Strategies behind how to effectively launch your Membership Program the right way.
Strategies behind how to effectively launch your Membership Program the right way.
Below is an example of a football phone offer from BBD Member, Jessica Hughes. This promotion brought in 85 Members!
We recommend using a WEBINAR to launch your membership. And you can follow the Webinar Launch Process here.
Before diving in, it's crucial to begin with the 5-Step Planning Process so you have a clear picture of the entire map! Remember! There are just 5 easy steps: Dream it, Map it, Book it, Chunk it & Do it!
To help you map out your goals for this launch, I've included a POWERFUL Membership Launch Calculator to get started.
In the "Map it" step, you'll notice that you can either offer the $1 Trial or launch using the Football Phone Strategy on a Webinar.
In the "Book it" Step, You can follow the SAME Promotional Calendar as used in the Webinar Launch Process, located here.
In the "CHUNK IT" Step, You can follow the SAME Promotional Calendar as used in the Webinar Launch Process, located here.
The "Chunked" Projects For Your Membership Launch (PDF Version / Excel Sheet Version):
Alright, let's dive into the strategies of launching your Membership Site!
When launching my membership, I use a slightly different method than I would with a traditional course (hence the "Football Phone Method). Which is why I created a unique Sales Page that accurately communicates the unique messaging of the membership site offer.
I had this Sales Page CUSTOM BUILT inside Leadpages, and you can use this template yourself!
The following are a list of retention strategies we use and recommend in order to keep your members paying and happy!
Please Note: It is not intended that you use ALL of these Retention Strategies. You want to read through them and select 3-6 that resonate with you and are easy to implement. Trying to take on all of these strategies at once will be overwhelming and take way too much time! Just pick the few you like the most!
The first ESSENTIAL step to improving your Membership's retention strategy is to create a Content Calendar for the next 12-16 months. And the best practice is to create content that builds upon last month and creates an inherent demand for next month's training.
The #1 reason I use and recommend this strategy is simply because you get to tease your Members about what's coming up. This gives them a reason to STAY a Member.
Take a moment now to create a Content Calendar for the next 12 months or more.
Once you know what your Content Calendar looks like for the year, a great strategy is to overlap content. In short, this month's content creates a natural inherent demand or need for next month's content.
For example...
Let's say I'm teaching Facebook Advertising. In Month #1, I could teach how to create the ad (text, copy, image, etc). Then, in Month #2, I could show people how to set up the ad in Power Editor or how to read/interpret results. Month #1 created a NEED for Month #2.
When you can overlap your content so Members become hungry for the next month, staying a Member becomes a no-brainer.
Once you begin to overlap your content, you'll want to constantly tease and promote your next month.
Here are a few ways that you can talk about next month's content NOW:
• A "Coming Soon" Email to Members
• Facebook Group Posts
• Live Monthly Coaching Calls
From the moment your new Member joins, you should have a CLEAR SUCCESS PATH identified and mapped out for them.
Your Customer Success Path:
A "Success Path" is the journey your Member goes on to get them from where they are now, to where they want to be (your Promise of the Membership Site).
Use the following questions to identify your Customer's Success Path:
1. What is the Ultimate Promise/Outcome/Result You Promise Your Members?
2. What Do They Need to Learn or Understand to Have this Outcome?
3. What Actions Do They Need to Take? Weekly? Monthly?
4. How Long Will This Take?
Can you begin to map out phases or steps that your customer needs to act on so they have a CLEAR PATH and EXPECTATIONS as a Member?
For example: Reel Marketing Insider (or RMI)
For Members of my Membership Program, Reel Marketing Insider, the first thing I teach them is STRATEGY. They must have an understanding of the WHAT. (That's Phase #1). Phase #2 is to learn the HOW of "Video-Making." This includes what tools, software, and equipment they need to get comfortable with video. And Phase #3 is to simply start creating new videos for their business. Each month they can take action to create a new video for their business.
Your Members will remain members when they see VALUE in your Membership. And value comes from taking ACTION and seeing results.
What can you do AS SOON AS your new Members join to get them a quick win? How can you get your Members to experience a high-value return on their investment by the end of the very first video they watch in your Members Area?
The first thing I DO is have my Members leave a comment or post in the FB Group sharing something about themselves and their goals. Then, I like to get them to take a quick action that can easily get checked off their to-do list.
What could you have your Members do for a quick and easy win? This should be given to them in their "Welcome/ Orientation" Video as soon as they join.
You don't need a Private Facebook Group for your Membership Site, but some sort of Forum or Community is essential. As Stu McLaren says, "They come for the content, they stay for the community."
Facebook Groups are the most-engaging, easiest-to-use platform for community-building.
Below are a few "best practices" for creating a highly-engaged Facebook Group so your Members remain Members.
Facebook Group Best Practices:
• Make the Group Setting "Private" in Facebook
• Create Clear Rules and Expectations for your Group
• Create a "New Member Orientation Video" explaining the Rules
• Invite Members to join your Group IMMEDIATELY after joining your Membership. Invite new Members to introduce themselves
• Create a "Weekly Schedule" of activities and topics that keep engagement high
• Check the Group daily for unanswered questions
• Share Engaging Posts an ask Thought-Provoking Questions to your Members
"They come for the content, they stay for the community." How can you foster more of a community inside your Membership?
The best advice I can give here is to get to know your Members, especially the ones who are "in the front of the pack" ....the ones that get the most results and take the most action.
