Membership Geeks Podcast with Mike Morrison

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 as an idea in someone’s mind, which was nurtured, tested and validated until there was undeniable proof the idea was a winning concept.

When you’re excited about an idea for a membership, it’s easy to let your bias belief that your idea is gold get in the way of reality. This frame of mind can give you a false sense of security and cause you to invest everything in an idea that will never get off the ground.

Before you pursue your membership idea, you need to test and validate it with an MVP. This will help you to discover whether your idea has true potential or not.

In this episode, I reveal the importance of using an MVP to test and validate your membership idea and how to create one.

Episode Summary:

• What an MVP is and how it will validate the potential success of your membership idea
• The characteristics of an effective MVP
• An insight into the six main types of an MVP as they relate to membership sites
• How to know what type of MVP will work best for testing your specific membership idea
• Why you should still use an MVP to test your new membership idea despite already selling products or services successfully

Key Quotes:

“A good MVP should solve a problem or deliver an outcome that's either the same or similar to that of your membership.”

 “An MVP is a minimum viable product, something that you offer to your market that is a relative representation of your membership with just enough features. It’s the bare minimum that you need to be able to put it out there and try and get people to buy or register interest.”

Thank You For Listening

We really appreciate you choosing to listen to us and for supporting the podcast. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

We would also be eternally grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show in Apple Podcasts. They're extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and we read each and every one personally!

Finally, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in Apple Podcasts to make sure that you never miss an episode.

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, if you charge too much, there’s a chance nobody will be able to afford your membership.

So, how much should you charge?

Unfortunately, there’s no one-size fits all approach when it comes to pricing your membership. But there are four key areas to look at to help you land on a price that you and your members are happy with.

Tune in to hear what they are and discover a few helpful tips when it comes to defining your membership pricing strategy.

Episode Summary:

• Why you need to know your cost of member acquisition
• How to make sure your membership site is profitable and sustainable
• How to move the focus away from the price of your membership and towards the value of your site instead
• Considering your competitors when working out what to charge
• Why you need to consider the profile and financial situation of your audience
• A general rule of thumb for B2B and B2C membership prices

Mentioned in this episode:

• Membership Academy
• Membership Mastermind Facebook Group

Key Quotes:

“Above all else, your membership site needs to be profitable. If you're not making money, you're not going to last long. And the business that doesn't make money isn't a business. It's a hobby.”

“Your members should be getting so much value from your site that they don't ever question whether it's worth paying the $50 a month or whatever you charge.

“Do not compete on price. Competing on price very quickly becomes a race to the bottom. No matter how cheap you are, there is always someone who will undercut you. Remember, your membership needs to be profitable, don't price yourself out of business.”

We really appreciate you choosing to listen to us and for supporting the podcast. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

We would also be eternally grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show in Apple Podcasts. They're extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and we read each and every one personally!

Finally, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in Apple Podcasts to make sure that you never miss an episode.

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 and inside the Membership Academy can be applied to pretty much any niche or market.

But, there are a few key differences to look out for between a B2B membership and a B2C membership. These differences are important because they can potentially impact how you approach your strategy, marketing, and even your mindset when it comes to your membership site.

Dive into this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast to hear what those key differences are and how you can use that knowledge to plan your membership content accordingly.

Episode Summary:

• How vast the range of potential impact your membership can have with a B2C market vs. B2B
• The importance of assessing where you fit on the scale - between something that’s seen as a hobby and something potentially life-changing
• How attitudes towards cost and affordability vary between B2B and B2C members
• Adjusting expectations when it comes to how much time your members can afford to give to your membership site
• Why you need to consider the level of exposure your market has to advertising, sales and marketing tactics

Key Quotes:

“The scale of how important your membership is and how much of an impact it can make is usually going to be far broader with a B2C membership.”

“While there is no one size fits all approach to pricing and there’s certainly not a set industry average, you'll often find in terms of monthly payments, that a B2C membership will fall somewhere between $15 to maybe $35, or $40. Whereas B2B memberships usually around the $30 to $60 mark.”

“It’s down to you to find ways that you can deliver value and deliver results without demanding a lot of your members time, you need to make it convenient for them to use your membership.”

We really appreciate you choosing to listen to us and for supporting the podcast. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

We would also be eternally grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show in Apple Podcasts. They're extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and we read each and every one personally!

Finally, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes to make sure that you never miss an episode.

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 journey we were about to embark on.

Join us as we celebrate the 4th anniversary of Membership Academy by taking a look back at the last 12 months and highlighting the 7 'ups' and 3 'downs' from the past year.

• How the changes we'd introduced a year ago have changed the way the Academy runs in a major way
• The HUGE milestone we hit, and why we haven't been shouting about it from the rooftops!
• What effect planning the Retain conference has had on our business (and our lifestyle)
• Our top priority as we head into year 5...

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 you deal with these cancellations has numerous implications for the continued success of your membership site or online course; so it’s important to know how to handle them and also what to avoid.

In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, I share my top tips for dealing with member cancellations the right way.

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 your site, there’s a lot more to consider when selecting the right one for your site.

So, what should you keep an eye out for when choosing a membership plugin?

Tune in to hear four factors that could be huge game changers and make all the difference between making the right choice and making the wrong choice when it comes to your membership plugin. 

Episode Summary:

• Why the customer support options offered by the developers of the plugin are so important
• What to look out for when looking at the specifics of the license that your plugin comes with and the potential restrictions
• The problem with having a plugin with encrypted code including customization drawbacks and potential issues with your web host
• Why you should check when the plugin was last updated

Key Quotes:

“If you bought a plugin where the only support available is through a forum or a Facebook group where the developer themselves isn't present, you’re relying on other users to support you, and that might not be great if you have an emergency.”

