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By Guest Blogger
November 11, 2016
Getting your first 100 paying customers for a membership website is always the hardest part. But once you reach that number, it becomes much easier to attract new members.
Here is your 90-day plan for getting your first 100 paying customers:
Before diving into marketing and traffic-building, there are a few key things to consider:
Know Your Audience: Understand who they are, what problems they have, and how you can help them. Also, know how to reach them.
Understand Your Competition: Identify both online and offline competitors, know their pricing, and determine how you’ll stand out.
Clarify Your Unique Value: What makes your site different? Why should someone choose you over the competition?
Create a User-Friendly Website: Your site should look professional and clearly communicate what you offer. Remember, every page is a landing page, so ensure visitors can easily navigate your site from any entry point.
Include Free and Member-Only Content: Offer some high-quality free content to build trust, but also have exclusive content for members. Before launching, have at least 90 days’ worth of content ready to free up time for marketing.
Refine Your Offer: Make an offer that’s hard to refuse. Ensure the perceived value is at least three times higher than the membership cost. Consider offering a money-back guarantee and special deals for early sign-ups.
Your plan should be divided into two phases:
Phase 1 (80 Days): Focus on driving traffic to your website and building a relationship with visitors who show an interest in the service you are providing. Allow visitors to sign-up to an email newsletter or other services that will enable you to proactively communicate with them.
Phase 2 (10 Days): Shift focus from traffic and relationship-building to converting your most loyal followers into paying members. Build excitement with an irresistible offer which your most loyal followerswon’t be able to resist.
Since you won’t initially get much search engine traffic, you’ll need to rely on other methods to drive visitors to your site. Some ideas include:
Collecting Email Addresses
It’s crucial to capture email addresses from your site visitors. Offer something valuable in return. Your offer should have a perceived value that is at least three times greater than the membership price. Some examples are:
An example offer package could be:
Try to give away something that has zero or near-zero cost to you, but provides your target audience with real value.
After 80 days of building excitement and relationships, it’s time to convert your followers into paying members. Here’s how:
Everything you will have provided so far – the email sign-up giveaway, the content on your site, the email newsletter, Tweets, etc – has been free.
In phase 2 you must turn your attention to packaging up your paid membership service in such a way that your most dedicated followers are very happy to pay.
You want to build excitement and desire over the 80 days. This will get a much higher conversion rate than allowing members to signup whenever they want.
You must create a very compelling offer for the first 100 members. I would strongly recommend that the offer is based around giving them downloadable stuff for free rather than a discount on the membership fee.
You should try to preserve your income as much as possible. As mentioned above create a package of services that have a value much greater than the cost of the subscription.
To launch the 10-day sign-up period you should arrange a big event.
A very popular thing to do is have a webinar where prospects can dial into for free and listen to a talk by you, or better still, a really well-known industry personality.
A webinar is easy and cheap to arrange but has a high perceived value to attendees.
The content of the webinar should not be a sales pitch for your membership site. You need to be more subtle than that.
The content should provide really good information about a particular subject, but the information should be incomplete. The additional information should be available within the membership site.
A few examples:
Make Signing Up Easy:
Clearly communicate the benefits and include a money-back guarantee to reduce perceived risk.
This technique for getting 100 paying members in 90 days is tried and tested. The skill is building the excitement about your service to the point where your followers can’t wait for it to go live. At all stages, try to put yourself in your prospects' shoes and think about
“what would REALLY make me want to sign up for this service?”.
Ready to start your membership website?
Identifying your customer persona, buyer persona or target audience profile, is crucial before launching a membership website. Understanding who your audience is allows you to create targeted marketing campaigns, improve user experience, develop relevant content, optimise pricing strategies, and foster long-term growth.
Understanding your customer persona helps you customise your membership website to meet the specific needs of your target audience. By knowing who your ideal customers are, their demographics, interests, and pain points, you can design your website's content to resonate with them. This tailored approach increases the chances of attracting and retaining loyal members.
Jake, a certified strength and conditioning coach, determined that in order to succeed in the saturated fitness market, he needed to focus on a niche.
He started by developing a ‘customer profile’ of the person he wanted to reach. He narrowed his focus to getting unmotivated people off the couch and into getting fit. He then spent time developing and posting content, specific to this audience’s needs.
When you have a clear understanding of your customer persona, you can create targeted marketing campaigns and craft compelling messaging. You can use the language, tone, and channels that are most likely to engage your audience. By aligning your marketing efforts with the preferences of your target customers, you can maximise your reach and generate higher conversion rates.
