AN UNEDITED EMAIL EXCHANGE ABOUT THE LAUNCH OF THE WOMEN WHO WOW MEMBERSHIP.
Women Who WOW is gaining in… something.
Members? Yes. Exposure? Yes.
But something else.
A momentum of sorts that is difficult (for me) to put into words.
It’s invisible…
somewhat,
but like the building of energy in the ocean,
also equally undeniable.
And people are taking notice.
I get a LOT of questions about “how to launch a membership.”
How to get more members.
How to raise prices for membership.
From WOW members, of course, but also from outsiders.
It’s the questions from outsiders that are the MOST revealing regarding why SO MANY memberships fail. It’s the nearly “biblical truth” assumptions, the “this is how it’s done” approach that is THE CAUSE of failure… The INTERNET MARKETING RULES that are leading so many would be success stories into the ABYSS of yet another online failure.
I’ve done memberships
PROFITABLY
since WAY before online memberships were cool.
My first membership launched with two tools:
email and a phone plugged into a MagicJack phone thingee.
Here’s an email exchange between me and a stranger. =) Asking about his membership:
HIM:
Hi Michelle! Did you ever do an official launch for your membership site or did you just let it grow organically?
ME:
I did do a launch, of sorts.
HIM:
Ok cool. Did you do a Jeff Walker PLF style launch or did you just launch to your email list or an audience of people you already had? Thanks.
Just had a look at your blog. Very cool!:)
ME:
Def not the plf launch.  Jeff doesn’t event do launches that way any more, lol…. I’m getting my hair done, but will send you more info in a bit,
Thanks!
HIM:
No problems! And thanks!:)
ME:
Feel free to ignore the “commercial” message  but here are several articles that I wrote about memberships… when I was selling my membership miracle course. the first tells my story, and then the following go into more detail.
Should YOUR Business Offer a “Membership” Program
How Membership Programs Simplify Your Life
The Membership Miracle: The 3 C’s
The Number One Way To Fail At Creating A Group Program Or Membership Offer
HIM:
That’s great thanks Michelle!
ME:
Hope it helps!!!
HIM:
Hi Michelle, just a quick question about how you launched your membership. What audiences did you use to launch your membership? Did you have an email list, a Facebook group or anything similar? And how did you build your audiences and prime them? Many thanks:)
What platforms / audiences do you have already?
I don’t have any huge audiences currently but I working on building up my custom audiences and toying with the idea of building a FB group for engaging with my audiences. I’m reticent to build an email list purely because email is becoming less and less effective in terms of engagement so I’m looking for new ways to build an audience for my launch.
ME:
gotcha. I would suggest doing both.. a Facebook group is great, but it is still building a house on “rented” land. So, I would do BOTH. What is your membership offer?
I have found it very profitable to sell to audiences amassed by someone else.  Either through speaking or writing or whatever.
But, also… if your audience is on the small side, consider making an offer that is a financial win for you even IF only a handful of people join in that first month.
HIM:
Hi Michelle, thanks for your tips. I am actually launching a paid traffic and conversion community for entrepreneurs and marketers. I am a professional Facebook Ads manager (spent over $1million on ads on behalf of clients in the past 2.5 years) and digital marketer and I’ve been in the game now for over 13 years. So I know how to runs ads and acquire customers however….The cost of ads is going up and it is getting more expensive to grow an email list plus my niche is insanely competitive and crowded and hence trying to develop the right big idea and hook for my academy to differentiate myself is challenging. I think my biggest sticking point is ultimately I am so close to my membership plus I have been procrastinating about whether just to launch evergreen or whether to actually to do a launch and the most cost effective and ROI effective way to do that. As we both know, acquiring new members especially from paid traffic is expensive so you have to find ways to generate an ROI when acquiring new members etc. Having said all of this, I think doing some kind of internal launch would be the best way to get some traction. Would be great to hear you thoughts! Thanks for your advice btw!
ME:
You bet! I occasionally pay to sponsor a post, but not much at all. Whatever you’re going to be teaching in your membership, I’d use THAT to market it.
So I use content to market, and content marketing is a big portion of what I teach.
Does that make sense? Let it be seamless . Use the skills you hope to teach… to grow ur own biz
HIM:
Hi Michelle thanks for that. I think my biggest struggle was whether just to launch my membership using a launch or whether to just use an evergreen funnel to lunch slowly but I’ve decided to do a small launch then sell the membership evergreen. So when you say you sell your membership with content marketing, do you use blog posts and then drive paid traffic towards the blog posts? How many new members do you generally generate from a piece of content like a blog post? Thanks!
ME:
I don’t really believe in “launches” and have done most of my stuff differently than what you’re asking about. =) I don’t do the whole “internet marketer” thing, which I guess is still what i am, but just not how I do things. I don’t do much paid traffic..> ONLY about $60 or so PER MONTH on Facebook. lol. I do a lot of targeted outreach to thought leaders and gate keepers and let them do the work for me.
HIM:
Hi Michelle thanks for the insight. Do you do a lot of JV’s with other people who have a big audience then?
ME:
Never. Not once. I hate that shit.
HIM:
Ahh cool. Thanks for all of your tips and help! Are you a member of the membership guys membership site?
ME:
Nope.
