First Membership Site?

Add another element to your website with a membership option.

With a membership option, you open the doors to a community website that not only does some sort of online business, but has a closed, members only community.

Members have to register and subscribe to be part of it.

Once the registration is done, the members can log in and enjoy the extra benefits offered, such as seminars, forums, and community interaction.

Membership sites can be free or paid.

A website can offer both free and paid content.

Plus, the free membership, or open content, can be upgraded to paid, and offer extra, premium benefits to members.

Getting members and retaining their memberships are pretty big tasks for anyone who is running a membership site.

Member retention is priceless.

Retention is the key part of your website’s success, as every membership is the result of the hard work you have already done to get the membership.

So from the very first stage you should focus your actions not only to add new members but also retaining those valuable members.

Now let’s analyze what will be the first look of the website for a newly subscribed member.

Remember, you’ve enticed the new member to join, but now you have to ensure retention.

Here’s a step-by-step process of hand-holding a new member.

Introductions Are In Place…

Proper introduction is the key element of any successful relationship. So is the case for website memberships.

In fact, for an online membership, it is more important simply because the human element is missing online.

Add the human element to your site

Send the new member to a welcome video where you introduce yourself and give a quick overview of how everything works.

Not many online membership sites do that. But a video will give the new member the feel of personalized attention.

Keep the video short, only a couple of minutes.

Guide them through the process

The member will feel comfortable knowing that someone is there for guidance.

A good introductory video of what the membership is all about and the people behind it will be very soothing for any new member and keep them coming back.

Set Expectations Immediately…

Once the introduction is done, the first level of comfort has been given to the new member. Now it is very important to keep the enthusiasm up.

For that you need to set expectations.

This is very important because loss of enthusiasm is as bad as is overenthusiasm, and both will lead to a drop in membership.

Give them a map to follow

For increased membership retention, the key element is to set expectations to avoid disappointment.

Show your new members a few success stories and model examples.

This will help them understand the kind of expectations they can have by being a member of your site.

Explain The Perks Of Being A Member.

Member benefits are the reason why the member joined in the first place. You might have done well to explain what the benefits are in advance.

Still, reiterate all of it once again. Never think that repetition is going to be boring.

For new members, this the first time they are hearing everything after signing up. So it is more authoritative, as far as they are considered.

Keep things benefit-driven

Again, if there are 10 benefits, maybe three or four might have piqued a person’s interest at the time of joining.

After joining, a member might pay extra attention to all the benefits and might feel a wow factor on hearing the entire list.

Also mention additional benefits that are indirect, like getting involved in a community, making new friends, and so on.

Being realistic is the key to better increase your membership retention.

The first interaction is crucial

However small the first benefit of being a member is—be it a payment transferred, the actual special content received, or a gift, is very crucial.

It is human nature to feel, believe, and have confidence and comfort of reliability.

So it is very important to state the exact timing or position for the first receivable benefit new members will receive.

This gives enormous confidence and feel of reliability for the new members. Also, this throws in an element of transparency.

Members might feel this whole activity as more trustworthy and know they’ve come to the right place.

The key is retention, and the feeling of trustworthiness and value of the site are the most important factors contributing to the increased membership retention.

Help Them Enjoy Their Experience!

“All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.”

You might have heard this saying before, and now is the time to apply it to your online membership site.

Being too serious and activity-oriented makes the site a monotonous affair, and the members gradually will start losing interest, leading to a drop in members.

Set a relaxing tone

Give the feel of relaxation and enjoyment too at this stage. Use a bit more personal tone while explaining things and creating videos.

This will avoid the serious tone and will give a comfortable feel to new members.

It is very important to use a casual tone, as the new member can be a bit nervous. It is important to bring in an element of a relaxed mood.

Give Clear Cost Instructions

The last step is to give a crisp and clear idea on the site’s payment process well in advance.

Payment includes all the transactions from and to the member. A clear idea on this front will make the new member feel confident in the membership.

Also, he or she will not carry false expectations that may lead to disappointment later. This is the key to have better retention rates.

These tips are general guidelines of how to keep a newly joined member active and continue with the membership for a longer period of time.

The real factor, however, depends on the activity of the online membership site.

So don’t forget to add new benefits now and then to keep the ball rolling according to the trends happening around your niche.

Good luck!

Or better yet, try our Video Course which will show you how to setup a winning membership site quickly: