(FROM SOMEONE WHO’S DONE IT FOR MORE THAN A DECADE.)
About 15 years ago, I launched my first “membership.” I called it “The Coaching Gym.” There were two benefits:
1) phone coaching via a phone number you called until you “got through.” if it was busy, call back later. No scheduling software. lol… and
2) e-coaching via Measure What Matters check ins.
That simple membership generated $10K / month off of only 100 members.
I NEVER mass launched. I ONLY allowed people in who had been in one of my other programs or live events.
And back then, there were a precious few “examples” to follow. Today, I am seeing ALL SORTS OF advice geared towards people who want to launch a membership of their own. Most of it is not super smart advice. So, I offer my take below.
However, I also have this “Membership Millions blueprint.” Happy to give it to you for free. Just message me and I’ll shoot it over.
In the meantime, here are my own simple hacks and tips for people who want to amass income, impact AND influence via a membership offer:
1) OPT INS TO SELL A MEMBERSHIP SHOULD BE A) MANY AND B) PROVIDE BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE MEMBERSHIP ITSELF.
Instead of traditional opt-ins that might sell a program (My membership miracle blueprint was created to sell a $997 digital program.) you should consider ways to show your market a PEAK BEHIND THE CURTAIN of your membership.
You can do this so many ways.
🌟 You can share testimonials, of course.
🌟 You can share an edited (redacted) summary of something you send to actual members, so they get a “FOMO” feeling by reading all you are doing within the walls of membership.
🌟 You can share Pre-Work or partial trainings.
🌟 You can share Notes for trainings, with Fill-in-the-blanks that your members use during actual trainings.
Be creative. How can you SHOW them a PEAK of what they are missing out on?
2) SELL ANNUAL OR QUARTERLY OPTIONS, NOT MONTHLY.
Yes, it makes it “harder” to get people to sign on, but unless you want total headache of chasing credit card payments that failed, log ins that need to be cancelled, and more that goes along with high churn rates, go with longer term commitments.
this has a secondary benefit: You get better quality members who aren’t in the “try” mentality. They stay longer, spend more and most importantly get MAX BENEFIT out of membership. Meaning: glowing testimonials and rabid fans!!
3) FOCUS YOUR SELLING ON THE “CONTAINER” ITSELF, MORE SO THAN THE BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP.
Women who WOW is a whole vibe, an energy, a tribe, a literal GREENHOUSE for creating entrepreneurial success on your own terms. We deliver NUTRIENTS every morning via our #EntrepreneurialEspresso, HOW TO instruction every week, loving kicks in the tush when you need it, 1:1 coaching and more.
But when SELLING the membership, it’s best to focus on the greenhouse itself (the vibe, the energy, the tribe) rather than all the tools used WITHIN the greenhouse.
4) FOCUS ON THE BEING, THE DOING AND THE HAVING SEPARATELY.
I learned this years into my own journey in selling memberships, which I have done longer than NEARLY anyone in the online space today.
So, when selling a membership:
🌟 the HAVING is the end result people want to have…
🌟 the DOING is what you teach them to do, the templates / blueprints you give, etc…
🌟 the BEING though…that is what a membership REALLY, FUNDAMENTALLY affects. It’s why memberships are meant to be evergreen and ongoing.
So, for WOW,
YES..
🌟🌟 our members (nearly 60% at last check) reach their first six figure year after joining our ranks. (Many cross 7-figure for the first time within the walls of WOW and we have one working on her first 8-figure year.)
AND
🌟🌟they do it their own way, taking their life and schedule back, walking taller and with more #SWAGGER 😊, confidence and pride.
but… that’s JUST the “having.” That’s separate from the BEING… which is what our container ACTUALLY produces:
🌟 Stronger, more focused, more determined women entrepreneurs…
🌟Women who are less timid and far bolder and confident than before;
🌟Entrepreneurs who PREFER & DEMAND strategy and measurement and common sense over hype and hope.
The “doing” stuff is really just a vehicle… and we cover Marketing, Mindset and Money (or sales).
When you’re selling, sell to the woman they WANT TO BECOME and the WHAT they want to have as separate but connected. Share the DOING as a simple “vehicle.” (Read that again. It’s incredibly instructive.)
5) BUILD TRUST VIA INTIMACY.
Listen, at our core, Women Who WOW is a coaching container. It is not a digital program. It is not a networking group. It is a coaching container.
A true membership has SOME sort of LIVE, in REAL TIME mentoring, connection and conversation. If you are struggling to sell a membership, look at how you can be MORE present and personal to your members. It separates your membership from nearly all others, as MOST are little more than digital programs or subscriptions, not TRUE memberships.
WOW is known for being low tech, but HIGH TOUCH… for a reason.
6) STOP THE $1 TRIAL B.S.
Back in the early days of groupon, Yoga studios were FLOCKING to me as a consultant. This is because Groupon delivered a ton of “new members” who came for the “highly discounted” period, disrupted (and irritated) the core community and then left to follow the next Groupon deal to the next local (competing) studio.
This left the studio owner OUT profit and having to apologize to her core members for the packed out classes that were catering to people who weren’t a fit.
Free and $1 trials do the same. They create insane turnover, attract the LEAST committed folks, and disrupt the VIBE of the membership you love.
Do yourself a favor and leave this popular technique alone.
7) LAUNCH YOUR MEMBERSHIP WITH PERSONAL INVITES VS. A TYPICAL FUNNEL.
I launched Women Who WOW with PRINT invites. The foundation was important to me. The LAST thing I wanted was to create another version of the low-level, networking-focused groups that are most prevalent in the woman entrepreneur space.
So, I launched intentionally. if you got a print invite, you were invited to join us. If not, you may not have even known we existed. It was a BRILLIANT strategy that has paid incredible dividends.
If you want more tips, message me to get my Membership Millions blueprint.