“If the developer of your membership plugin hasn't released a new update in several years, and that is a huge, huge red flag. Chances are there's potentially security issues.” 

 “Make sure that you pay attention and do a little bit of research on the nature of the licence required for your membership plugin. Make sure you know if there’s any restrictions, how many websites you can use our plugin for and make sure you're aware of any recurring costs that you're going to have to keep paying in order to use that plugin.” 

Important Links & Mentions:

We really appreciate you choosing to listen to us and for supporting the podcast. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

We would also be eternally grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show in Apple Podcasts. They're extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and we read each and every one personally!

Finally, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes to make sure that you never miss an episode.

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 to reduce the cost of your membership. You might have experienced when a somewhat pushy potential member tries to haggle your price down. Or, they might even ask for a discount or a free trial run that lasts for an entire month.

If somebody tells you that they can’t afford your membership fee, it’s important to take it with a pinch of salt. Don’t take what they’re saying to heart because the truth is that not everyone will be able to afford your membership, and that’s okay 

Listen in to find out what you should do the next time someone tells you that they can’t afford your membership site.

Episode Summary: 

• Why you shouldn’t read too much into it when someone questions your affordability
• Whether it’s ever a good business strategy to offer a free trial and if so, when?
• How to reframe things to ensure people focus on the value of your site, not the cost
• Ways to make people aware of the various joining options
• Understanding that not everyone will be able to afford your membership and why it’s unrealistic to expect otherwise

 Key Quotes: 

“For as many people who think that your membership is too expensive, there'll be just as many or more who think that it's an absolute bargain.” 

“Pricing is not based on logic, it's all about value perception. There's no sweet spot, there's no correct price to offer…So, you want to reframe things to ensure that people are focusing on value, not on the cost.” 

“Not everyone will be able to afford your membership, it's unrealistic to think that they will. Your membership doesn't have to be accessible to absolutely every person. It's okay if someone's not ready or not able to join right now.”

We really appreciate you choosing to listen to us and for supporting the podcast. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

We would also be eternally grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show in Apple Podcasts. They're extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and we read each and every one personally!

Finally, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes to make sure that you never miss an episode.

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 onto our laps. It took a lot of hard work, dedication and strategic thinking to get to where we are today. We’ve intertwined a concoction of approaches and strategies that have helped move our business forward.

In this episode, we pull back the curtain and reveal five things that have positively impacted the growing success of our business as well as a few that we thought would work but ultimately turned belly side up.

Essential Summary:

• Why you shouldn’t stray from your niche and risk confusing your audience
• How segmentation helped us to craft compelling lead magnets and grow our email list
• The importance of creating a killer opt-in and how to know if yours is good enough to move the needle
• How our unique Memberoni Theme for WordPress has helped us attract new members
• What we include in our weekly email blasts to increase open rates and keep members intrigued
• A few things that we thought would have a great impact on our business but turned out to be a let down

Mentioned in this episode:

• Membership Academy
• The Membership Plugin Comparison Chart

Key Quotes:

“When we really started making use of segmentation, our sign-ups literally doubled overnight. Within a space of 24 hours, we were getting more than twice as many email signups just because we've been more deliberate about segmentation.”

“By going above and beyond what most people will do when creating their lead magnets and creating something that was truly comprehensive that had a real practical benefit that people just HAD to have, was a massive game changer.”

“The more that we speak and the more that we get to know other speakers on the circuit, the more we realise that public speaking is not a big deal in terms of delivering sales and increasing traffic.”

Thank You For Listening

We really appreciate you choosing to listen to us and for supporting the podcast. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

We would also be eternally grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show on Apple Podcasts iTunes. They're extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and we read each and every one personally!

Finally, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes to make sure that you never miss an episode

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, consumers are faced with an overwhelming amount of choice.

There comes a point when rather than juggling a countless array of subscriptions, your members will do a brutal clear out and scrap anything they consider non-essential. No mercy.

So, what can you do to ensure your membership is classed as essential, and doesn’t get tossed on the scrap pile? Tune in to hear my six top tips to dodge the chop when people are battling subscription fatigue.

 Episode Summary:

• Why you should take steps to personalize your member’s experience
• How to combine subscription products to stack your value proposition
• The value of creating multiple pricing tiers and how this can help keep members in your ecosystem
• Why giving members the ability to pause their account can be a better alternative to losing them completely
• How to remove the subscription element to your membership site and attract more members with flexible fixed-term passes
• Steps you can take to make your membership essential and indispensable

Key Quotes:

“Anything which makes their relationship with you and your membership have more of a personal connection will make the decision to end their subscription much harder when they're evaluating their expenses…so take steps to personalize your member experience.” 

“The flexibility of offering something like a three-month pass or a one-year pass to your membership could actually attract more members who otherwise might be put off by the idea of a recurring subscription.”

“Ensure that your membership is not only delivering great value to members…but also that you're doing a great job of communicating to your members the value they're receiving.”

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 hype dies down and people move onto the next thing - what will that mean for the future of the membership model?

Are memberships just the new shiny fad? And is there any point starting a membership if the bubble is about to burst?

I address these questions head on in this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, and dissect whether memberships are a passing fad or whether there's a future for this industry.

• Why it feels like everyone is suddenly jumping on the membership bandwagon
• What is the "recency illusion" and how does this affect the membership market?
• Signs that the stage is set for significant growth in the membership industry
• The real danger that the rise of memberships and subscriptions poses to your business