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Running and maintaining a membership site is hard work… But while building a thriving community is a rewarding experience… You also have to deal with […]

Top Takeaways from the Online Membership Industry Report 2022

Do you know what the average churn rate is for a typical online membership?

How about revenue benchmarks?

Average conversion rates?

What about the most popular tech solutions? Or the most effective marketing channels?

Truth is, there’s very little reliable data available about the online membership industry.

That’s because this market is relatively tiny.

It’s a niche, of a niche, of a niche.

What data we do have tends to come from either the broader subscription industry, or from membership associations.

Neither of which reflect the online membership world.

A few years ago we made it our on a mission to change that by conducting a survey of thousands of membership owners designed to shine a light on the real data and benchmarks for the online membership industry.

And now it’s time for an update…

We’ve spent the past fews months tapping into our audience of tens of thousands of membership business owners to identify how they’re performing, what challenges they’re facing and which benchmarks and trends are prevalent.

And we’ve compiled those results into the Online Membership Industry Report 2022

In today’s episode of the Membership Geeks Podcast, I’m sharing some of my top observations, takeaways, trends and other interesting tidbits and insights taken from this year’s report.

Essential Guide to GDPR for Membership Site Owners

GDPR is the EU data privacy law that came into effect on May 25th 2018 – and it affects you even if you’re not actually in the EU.

I’m sure by now you’ve already seen a lot of articles and videos about GDPR, but maybe you’re still not entirely sure what you actually need to do, especially for your membership site.

So in this article we’re looking at what these new regulations actually are, how they apply to you, and most importantly, how they might impact you as a membership site owner.

How Membership Owners Can Be More Productive with Mike Vardy

Do you ever feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done in your membership?

Like you have a never ending to-do list and get to the end of the day feeling like you haven’t achieved anything?

We all have those days…  

So how can you be as productive as possible?

While we know a thing or two about productivity, we decided to speak to Mike Vardy of Productivityist about this, as he is the go-to guy on this topic.

Not only is he a membership owner himself…

He’s a highly acclaimed productivity strategist and the creator of the productivity philosophy known as ‘Time Crafting’, he has a few pointers that will restructure the way you approach productivity.

He’s also got plenty of nuggets of wisdom to share in terms of how to manage your tasks, manage your mind and get things done!

So, let’s dive right in…

Things You Quickly Learn in your First Year as a Membership Site Owner

As we come to the end of the year, this is the time when everyone tends to get a little bit thoughtful and reflective…

Looking back on what’s been achieved over the past 12 months and planning for the coming year.

For more established membership owners the year ahead might be fully mapped out so they know what to expect.

But for those new to the membership world, what lies ahead is largely unknown…

And a little bit scary! 

While we don’t have a crystal ball to tell you exactly what’s going to happen over the next 12 months…

We can try our best to prepare you for some of the things you’re likely to discover in your first year of running a membership site.

So if you’ve recently become a membership owner or are about to launch your website, read on…

Should I Include All My Products and Content Inside My Membership?

Does every piece of content you create need to go inside your membership?

You might be thinking “well yes of course it does, my business is all about my membership”…

But what if you want to sell it as a standalone product?

This is something that’s come up a few times in Membership Academy and in our Facebook community…

And it’s a strange one… 

Because for some the answer is obvious…

Just to go ahead and create a standalone product…

But for others it’s a bit more complicated…

As creating separate products and content from your membership can sometimes cause a lot of confusion in your community…

And even result in some very disgruntled members…

So how can you navigate this? 

Let’s take a look…

Hiring Your First Employees for your Membership Business

Are you ready to hire your first employees for your membership business?

You may have already dipped your toe in the water by working with freelancers or contractors…

People who essentially work for themselves or third party companies and handle one-off tasks or work for you as and when needed…

But now you’re at a point in your business when you need more…

There are tasks that need to be completed on a regular basis…

And you don’t have the time or the bandwidth to do it…

So you’re now ready to hire your first employee…

And that’s a whole different ball game…

So where should you start?

Having completed our own recruitment drive here at The Membership Guys, we have some experience in this area…

And of course, as always we want to share our knowledge with you…

So here are our thoughts on how to go about hiring your first employees for your membership business…

Overcoming Perfectionism When Starting a Membership Website

Is your quest to make everything perfect with your membership website holding you back? 

When you’re at the beginning of your journey…

Or maybe even if you’ve been in business for a while…

The need to get everything right…

From features and tech to your content and community…

Can be all consuming.

So much so that it prevents you moving forward altogether.

You become stuck over-analysing, over-thinking and fretting over every little thing.

But it doesn’t need to be this way.

Here’s how to overcome perfectionism when starting a membership website…

Musings About Money and Mindset in the Membership World

Let’s talk about money!

When it comes to this subject people tend to be at wildly opposite ends of the spectrum…

Some will happily talk about money all day long…

Whether it’s about how much they make, how little they have or their financial goals…

Others, however, completely shut down as soon as the ‘M’ word comes up.

That’s because many of us have a complicated relationship with money…

Which is possibly why I’ve waited so long to tackle this topic! 

But, the truth is, when it comes to business, it’s a subject you simply can’t shy away from…

That’s why I’ve decided to share some of my musings about money and mindset in the membership world…

Our perceptions of it, how we treat it, how we think about it…

And the impact that can have on our memberships.

So, let’s dive into some random musings about money, memberships and everything in between…

Switching Membership Enrolment Models: Closed to Open

Are you thinking of switching your membership enrolment model from closed to open? 

Making the decision to open your doors permanently isn’t as simple as flipping a switch…

It can change a lot about your business…

And you need to make sure you’re fully prepared to manage these changes effectively…

For the good of both you and your members! 

We’ve previously talked about moving from the open door model to closed…

And now we’re doing the reverse!

Here’s what you should take into consideration before switching your membership from a closed-door model to an open one…