answering questions is one of the biggest things that attracts people because once you help them a little, they want to see what else they can learn.”

“I believe that as creatives, we can't run a business successfully if we don't have that business background pushing us.”

Are you at that point where you’re wondering if the membership model is truly for you?

Numbers are dwindling, and all of a sudden, it seems like people aren’t buying what you’re selling.

You’ve probably fallen victim to one of the common obstacles we’re looking at on this episode of the Membership Geeks podcast.

In this episode, we explore six common roadblocks that get in the way of membership sites and give a few pointers on how to tackle them head-on.

With this newfound awareness, you should be able to smash through those barriers and get those membership numbers rising again.

Essential Learning Points:

• Why it’s important to distinguish yourself from the competition
• The disadvantages of providing too many options within your membership
• How pricing can affect your membership offering
• When it’s OK to charge a joining fee

Important Links & Mentions:

• The Membership Geeks
• Competing with Established Memberships in Your Market

Key Quotes:

“The more you add different pricing structures into the mix, the more time your prospect will have to spend deciding what works for them, and the less likely you are to get the sale as a result.”

“Remember, if your membership is as good as you know it is and is sure to solve your audience’s problems, then you're doing them a disservice by not telling them about it.”

“If you're not marketing enough between launches, then your audience isn't going to grow. So when you do open the doors to your membership, you're stuck marketing to the same people from your last launch and the launch before that.”

Do you ever find feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done in your membership?

Or do you feel chained to an endless to-do list that taunts you at the end of the workday?

Then this episode of the Membership Geeks is for you. Productivity specialist, Mike Vardy, joins us to discuss the concept of productivity, how it's changed, and the best way to approach it.

He also delves into the idea of what productivity is not, while providing lots of actionable takeaways for membership owners.

There are plenty of insights to dig into in this episode, so grab that pen and notebook.

Essential Learning Points:

• Why productivity isn’t just about churning out work
• The advantage of approaching low-energy tasks first
• The difference between projects and tasks
• How to trick your brain into getting things done
• Why it’s better to approach perfection as a journey

Important Links & Mentions:

• The Membership Geeks
• The Starting Six
• Productivityist

Key Quotes:

“I don't think it's about getting as much done in as little time as possible, it's about what you intend to do and how you’re going to pay attention to it.”

“You need to engineer your approach to productivity in a way that prevents you from feeling overwhelmed by everything you need to get done. Instead, ask better questions and you’ll get better answers.”

“What we want is to strive for excellence, but I like the idea of perfection as a direction because it allows us to leverage our perfectionist tendencies.”

Social proof is an extremely powerful tool in your marketing arsenal and a key component of the Membership Marketing Flywheel.

Demonstrating your ability to help others get fantastic results, and having those people advocate for joining your membership, will go much further than any marketing copy you write yourself.

And testimonials from happy successful members are amongst the most effective types of social proof there is.

In this episode, we share our top tips for collecting member testimonials, and most importantly using them effectively to add a whole new level to marketing your membership.

• What makes for a good quality testimonial
• Best practices for requesting testimonials from your members
• Which format of testimonial works best?
• Specific ways to use testimonials in marketing your membership

• [Course] Attract More Members with the Membership Marketing Flywheel
• 7 Ways to Add Social Proof to Your Membership Sales Page
• How to Tap Into Your Existing Members to Create Social Proof
• Membership Academy

Running a membership has its perks, but there’s also the turbulent side of things.

From transitioning through different iterations of her business to managing a spike of engagement during the pandemic, Nicola Taylor knows how to brave some turbulence.

In this episode, she discusses the origins of the Makers Momentum Club and the various challenges she’s faced along the line. Nicola also shares some of her wins and lessons for aspiring membership owners.

