Membership Geeks Podcast with Mike Morrison

Choosing the right membership plugin is a task that’s easier said than done. The fact that it can be a bit of a nightmare switching plugins after your membership has opened its doors is something which makes your decision even more important. There is no “one size fits all” best membership plugin for every situation, and so the process of deciding which to go with involves identifying your specifi...

Email automation can massively power up the marketing and operation of your membership site; enabling you to trigger various different actions and email sequences according to how your audience and your members behave. In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, I identify the 4 essential email automations that every membership website should have in place.

Live content is a great way of delivering ongoing value to your membership without the level of upfront work and other hassles that typically go into producing courses, tutorials or other types of “pre-made” content. However including this type of content in your membership does add a new wrinkle to worry about – member attendance. If the turnout for your live membership calls is low, this can dir...

People join your membership because they have a goal they want to achieve; an outcome they want to realise – and it’s your content that’s going to get them there. But with so many plates to spin running a membership website, it’s easy to settle for “good enough” when it comes to creating that content. In this episode of The Membership Guys Podcast, I discuss why it’s important to focus on improvin...

In the early days of running your membership, you’ll find yourself preoccupied with the day to day, short-term stuff. How many new members did we get this week? Have we had any cancellations? Do I have enough time to get this new piece of content out to members? However once things have settled and stabilised then it’s time to think bigger in terms of how you’re going to scale and grow your member...

When it comes to offering trials of your membership site or online product, opinions tend to be divided between those who consider it a smart strategy and those who believe you shouldn’t give anything away, no matter what. We’re big fans of utilising trial periods as part of your pricing strategy; however we recognise that they’re not something which will necessarily be right for everyone. If you’...

Most membership sites include some form of premium content locked away behind a paywall. But locking your membership content down is a double-edged sword. You could have the most incredible content in the world, but if the only people who know about it are your paying members then you’re missing on an opportunity to get so much more bang for your buck. So before you hit ‘publish’ on your next piec...

Your sales funnel is a key part of attracting new members to your community; and so it's no surprise that some membership owners have a constant itch to tweak and tinker with every little detail. Knowing when to adjust your sales funnel is an imprecise art, but people often fall foul to making changes too often. In this episode, I discuss how often you should be adjusting your sales funnel, h...

One of the strongest ways you can grow your membership at speed is to start a joint venture promotion. First of all, you may be asking what exactly a joint venture promotion is… Put simply, it’s working with someone who has a sizeable audience who you want to speak to in exchange for commission or some other value exchange. Now that we’ve got that cleared up – do you want to know how you can use j...

Content marketing is the most valuable strategy a membership site owner can deploy. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again and again and again! But having a blog or a podcast isn’t enough – not for the most successful membership sites, at least. To really ramp up your content marketing to the top tier, there are certain approaches you might want to consider that will help you create a killer...

Whether you’re at the start of your journey to running your own membership website or a seasoned pro, there are some universal truths of this world that we all need reminding of every now and again. The Membership Guys and our podcast exist to make running a membership easier, more accessible, and less stressful. These 8 must-know facts are the cornerstone of running a happy, successful membership...

Most memberships are based on the owner’s expertise and knowledge, so why would you start giving it away for free? It may feel counter-intuitive, but content marketing has proven time and time again to be a hugely successful way of growing memberships. The fear of free content is one of the most common topics in The Membership Academy, so I’ve brought together the three reasons why you really don’...

Consistently producing valuable, relevant content for your membership is not easy work. If you’re feeling stuck for inspiration or ideas at the moment, I might be able to help! In this episode, I go through 5 of the best ways you can find ideas and inspiration for your membership site. They’re all different in their ways, but there is an overarching principle to them all – and that’s that we need...

When people want to learn something or make progress, they look for the experts. As a membership site owner, you want to make sure that means they’re looking for you. In the competitive world of online membership sites, being good isn’t enough – you need to be able to prove it and show up as the expert wherever you can. How do you do that? Well, the very first step is to listen to this episode of...

Have you ever dealt with a hit and run member? If you’re not sure what one is – lucky you! These are the members who sign up, download everything, and dash back out the door before your beautifully crafted welcome email has settled in their inbox. Hit and run members abuse your trust and are generally bad apples. They’re rightly a concern for membership providers, but what can you do to stop them?...

Having a niche is good. Scratch that. It’s essential . Finding your niche, owning it, and staying there is one of the surest ways you will find success in running your membership. If you want to niche down and dominate your market, there are three ways to do it – we reveal how in this episode of the podcast from our ‘From the Vault’ series! Essential Learning Points: The advantages of being a spec...

Can you start a membership before you’ve grown your audience? It might sound tricky, but there are some sure-fire ways you can get started. Whether you’re right at the start and haven’t told a single soul about your membership or you’re partway there with a small audience, there are ways you can grow your membership right now and get on the path to having a successful business. Every successful me...

Pinterest, it’s for wedding planning and redecorating inspiration, right? Or is it a platform with over 300 million users that some businesses are generating 200% ROI from? Clearly, it’s time for a rethink on Pinterest! That’s why I asked Cara Chace to join me on this episode of The Membership Guys podcast. Cara is one of the best in the business of Pinterest marketing – and she runs her own membe...

Some memberships need great video content. Others need a complex email campaign. Some need entirely unique elements. All memberships need a website . So how do you go about it? Do you hire in a professional or do you do it yourself? It’s one of the biggest questions you can ask as you launch your membership, so I got together with two of the finest web designers I know to dive into the best approa...

In today’s digital-driven society, it often feels like you can’t go far without bumping into a self-proclaimed social media ‘expert’. So, when you encounter someone who everyone else calls an expert, who speaks with a quiet assuredness and conspicuous lack of arrogance, it’s a refreshing surprise. It’s my absolute pleasure and honor to have Gavin Bell on The Membership Guys podcast. Gavin is an aw...

Build it and they will come. While that approach may have worked for Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams; it most certainly does not apply to launching a successful membership website. Time and time again we see cases where people are so entrenched in the process of building their membership site that they haven’t even begun to think about how to get it off the ground. In this episode I share 5 launc...

Launching a membership site is an exciting but nerve wracking time. You've probably put your blood, sweat and tears into creating this site, no doubt losing some sleep along the way. But when the time comes to actually open the doors, we can often find ourselves hesitating. What if it all goes wrong? Running a beta test can be a great way of assuaging this fear, as well as ensuring that you launch...

We can all be overprotective of our content, especially when it comes to being open and allowing our competitors into our safe and secure membership site. I choose to have an open-minded attitude and assume the best in people. There are ways to make it work and even benefit from opening your doors and letting them in, while staying vigilant. Essential Learning Points: Learn what it is that makes y...

Do you know what people in your audience actually want from your membership? When planning your membership site, it’s easy to fall into the trap of building something that we think would be good, rather than something that’s based on research into what your audience really want (and need). In doing so, you risk spending hours creating content and investing in features, only to be left scratching y...

Your membership might be the best thing since sliced bread, but if you aren’t marketing it correctly, you aren’t going to be getting the sales you deserve. There are some simple steps you can take to get the most out of marketing, reach more people, and turn those on-the-fencers into fully-fledged members. In this episode, we run through 9 marketing tips that will help you go back to basics - and...