How Much Content to Launch Membership
Petrified really isn’t an overstatement.
The idea of creating enough content to “fill” a membership site has left more than one person shaking in their boots. In fact, I hear this concern so often that I’ve decided to lay it out straight.
First, to bring up the elephant in the room: You likely need far less content to launch your membership program than you have imagined.
So, how much content do you really need?
And when is enough really enough?
For better or worse, there’s no manual to give a definitive answer.
At the risk of sounding like I’m shirking the point of this article, I have to say: It truly depends on your audience and the big promises you’ve made.
Technically, you could launch with no content and instead make it up as you go… Yet for many people, that feels inauthentic, as though you’re selling air. And it feels scary, as though creating the framework and recruiting members weren’t enough, now you’re expected to create content as you go?!
Rather than keep you hanging, here are my suggestions for how to know when you’ve hit that sweet spot with your membership site content.
Understand (and Set) Your Members’ Expectations
Here’s a little secret: You’ve conned yourself. Yep, you’ve been living a lie and you only have yourself to blame. That is, you’ve likely convinced yourself that your audience absorbs everything that you put out.
As a result, you’ve been breaking your back writing blogs, doing Lives, creating webinars, posting on social media, and generating content for your program.
Yet one of the main reasons members want to join your membership site is because they want a concise, straightforward path toward results. They want to avoid all the fluff ‘n stuff, cut to the chase, and learn what’s important from an expert such as yourself.
All this is to say, you don’t have to bust a gut trying to produce content.
Two things to keep in mind: One, it’s your house, so you make the rules. If clients are demanding more, it’s up to you to establish realistic expectations. Secondly, too much content means too much overwhelm. They’ll just give up (unsubscribe) if they feel like they’re always playing catch-up.
Creating content is about quality far more than quantity.
Shift the Way You Think About Content
A membership program, like any other coaching or mental health program, is not about selling the tools. You aren’t selling courses, downloads, worksheets, and templates.
You’re selling results.
You’re selling solutions to problems.
It’s time to sayonara to the notion that you’re an online shopping center filled with content that members have already bought.
Instead, identify the problems that your membership site solves, and create content that pointedly solves those problems.
This will help you determine how much content is needed when you launch and throughout a member’s enrollment time.
Here’s an easy litmus test: Does your content solve the big problems your clients face?
If not, it doesn’t matter how much content you throw in there; members won’t be getting results, and therefore, they will cancel their subscription.
Of course, no one expects you to solve every single problem they face (or at least they shouldn’t!).
But they do expect you to solve the bigger ones.
Identify the main problems your members face and then make sure they can find the solutions, whether it be through your content, group calls, community forum, or peer group.
Devise Content For Each of Your Core Groups of Members
Your membership site likely has people at different stages of growth.
For the Membership Fix program, as an example, I generally find three categories of members:
Veterans - These are the people who have been a therapist, coach, social worker, or consultant for many years. They know the field in and out, likely have quite a few clients, and are now ready to scale.
Experienced - These clients have a lot of professional experience, yet it may not have been in this industry. They’re shifting their avatar, their offer, their niche, and so they have the know-how to be successful while also being a beginner in many ways. They want a business that grows with them.
Beginners - These clients are within their first 5 years of professional work experience. They have a degree; they have a lot of enthusiasm; yet they want to avoid the pitfalls many people experience in building a business. In short, they’re looking to launch their career.
It’s important that you recognize the groups your prospective members fall into, then devise content that appeals to each category.
Please note, this does not mean that each content piece you create should be designed for each group. To the contrary, each content piece you create should focus on one group of people — and only that one group.
Recognize the Power of Your Community
I often say, “People come for your content and stay for your community.”
Even the people who rarely participate in the community likely keep returning for this sense of togetherness.
So, while your content is critical — indeed, you really can’t have a membership site without content — it isn’t the only selling power your membership program holds.
In other words, invest as much effort into supporting your community as you do in developing your content.
And If This Isn’t Concrete Enough…
If that doesn’t put your mind at ease quiet enough, I offer these guidelines to keep you motivated:
Launch when you have enough content to be at least two weeks ahead of your members
Create ONE foundational course/guide/premium content that will be the cornerstone of your program
Plan out three month’s worth of content ahead of time and communicate that to your members
Initiate an Introduction thread in the forum so that members have someone specific to go as soon as they join
Host one group call every week or biweekly to support them
Be crystal clear on the specific outcomes you expect members to achieve in their time enrolled in your site
Participate in your community regularly (preferably 3-5 times a week, make a post and/or respond to your members’ posts)
Remember, unlike a traditional course, a membership site is constantly evolving. This allows you greater flexibility in meeting your clients’ needs, and allows them to grow within your program.
As your membership lives and grows, you’ll get more feedback from members. This will push you toward creating content of higher value in shorter amounts of time.
Finally, keep in mind that having a bunch of content right out the gate means you aren’t responding to clients’ needs. It’s best to wait until you have some feedback before pushing the gas pedal too hard.
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