Yoga instructor, Cheri, identified her target audience as seniors who want to improve their well-being with yoga. With this focus, she was able to compose the messaging of her website's homepage to specifically address their concerns and pain points and reinforce the solutions that a membership will deliver to them.
By knowing the specific needs and preferences of your target audience, you can optimise your website's design, navigation, and functionality to provide a smooth user experience. This enhances member satisfaction, encourages longer engagement and reduces the likelihood of users abandoning your website.
Developing content that is relevant and valuable to your target audience is vital for a successful membership website. When you understand your customer persona, you can create content that addresses their pain points and offers solutions. Targeted content boosts member engagement, encourage participation and establish your website as a valuable resource within your niche.
Pinpointing your customer persona helps you determine the pricing strategy for your membership website. By understanding your target audience's willingness to pay, their expectations and the value they seek, you can set competitive pricing that reflects the perceived value of your offerings.
Building a loyal customer base is essential for the long-term success of a membership website. Understanding your customer persona enables you to continuously improve your offerings based on user feedback, preferences, and evolving needs. By consistently delivering value and engaging with your target audience, you display your commitment and foster loyalty which promotes member retention.
Recognising your customer persona enables you to create a personalised experience for your website's members.
It allows you to delve deeper into the needs, preferences and motivations of your target audience which results in delivering more relevant content that meets their expectations. Embracing the power of customer personas is a key driver in building a successful membership website experience.
Personalization has grown to be a crucial component of the subscription industry. The likelihood of retention and happiness is higher when each member's experience is more individually tailored and personalized. Personalization fosters a closer relationship with members and has a big impact on how quickly a company expands. Here's where movies can be useful. Videos have developed into a useful instrument for personalization, and they aid in giving members a more interesting and interactive experience.
When you use videos in your membership company, you can personalize your communications and produce content that is tailored to the wants and needs of each member. Videos can be used for many different purposes, such as onboarding new members and producing personalized video messages for each user. This strategy can foster long-lasting relationships with your members by fostering confidence and loyalty.
Understanding your members' requirements, interests, and problems is crucial before you start making personalized videos for them. Your ability to produce videos that appeal to and benefit your members will depend on your ability to comprehend them. Here are some techniques for better comprehending your members:
Demographics: Analyze your users' demographics to start. Their age, gender, location, level of schooling, and line of work are all included. You can use this knowledge to produce videos that are suited to their requirements.
Interests and preferences: To learn about the interests and preferences of your members, conduct surveys or collect input. You can use this information to produce videos, like tutorials, product reviews, or behind-the-scenes material, that are tailored to their particular hobbies.
Pain points: Determine the difficulties or pain spots your members are experiencing. You can use this knowledge to produce videos that speak to their particular issues, provide answers, and foster a sense of trust. You can use this data to produce personalized video material that engages your members more deeply.
You can use personalized videos to greet new members, share updates, or promote special deals. The secret is to produce movies that are sincere, pertinent, and beneficial to your subscribers. We will look at how to make personalized video content that appeals to your members in the following part.
You need the appropriate methods and instruments to produce personalized video content. Here are some pointers to assist you in producing customized movies for your subscribers:
Use clip maker tool: You can swiftly and easily create customized videos with the aid of a clip maker tool. It allows you to include text, music, graphics, and other elements that are consistent with your identity and appeal to your members.
Be authentic: When making personalized videos for your users, authenticity is essential. Avoid using a salesy tone and be sincere and honest in your videos.
Use storytelling: A great way to emotionally engage your users is through storytelling. Use tales to share your brand's journey, highlight the advantages of your membership, or highlight the accomplishments of your members.
You can make customized video material for your members by using a clip maker tool, being genuine, and using storytelling. These videos can be used to introduce new goods, give subscribers updates, or promote special deals. Additionally, personalized videos can be utilized to welcome new participants and help them feel a part of the group.
It's time to incorporate the personalized video content you've created into your membership-based company. The following advice will assist you in incorporating customized videos into your membership business:
Create personalized welcome letters with videos: A great way to introduce your new members to your business and give them a sense of value is through welcome emails. By extending a warm welcome and introducing them to your business, personalized videos can assist you in achieving this objective.
Use customized videos in your marketing campaigns: Customized videos can be used in your marketing campaigns to highlight your goods, provide privileged discounts, and captivate your audience.
Use customized videos to increase member retention: Customized videos can be used to address the problems that your members are experiencing, provide answers, and foster a sense of trust. You can increase member retention and create enduring relationships with your members by using personalized videos to handle these problems.
Your membership company can increase member engagement, retention, and satisfaction by incorporating personalized videos. Additionally, customized films can assist you in differentiating your company from the competition.
