Membership Geeks Podcast with Mike Morrison

457 - I’m SO Sick of The Lie of Scarcity Marketing

9 snips

Jan 20, 2026

The host passionately critiques the myth that scarcity marketing is essential for growing memberships. He distinguishes between closed-door and open-door enrollment models, highlighting when each can be appropriate. Real-world examples illustrate the success of always-open memberships, disproving the need for manipulative tactics. Furthermore, he discusses the long-term pitfalls of relying on gimmicks, stressing the importance of honest marketing for member satisfaction and retention. The episode serves as a call to discard deceptive practices in favor of genuine engagement.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Scarcity Myth Is A Marketing Lie

A persistent myth claims you must use scarcity and closed-door enrollment to sell memberships.
Mike Morrison argues this claim is false and driven by a few bad-faith marketers.

ADVICE

Avoid Sugar-High Launch Strategies

Don't swap your long-term membership strategy for short-lived launch spikes.
Focus on sustainable growth instead of sugar-high sales from gimmicky launches.

ANECDOTE

Open Doors Built Big Memberships

Mike recalls marketers who insist open-door memberships must be closed to boost sales.
He counters with examples like Membership Academy and SBL that grew large while remaining open.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

In this episode, I get on my soapbox about one of the most persistent myths in the membership world: the idea that scarcity marketing and closed-door enrollment are absolutely necessary to grow a successful membership.

I break down why this notion is misleading, how it can harm your business in the long run, and why good marketing should never rely on manipulative gimmicks.

I share real-world examples, challenge some of the loudest voices in the space, and lay out the facts so you can make the best decision for your membership business.

In this episode:

Do you really need scarcity or closed-door enrollment to sell and grow a membership?
What are the long-term consequences of relying on scarcity tactics for membership sales?
When (if ever) does a closed-door model actually make strategic sense for a membership business?
How can you create genuine urgency and attract committed members without resorting to manipulative marketing gimmicks?

Thank You For Listening

I really appreciate you choosing us and for supporting the podcast.

What's your next step?

If you haven't launched your membership yet, I've made my signature Membership Roadmap Course completely FREE, walking you through exactly how to get set up for success!

Already have a membership and looking to grow and scale? Join me inside Membership Academy where I'll help you take your membership to the next level.

And if you found this episode valuable, I'd be eternally grateful if you would leave an honest review and rating for the show. They're extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience, and I read each and every one!

Key Quotes & Takeaways:

"A handful of tacky Internet marketers have been pushing this narrative that you need scarcity to sell a membership and that the closed door model is the one true way."

"Closed door can and does work for numerous memberships, and for many of those memberships it's absolutely the right model, based on their audience needs, based on their business structure, based on the topic they're teaching, and so on."

"The overwhelming majority of successful memberships are open door and they always have been. 12,000 members in membership academy, 60,000 in SBL. Same sort of numbers with Drumeo memberships, like Digital Marketer memberships like Masterclass. These are always open doors. We get sales. We don't have to close the doors to give people a reason to join because our memberships are good enough to give people the reason to join in and of themselves."

"If any part of your marketing relies on being sneaky, relies on not being found out, then you're doing it wrong. If you're misleading your audience into thinking something is scarce and trying to use that scarcity to pressure them into a buying decision that they're not ready for, but then even worse, it turns out that it's all a ruse, it's all bs, then you absolutely suck on every level imaginable."