A list of things that no one else will tell you about starting a membership, but you’ll wish you knew.
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Michael GillespieThe journey of being a membership operator can feel like a lonely one at times.
When I started my own membership with Memberful over five years ago, I had no clue how it would go.
Below is a list of things that I learned along the way. Most importantly, these are things I wish I had the luxury of knowing from the start.
So I’m sharing the following with you because I’ve travelled the same path that you’re on. At some point, you’ll experience your own version of these facts and truths about membership.
1. You’re never ready.
There’s no perfect time to start a membership business. If you wait until you’re ready, you’ll be waiting your whole life.
2. Selling memberships will feel easy compared to how hard it is to retain your members.
Most membership purchasers take action based on curiosity about your product. But all members cancel due to their perceptions of value and how well you keep the content wheel in motion.
You will lose members every month. Some months you’ll lose more than you gain. In fact, half of your members may churn in the first year.
This is all noise - the natural ebb and flow of membership. When the dust settles you’re going to uncover your true, hardcore fans who love what you do. Relentless churn must occur in order to surface your loyal members who will stick with you for years to come.
3. What gets measured gets managed.
You must know your costs. Period. Without a tight handle on the overall numbers of your membership, your profit can erode quicker than you can blink.
I can promise you this: You’ll manage the things that you choose to measure.
Measure your costs frequently and always keep you financial house in order when it comes to running your membership.
4. You’ll hit an invisible ceiling.
Your membership will seem to grow quickly at first. Your member count will rise sharply - right up until the point that your first churn cycle hits. Ultimately, you’ll find there’s a number that you can’t seem to break above in your membership - an invisible ceiling.
This doesn’t mean your failing. It means you’ve discovered the “operating range” of your membership. It’s the threshold of members you can sustain over a long period of time, given the size of your potential market and overall tendencies of your members to churn at certain points.
No membership grows forever. But good memberships find ways to expand their revenue from their existing base over time.
5. You’ll become exhausted.
Delivering on new content and benefits month after month is hard. That’s why it’s crucial that the product you choose to purse is something that you know will excite you for years to come.
If you’re not passionate about your product, don’t expect your paying members to be either.
When you are passionate about what you do, the exhaustion you face will be temporary and you’ll press on without thinking about it.
6. People aren’t analyzing your every move.
It’s easy to think that everything you share with the world will be put under a microscope. But at the end of the day, most people could care less about what you’re doing online. But a select few will be ultra-engaged and want more from you.
Those who don’t care will simply keep scrolling. The ones that do will pause and work to learn more - and these are the people you want to find.
Don’t overthink what you’re doing. If you don’t share the things you want to share, then you’ll never capture the attention of the people who will pay you in the end.
7. If it’s not a business, it’s a hobby.
Do you have a Profit & Loss Statement?
Have you registered a business name?
Have you created an LLC?
Do you have Trademarks?
If you haven’t answered yes to the questions above, your membership isn’t a business - it’s a hobby. And that’s totally okay.
But if you’re serious about building a long-term business that’s profitable and recognized as its own entity within your industry, you’ll want to establish your membership as an official business.
As a membership operator, there are huge advantages to creating an LLC or a corporation.
8. You can’t do it all.
As your membership grows, you’ll start wanting to invest further into your business - that means more benefits, more content and more tasks.
You’ll reach a point where the return on your time starts to diminish rapidly.
If you can afford to outsource certain tasks, you can remain focused on growing your business.
If you’re not careful, you’ll get sucked into managing administrative tasks instead of figuring out how to keep your paying members happy.
9. Nothing works forever.
You’ll eventually have a few big wins and think you’ve cracked the code and uncovered the secret to membership growth. And perhaps you will, for a season.
But nothing works forever and you’ll constantly be required to innovate to stay relevant and continue resonating with your members.
Don’t become complacent. Operate with a sense of urgency while accepting there’s always someone competing for the business of your potential customers.
10. You must win.
What does winning mean to you? Does it mean being the best resource in your industry? Does it mean achieving a level of income for you to feel comfortable?
Regardless, if membership is what you’re passionate about, then you must find a way to win at the game you play. If you don’t win, you cannot continue to operate.
Define what winning means to you. Then chase after it.
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