You need to monitor metrics like engagement, retention, and conversion rates to gauge the effect of personalized videos on your membership company. The following techniques can be used to gauge the effect of customized videos:
Engagement: Track how many people watch, like, comment on, and share your customized videos. You can learn more about your audience's reaction to your videos using these measures.
Retention: Measure your users' retention rates both before and after you start using personalized videos. A better retention rate demonstrates how well your personalized videos work to maintain members' interest and satisfaction.
Conversion rates: Check your customized movies' conversion rates. This includes the quantity of leads produced, the quantity of sign-ups, and the income produced by your customized videos.
Data can be used to enhance and increase the effectiveness of your personalized video material. You can find ways to enhance your personalized video material by looking at metrics like engagement, retention, and conversion rates. Here are some strategies for enhancing your customized video material with data:
Examine engagement data to discover the kinds of videos that are most popular with your audience. Utilize this knowledge to produce additional videos with a related theme or manner.
To determine your members' pain spots, analyze your retention metrics. Utilize this data to produce customized videos that discuss these problems and present answers.
To determine which personalized videos are most successful at producing leads and sign-ups, analyze conversion rates. Utilize this knowledge to produce additional videos with a related theme or manner.
You can make customized videos that are more engaging, pertinent, and successful in helping you reach your business objectives by using data to improve your personalized video content. In conclusion, personalized videos are a great way to engage your members more deeply and increase member retention, happiness, and engagement.
In conclusion, personalized videos are a great way to establish a more personal connection with members and raise their level of engagement, happiness, and retention. By adjusting your message to each member's specific hobbies and preferences through personalized videos, you can give them a more tailored and pertinent experience.
In conclusion, customized videos are a crucial tool for any membership business seeking to establish a more personal connection with its customers. You can give your members a richer, more meaningful experience and eventually propel the success of your membership business by utilizing the power of personalized videos.
Download our five-step guide to a profitable membership website
The Growing Popularity of the Coaching Business
Today, the coaching business model has become one of the most popular ways to share expertise while making a profit. In fact, life coaching is one of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S. In 2022, there were over 23,000 registered life coaching businesses, with 1.7 million active coaches on LinkedIn. If you run a coaching business in 2024, taking it online through a membership website is a smart way to expand your reach globally and scale your business quickly.
A coaching membership website is a platform specifically designed for selling coaching services and products, usually through a recurring subscription. It creates an online ecosystem where individuals can access resources, connect with experts, and join a supportive community. This subscription-based model promotes ongoing learning and personal growth, making it an attractive option for both coaches and clients.
Key features of a coaching membership website typically include:
Coaching membership websites benefit both coaches and members across various industries and niches. Coaches can share their expertise with a global audience without needing to travel or host physical events. Meanwhile, members gain access to valuable coaching resources from anywhere, at any time.
This model works well for all kinds of coaching, from business and fitness coaching to niche areas like nutrition, sports, gardening, and beyond.
By choosing a niche that aligns with your passion and has an active audience, your coaching membership website can thrive.
How will you deliver value to your audience? If you're already coaching offline, start by thinking about how to translate your current methods into an online format. For example, if you hold group coaching sessions or special events through in-person meetups, you can save money and reach a wider audience by offering group calls, live online events, or webinars.
Here are some effective ways to deliver your coaching expertise online:
Pricing
Pricing can be tricky, but it’s important to set your rates and stick to them. Whether you charge a one-time fee, a monthly subscription, or a tiered membership structure, consistency is key. For example, you could offer three tiers: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Bronze members get access to basic content and community forums, while Silver members join group coaching, and Gold members receive one-on-one sessions and other perks.
Offerings
You can start simple with just one coaching program, but most coaches offer different levels of service at various price points. For example, you might have a Basic tier with access to recorded videos and community forums, and a Premium tier with live coaching calls or one-on-one sessions.
When building your coaching membership website, the platform you choose is crucial. WordPress is a popular option because of its flexibility and the wide variety of plugins available for customization. However, it requires some technical know-how, as you’ll need to manage the backend of the site.
Alternatively, you could choose an all-in-one platform that offers built-in functionality for membership levels, payment processing, email marketing, and more. These platforms tend to be more expensive, but they require less technical work. Choose a platform based on your needs and budget—new coaches may not need all the advanced features that come with more expensive, all-inclusive platforms.
Must-Have Features
Nice-To-Have Features
Many of the nice-to-have features, like video hosting or chatbots, can be integrated with third-party tools, reducing the need for more expensive platforms. For example, videos can be embedded easily into the SubHub platform from any video hosting service.
