Lessons Learned in Year 1 of Membership Biz

Welcome to January, that time of year when everyone tends to get a bit thoughtful. Reflecting on the last 12 months and looking towards the next 12 and what could be achieved.

So, what better post to start the year off right than taking a peak at some of the things you discover in your first year of running a membership site…

Excellent Customer Service is Key

Nothing ever goes 100% without a hitch. That’s this silly thing we call life. The important thing is how you deal with those hiccups when issues do arise. If you drop the ball on something, how do you make up for that? If a member is unhappy with your membership site, how can you remedy that?

Most things can be salvaged with good management (and possibly some chocolate). And if in doubt, think about what you would want to happen if positions were reversed.

Solid customer service can be the difference between losing a member and leaving someone with a positive impression, burning your bridges versus effective word-of-mouth advertising.

Onboarding Alleviates Most of the Hassle

It’s no surprise that I’m a fan of onboarding. It’s one of the best ways to help your members to get the best out of your membership program, and avoid common sticky spots, such as overwhelm.

When you have a good onboarding process in place, your members are happier, your engagement goes up, retention skyrockets, and you have far less customer service complaints to deal with. That’s a win for everyone!

It can take a minute to get your onboarding process working smooth when you first start your membership, but continuing to make tweaks, especially as your membership evolves, is definitely time well spent.

Making Moolah While You Sleep Never Gets Old

I’m not going to lie. Waking up to notifications of new members or payments received is one of those things that make me do the happy dance. It’s something I truly appreciate after years of having to chase invoices in order to get paid for services!

So, while money shouldn’t be the sole reason you create a membership site, the appeal of recurring income is usually one of the reasons most people decide on this model. And even though running a membership site can be hard work, the freedom that typically comes from recurring revenue, which typically also increases month after month, really can make a gi-normous difference in your life (and stress levels!).

Not Everyone Will Love Everything You Do

No matter how ah-mazing your membership site is, there will always be someone who isn’t a fan or who doesn’t see the value in what you’re offering. And that hurts.

This can make you doubt yourself and your business. But the sooner you recognize that you can’t please everybody, and your membership won’t be the right fit for everyone, the more fulfilling your life as a membership owner will be.

If you have 99 happy members who love what you’re doing and 1 unhappy member, you need to learn to focus on the 99 – those folks aren’t all wrong! If negative feedback is valid, then obviously do what you can to fix the situation, but otherwise listen to those who are getting value and enjoying your services.

On that point, one of the most important lessons you can learn is to not take cancellations personally, or even as an inherently bad thing. People cancel for oh-so-many reasons and can still return later or recommend your site to others.

You’re a Change Maker

There’s this crazy thing that happens as your membership site grows: you won’t know all your members anymore. Sure, it’s easy to focus on the members that are most vocal in your community, yet there will be a large proportion of members who quietly consume your content but never actively engage with you…

And then something magical happens.

They *quietly* send you an email telling you how much your membership has changed their life, or made their business easier, and how they are so thrilled they found you.

Here’s my point: It’s easy to forget how many people we’re impacting with our membership site business. Yet you ARE a changemaker! Don’t take someone’s silence as a sign that they aren’t getting value from what you’re offering, or that they’re apathetic to your offering…

And Besides, Watching Your Members Get Results is Exhilarating

Nothing beats the feeling of seeing your members implement what you’re teaching and achieve their own results. It NEVER gets old and makes everything more than worth it… which is, for most of us, worth its weight in gold.

Ready to chase your gold? Let's chat and I'll help you get there!