#58 Two Types Of Memberships
Hello & Happy Weekend!
I had a dream this week that I was riding a skateboard down a hill SO FAST and I had no idea how to stop but there were a bunch of people at the bottom of the hill ready to catch me (if there are any dream analysts out there feel free to psychoanalyze me, thanks).
My theory is that it was about the crazy amount of momentum I'm feeling right now.
Community building is a long game.
You plant seeds and then MONTHS later you finally see sprouts. That's community building.
It takes patience. But if you're patient, and you pour into your community – can't skip that part – then it will grow into something beautiful. I'm pinching myself every day over the community of entrepreneurs I’m serving. Thank you for being here.
And if you're just getting started...
Take the first step.
Send notes of appreciation.
Connect people to one another.
Set up 1:1 calls.
Plant seeds.
And when you're ready to serve your community with a membership, don't make the mistake of crafting a complex membership offer that you'll grow to resent later. Today's essay is based on one of the most popular topics from my membership masterclass I presented this past week.
Let's get into it –
Two Types Of Memberships
If you're considering building a membership then one of the first things you need to determine is what kind of membership you're building.
In my experience there are two main membership types:
01 Content Subscription:
The value of the membership is the content library
Monthly / weekly content drops
May include community forum or features
02 Transformational Membership:
Curriculum that supports A to B transformation
Events & programming to support goals
Includes community forum and/or accountability
Many of my clients that are struggling with the hamster wheel of membership management are trying to do some form of ... all of this at once.
Avoid this mistake:
Trying to create both a content subscription & a transformational membership experience.
Let's dig into each of these in more detail.
Content Subscriptions
Have you ever logged into somebody else's Netflix profile?
Netflix has the highest retention rate of all the streaming platforms (meaning the least amount of people cancel). And that's because of their learning algorithm.
IF you build a content subscription, you MUST have personalization features to have great retention.
I'm not saying you need to build a machine learning capability, but you do need to personalize the experience as much as possible.
It might not be overwhelming to be a member in the first few months, but what happens 2 years down the line when your membership has years worth of content and no one can find the content for them?
Focus on content organization.
Make sure it’s easy and clear for your members to find exactly what they need, with as little friction as possible.
Tools you can use:
Organize spaces in your platform in your customer’s language (not jargon)
Offer an onboarding quiz that provides a personalized plan
Create a “start here” space
Customize your member dashboard
Offer filters in your content library
Transformational Memberships
In simple terms, transformational memberships take members from A to B. This may be a great option for you if you can easily write a transformational statement.
I help [specific type of person] go from [somewhere they're unhappy or experiencing a challenge] to [their goal destination / overcoming their challenge].
I recorded a video about the transformation membership model a couple of months ago when I was first exploring this in depth.
It should take your members 1+ years to reach and/or maintain this goal in order for it to make sense as a membership product.
There are 3 components to a transformational membership:
Backbone curriculum – this is why your members buy– it's the roadmap and checklist they need to get them from A to B.
Programming & events – this is how they will apply their learning, and practice. It keeps them engaged so they'll be successful.
Community & connection – this is why they'll renew. They'll feel belonging with those on the same journey.
Don’t confuse programming & events for content drops.
You can have guest speakers and fun events that enhance the learning experience in a transformational membership without requiring it as a monthly or weekly content drop.
You don't need to add one-million monthly events and content features to the offer stack. Keep yourself off that hamster wheel.
Keep it simple.
So... which will you build? A content subscription or a transformational membership?
If you thought this was helpful, this was only one small section of the membership masterclass and workbook I delivered this past week. If you have FOMO, you can purchase the replay here.
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