The result is a less cumbersome system that is free from lag or buffering. This allows your members to have a smooth experience from log-in to log-out. Audio files can also be easily embedded, as can live streams, chatbots and more.
Tracking metrics goes beyond just numbers like visitor counts or sign-ups. It’s crucial to understand how your members feel about your coaching services. Regularly ask for feedback through emails, community forums, or during group calls. This feedback will help you adapt your offerings. For instance, if many members find the basic tier too elementary, you can create a more advanced tier that better meets their needs.
Your coaching membership website should evolve with your clients. It’s more than just a static website—it’s a dynamic way to engage with your audience, helping them grow while expanding your coaching business.
Ready to start your online coaching business? Open a free SubHub platform trial and take it for a test drive. We offer 5-star support every weekday, so let us know if you have any questions.
Weather you’re offering stock market tips or personal financial advice, a membership website is the best way to monetize your finance expertise.
Individuals and families are always looking for non-biased advice on topics like education savings, saving for retirement, home financing and more. And a membership site is the perfect venue to offer consistent stock market tips and advice for a monthly or annual fee.
Launching a successful financial membership website may seem daunting if you’re just starting out or just thinking about taking your expertise online. But if you package your knowledge correctly and with your potential customer in mind, you will have a framework that has proven successful in the industry. Here are 5 accepted and expected ways to deliver your knowledge, and provide the impact to inspire your website visitors to join your membership.
Why have you started your financial membership website? To share your knowledge through education, of course. You can do this in a number of ways:
Most membership platforms these days offer a course creation tool. Some of these tools are fairly simple to navigate, while others are much more complex. SubHub’s course creator is easy to use, while at the same time allowing you to offer courses with as many lessons and modules as desired. Some of the more expensive platforms offer quizzes, badges etc. While these items are not built into the SubHub platform, it is super easy to integrate them using third-party hosting platforms.
The popularity of webinars these days can’t be overstated. Webinars are extremely versatile and can be effective tools when addressing potential clients at any stage of the buying cycle. For example, if you have created a signature financial coaching program, a webinar is an excellent way to introduce you and the program to a brand new audience. It works just as well as tool to provide details about your program for those who may know who you are but need more information on your services. You can also direct your comments to those who are ready to buy buy creating a special offer on your program for participants.
Articles can contain text, images, audio files, videos, PDF’s and more. Financial membership content in the form of articles is quick to compile and straight-forward to offer on most membership website platforms. Article content can be categorized like a blog, but reside behind a paywall. Membership tiers allow you to charge more for certain more specialized content, or for access to live coaching. Content such as a monthly budgeting planner for newlyweds, a tax planner or 5-year retirement strategy are some example that are well-suited to article content.
It’s great to offer pre-recorded videos, podcast episodes, or pre-written articles. To take your offerings up a notch, you may want to offer one on one or group access to you, the expert.This can be in the form of coaching calls, group participation calls, or high-level personalized coaching programs that you can charge a premium for. Usually, financial advisors offer a combination of live and recorded access to their expertise.
For example, an evergreen course that allows students to enrol at any time and take the course at their own pace, might be punctuated with a live group call once per month. On that call, you as the expert can provide a Q&A session, answering questions from your members. This adds tremendous value to the course for your students.
Online financial tools have many benefits besides allowing potential clients to get crucial information they need quickly. Calculators, budgeting templates, investment trackers and calendars are just a few examples. These tools provide a service to clients and visitors that will make your website stand out in their minds later. You can offer them for free to everyone, free only to members, or for a fee. It’s entirely up to you.
Another advantage of online tools is that it keeps your visitors on your website longer, increasing the time that they are interacting with your brand. You will find that most membership website platforms will not offer specific financial tools, but may provide a way to embed such features into a web page. ChatGPT may be a resource for creating a tool for you, even one that is unique to your service.
Building a community around shared financial goals and challenges fosters engagement and support. Financial membership websites often include forums, discussion boards, or social networking features where members can interact, share experiences, and learn from each other. Networking opportunities allow individuals to exchange insights, strategies, and encouragement.
Staying abreast of the ever-evolving financial landscape is crucial, especially in a membership model. Assuming your members are paying on a recurring subscription basis, you will be expected to offer updated content on a regular basis. Successful financial membership sites regularly update their content to reflect current trends, regulations, and best practices. You can also offer bonus content via newsletters, blogs, or curated content. The important thing is to ensure your members have access to the latest information and strategies from your perspective.
An effective financial membership website combines educational resources, personalized tools, expert guidance, community support, and up-to-date content to empower individuals in managing their finances successfully. By focusing on these key characteristics, your website can be an invaluable resource hub for your members’ financial well-being.
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