Get to know them and what they need. This is your chance to start looking for other Members and connect them together. YOU don't need to be the source of all the answers. You don't need to be the know-it-all. BUT, when you can connect others together, and they can form valued relationships, YOU become the common denominator.
My Members all tell me my monthly Coaching Call is the #1 reason why they remain a Member. Every month, I hop on GoToWebinar to hang out with my Members live.
Here is what a typical Coaching Call looks like:
1. Intro & Updates (2 min)
2. New Content Available (3 min)
3. What's Coming Next Month (2 min)
4. What's Been Working in My Business (25 min)
5. Hot Seats & Questions (60 min)
Best Practice: One thing we do is make sure to get as many of our Members on the live calls as possible. We spend a week talking about the topic for the call, and asking Members to start posting their questions NOW so they can get answered LIVE on the call!
At the end of each Coaching Call, we like to offer a "Homework Assignment." ...or an ACTION ITEM. We then ask Members to POST the results of their homework in the Facebook Group so we can discuss it further. This creates more engagement in the Group and reminds the Members who didn't join last month's call to watch the replay or join us live for next month.
As a Member of Reel Marketing Insider, I also want to demonstrate my appreciate for their loyalty of remaining a Member. To do so, I offer a discount on my other products to all RMI Members. We give a 20% Off Coupon to all RMI Members whenever we are in a launch or promotion.
Email Onboarding is crucial. What can you do to help properly onboard your Members for the first week or two of their Membership?
The more emails you send to your new Members, the more you encourage them to use the site and get into action.
Here are a few ideas and examples of emails that can be used for new Members:
1. Welcome and "What To Do First"
2. A Questionnaire/Survey that asks for their struggles and goals
3. An Invite into your Private FB Group (or private community)
4. A Powerful Piece of Content or Training you want to share
5. Case Studies from a few veteran Members
6. Your Favorite Resources
One of the bonuses we offer to our Members inside Reel Marketing Insider, is a 31-Day "Profit Plan." Every day, Members get drip-fed one 5-minute audio that gives them a piece of content and an action item. Most of the time, the content is designed to get the Members to explore a specific area or topic of the site.
With 30 days of drip-fed content, Members get a high-value, high-touch point experience for their first month of Membership. And the best part is, most Membership Software Solutions offer the ability to easily drip feed content like this!
Every month, or once a quarter, you can highlight and showcase your existing Members as a "Member Case Study." This is a great opportunity to not just show-off your Members (which makes them feel great!), but also inspires and motivates the rest of your Members to consume and take action on your content!
Is there a way you can reward your Members who remain a Member for a certain amount of time? Inside Reel Marketing Insider, we've sent out physical gifts and "thank yous" to Members who have remained with us for more than 6 months, as well as for Members who have remained with us the longest.
At the end of every month I like to send out a simple "Month in Review" email to all my Members sharing what content we covered and other updates that are coming.
This is a great way to show your Members a thumbnail view of the value you deliver each and every month along with a convenient way of accessing the latest content now.
Every month, I also like to provide our Members with a quick and easy .PDF Resource Guide on a specific topic. These have ranged from "Video Script Templates" to Case Studies. They are designed to be quick and easy reads that can be implemented immediately.
What can you do to neatly and professionally package your content and deliver surprises like this to your Members each and every month?
People are competitive by nature. How can you add Gamification to your Membership? What can be unlocked, achieved, or awarded when your Members take specific actions? How can they earn badges, points, or acknowledgements?
If you are using WordPress to host your Membership Site, they are several "Gamification Plugins" including badges and points functions that keep your Members happy and engaged!
What if there was Bonus Content only available to your Members after a certain amount of time? What if there was NEW surprise content unlocked every month your Members stay onboard?
Most Membership Plugins and Software Platforms allow for "drip feed" functions that unlock or release content after a certain amount of time. This means, delaying or drip feeding content at 30-day intervals is not only easy, it's very rewarding for your Members.
Once a quarter, we post a Poll inside our Private Facebook Group asking Members what topics and content they are most excited about learning. This helps us stay relevant to our Members so we are providing them the content they want when they want it. These Polls and Surveys are crucial, plus they also serve to demonstrate to your Members that you care!
The beauty of a Membership Site is that it can be anything. A community, motivation, accountability, content, etc. One option is to create "Mini-Courses" on very, VERY specific topics.
In order to avoid overwhelm, you could have these Mini-Courses unlock over time. Perhaps Members get one new Mini-Course per month or every other month, etc.
These courses provide high-value while giving Members the incentive to remain active.
One of the things we offer our Members inside Reel Marketing Insider is an "Accountability Program." We use our Facebook Group to connect Members together so they can pair up and hold each other accountable as they go through the training and content.
Members connect, create goals, and support each other through the training.
How can you foster this type of accountability inside your Membership?
In the early days of Reel Marketing Insider, one of the things we did was ship a physical binder with notepaper to the homes of our new Members.
One of the benefits of doing this was showing our Members what content was going to be unlocked and shared over the next 6-8 months if they remained in the program. Not to mention, getting something in the mail is always an incredible experience for your Members!
We stopped doing this simply because we updated the content in the Membership Site, and the physical binder no longer reflected in the content online.
This is something we have never done, but I know that Jill & Josh Stanton of "Screw University" do this with their Members. They call it "Screw Crews." They pick Ambassadors in areas all over the world, and Members can connect and meet up in-person to network and discuss content.
