Launching a Membership Site is Not as Hard as You Think
All it Takes is Confidence and a Solid Plan
Despite the fact that it's not as difficult as we think to begin these one-to-many programs, it's surprising how many people (who indicate they are still interested in having a membership), don't start.
Just look at the numbers ...
Okay, I know this is what you're waiting for ... the most asked about stuff I get inside the Scaling Deep Society and in any event, I host on membership.
What should I charge?
Where should I host my membership?
What is the tech???
Yup, those are THE most common questions I've ever come across. And they are important, just not AS important as the foundations we've already covered in the last few pages.
But let's talk about it anyway.
Pricing a membership right from the start
Like with pricing anything, the goal is to charge the amount that best reflects the value of the service your client will receive.
With membership programs, there's a tendency to charge less than the value of the outcomes promised as business owners want to start it with momentum. Getting a lot of people in at once can cause people to charge too little and can sometimes turn people off from buying.
When I see a low monthly price for a group, it signals to me that it is community-driven or there's a lot of members. Because I prefer to develop strong relationships, I usually look for groups with fewer people and more access to the leader.
However, pricing is relative. A recent client told me she's thrilled to be a part of a membership priced at $2,000 monthly... and there are 900 people in that community!
So pricing is really up to you, what value you deliver and how much you're willing to shop up for.
But before we can talk more about that, we need to talk about this...
What purpose does the membership serve within your overall business model?
Three types of membership programs
There are three types of membership models that will help you create the most profitable membership with the least amount of effort. Sustainability is key here!
Once you figure out where your membership lives in your entire business model, all the other decisions on how to price it, what to include and who to invite will be much easier to make.
Whichever model you think is right for you, remember that there are always ebbs and flows in business. In my podcast episode below, I talk about setting your membership up not just for now, but the long-term.
The Warm-up
The Warm-up model is the most common membership model we see in the world of memberships. These types of memberships tend to be lower priced and become the audiences to which coaches or consultants sell higher ticket programs.
They serve as a port of entry to your business and maybe the first program clients buy from you, giving them a taste of what it’s like to learn from you.
People may hear about you through an ad, visibility or free content and this is where you send them to check you out.
The Flagship
The Flagship is the program that becomes the cornerstone of a businesses’ revenue and replaces other programs & offers.
Businesses with core membership offers that get known often have a big mission and provide unique value in the world. These models have the most potential to become a movement and have a broad-reaching impact.
Core offer programs need to be priced for sustainability & profit as they pack in a lot of value and can become a sole source of support for members working towards that common outcome. This is the model for the Scaling Deep Society.
The Follow-up
Follow-up memberships are the easiest to launch because they centre around inviting recent clients to join. These programs provide access to ongoing mentorship and check-ins while they continue to work towards their goals.
They are an efficient and enjoyable way to provide accountability for clients who need to stay focused on their transformation. It provides them with a tether to their mentor without requiring expensive one-on-one support or a high-ticket program making it an easy choice for them to join. .
The Scaling Deep Marketing Lounge, the first membership I offered, was exactly this kind, which worked beautifully after clients went through my VIP days.
These programs are best if they are priced in alignment with your other services and offers to keep consistency in your brand.
Choosing a platform you can live with for a while
Membership programs are dynamic beasts and, as a result, the tech stack can seem daunting. This is why mapping out the structure of your membership deliverables in advance will take some of the guesswork out of choosing the right place to host your group.
The first question to answer is always what is the main focus of your program - education, coaching or community.
Here's why...
NEWSFLASH: There's no one-size-fits-all platform that's perfect for memberships.
Because of their range of functions and how much each membership differs, there are no simple choices.
Here's my full software suite that I use & highly recommend!
And this is a super-quick guide of what you could also consider:
Option 1 - Education focused
With programs that primarily focus on curating monthly content, trainings, tutorials or templates you'll want to find a strong course platform to make delivery easy. There are so many but here's a list you can't go wrong choosing:
- New Zenler (my choice)
- Thinkific
- Podia
- Teachable
Option 2 - Community apps
If you are all about community or need a place that people feel really comfortable engaging and show up often, these are the best choice (that I've seen).
- Facebook (unless you or your members hate it) (Free)
- Heartbeat (my choice)
- Mighty Networks (Free with limited use)
- Slack (Free)
- Circle
Option 3 - Comprehensive solutions
When you are ready, you've got big numbers and are looking to have a more customized all-in-one solution that will give you extra features and keep it close to home, here are some recommended choices.
- Buddyboss
- Ghost.org
- MemberPress
I don't recommend starting here until you know you've got a winning idea. For more info on using your WordPress website as a membership site, you can get the full breakdown (including pros & cons) here.
Option 4
Combine favourite course platform with best community option.
You can see there are so many options and there's no right one, so I suggest reviewing your priorities, doing your own research and getting started with your most minimum viable solution to make it thrive.
This is why I mention living with it for a while. Starting minimally until the attraction and retention are proven is the only way to start anything!
Now let's address the elephant in the room - attracting & growing an audience of the best members.