Essential Learning Points:

• How members reacted to Nicola’s switch to a membership style business
• Why more engagement can be a bad thing
• The interesting effect of the pandemic on the Makers Momentum Club
• Why an action-driven community inspires more wins
• Why passion is a major ingredient for starting a membership

Important Links & Mentions:

• Membership Academy
• Makers Momentum Club

Key Quotes:

“The business skills we teach within the membership aren’t specific to makers, they include beginner fundamentals on how to make money from a business, find customers, promote yourself, and the dynamics of being an entrepreneur.”

“You can really underestimate the impact a bad business model can have on your growth and your life. You end up constantly fighting against things, and making it more difficult than it needs to be.”

“Overwhelm is a big thing for our members because there's a lot of stuff they have to put in place. I don't want the content to become one more overwhelming thing. So finding ways to get them to take action from the content is my goal going forward.”

Are Facebook groups still a good option for your membership

community?

The answer has become more complicated considering that

Facebook has upped their game over the past few years.

But, as it is with most things, with the good comes the bad.

On this episode of the Membership Geeks, we’re delving into the age-old debate of Facebook groups vs on-site forums, with a little twist.

We explore new and useful features that come with Facebook groups and the downsides of hosting your community on the platform. We also look into a few alternatives to using Facebook or on-site forums for your membership community.

Essential Learning Points:

• Why Facebook’s accessibility is both a pro and con
• How Facebook groups can impact your live events  
• Cool new features Facebook has added in their groups
• Why Facebook groups are more suited for informal interactions
• Alternative platforms to host your community

Important Links & Mentions:

• The Membership Geeks
• Facebook Announce Paid Group Subscriptions. What Does It Mean For Memberships?
• Jill Stanton on Using Facebook Groups to Grow Your Membership
• Should you use a Forum or Facebook Group for your community?

Key Quotes:

“The average member experience is going to incorporate some content and some community. So, if you're splitting those up, it just becomes more of a hassle for members.”

“The main thing people cite as a reason to have their memberships on Facebook is how easy, accessible, and discoverable it is to have a group on there.”

“All the features in the world mean nothing if the group isn’t serving the purpose of enabling your members to connect and talk to each other.”

Trying to build a membership website is a sizable undertaking for anyone...

But building one in under a day, that sounds unrealistic, right?

After all, you've got to wrestle with technology, create content and focus on building your audience - quite often ahead of your launch - all while generating a buzz to ensure you get that initial influx of members when you open the doors to your membership... 

There are a lot of plates to spin...

Surely it's not possible to do that in under a day?

Well, if you're able to bring some of those elements to the table from day one...

So if you already have an established audience who are eager to buy from you...

Or a wealth of content curated from past projects, maybe via courses you've previously released or workshops you've delivered...

Then it’s entirely possible to build a membership website a lot quicker than you may think - in under a day. 

And in this episode of The Membership Geeks podcast we share how. 

Essential Learning Points: 

• This approach isn’t right for everyone. 
• You need to make sure your expectations about the end result are realistic.
• Keep things simple, especially when it comes to technology. 
• Stick to the essentials, avoid the bells and whistles at this stage. 
• Create your content in real-time and utilize live video. 
• Make lots of noise when you launch.

Important links and mentions:  

• 6 Ways to Create Interest and Buzz for Your Membership Launch
• What If I Don’t Want to Use WordPress for My Course or Membership Site?
• How to Use Live Video to Market Your Membership with Luria Petrucci
• Kajabi
• Podia 
• Simplero
• Circle 

Key Quotes: 

“What we’re shooting for here is “good enough”. So you have to accept that it won’t be everything you want it to be initially, however the best memberships are always evolving and are a constant work in progress, so the good news is that you can make improvements as time goes on.”

“As long as people can register, pay and log in, and can then access protected content, you have a working membership site.”

“Don’t create any content upfront. Instead, create a calendar of upcoming live webinars that will be only available only to paying members.”

“Whatever the reason for needing or wanting to build your membership website in just a day, it’s important to recognise that this approach shouldn’t become the norm as your membership grows.”