Membership Geeks Podcast with Mike Morrison

Juggling a 9-5 with a membership in a saturated marketplace sounds pretty impossible, right?But Scott Millar of IT Rockstars has somehow pulled it off and is seeing great growth in his membership. In this episode of The MembershipGeeks, he shares some top tips and insights for others looking to start a membership.He also delves into his membership's unique origin story, as well as how his geographical cap doesn't limit his growth.Essential Learning Points:How Scott found his ‘wow’ factor in a saturated marketWhy there’s a geographical cap on enrolment for IT RockstarsThe ins and outs of juggling a 9-5 with a membership businessIT Rockstar’s unique onboarding processWhy it’s important for your idea to align with what your audience wantsImportant Links & Mentions:The Membership GeeksIT RockstarsKey Quotes:“One big tip for anyone starting a membership is to make sure they are tracking how people are joining their membership — and ask the right questions.”“The thing I love about the membership model is the scalability of it. There’s only so far you can go with a 9-5, whereas with a membership site, the possibilities are endless.”“Something I found useful when I first started out was being aware of what I was good at and what I was terrible at. Anything I struggled with, I just outsourced to someone else.”

Discussing the pitfalls of membership cancellations, emphasizing a member-centric approach. Highlighting the impact of complicated cancellation processes on member relationships, legal implications of unfair notice periods, and negative effects of banning former members. Advocating for fair treatment in cancellation policies and the importance of positive member experiences for long-term success.

Does old automatically mean useless or outdated when it comes to membership content?Definitely not. In fact, there are so many things you can do to breathe new life into your archived content. Especially, when the core subject matter is still as relevant as the day it was first posted.This episode of the Membership Geeks podcast is all about six concrete ways you can reuse your old content and drum up some engagement in the process. We’re talking about everything from repurposing content to simply giving it a touch-up. By tuning in, you’ll get six handy tips to refresh and reuse your existing content to maximize its value. Essential Learning Points:Why watch alongs offer a great way to engage with your audienceHow repurposed content helps you meet your audience where they areHow you can grow your audience by giving content away for freeHow to drum up new members through a cohort experienceWhy you should always have something available for your members to tackle nextImportant Links & Mentions:Membership GeeksKey Quotes:“Regardless of when you actually released the content, the first time someone views it, it is new to them.”“Anytime you can give people direction or show them the next step, it's going to massively improve their experience as a member.”“While our instinct is to protect our paid content at all costs, it’s worth noting that repurposing your older content into free content doesn't diminish its value at all.”

Can you use science to boost your membership numbers? It’s not magic but getting to grips with the science behind how people make purchase decisions will help you transform your own content. Kenda Macdonald, CEO of Automation Ninjas, international keynote speaker, and author of the best-selling book, Hack the Buyer Brain, joins this episode to talk about the science behind why people choose to sign up (or not) for a membership.  Tune in to hear what behavioral automation is, how the five stages of awareness work, what neuroscience tells us about buying decisions, and much more!Essential Learning Points:What behavioral automation isHow the buyer journey typically worksThe problem with relying on marketing funnelsWhat neuroscience tells us about the buying decisionThe five stages of awareness and how they can help you build better contentThe problem with using scarcity tacticsHow Kenda uses automation for her membership Important Links & Mentions:Automation NinjasHack the Buyer BrainThe Marketing Automation Academy What is Awareness and Why Does it Matter?Kenda’s LinkedInMembership GeeksMembership AcademyKey Quotes:“Understanding the brain and then tracking physical behavior are two parts of what I would say is behavioral marketing automation.”“We need to create something that's more flexible, more personable, and more catered to where someone is in their own personalized customer journey.”“We should be utilizing our content to help people make better choices. That is why people consume such a huge amount of content because they want to learn, they want to make the right choice about something.”

Fresh on the back of attending Social Media Marketing World 2022, we're sharing our top takeaways from the event, common themes and trends membership owners should be aware of, and specific tactics to try out in your social media marketing strategy.In this episode:How social media marketing is once again becoming more focused on content creatorsNFT's, Metaverse and Web 3.0 - what does it all mean in terms of marketing your membership?Key changes to how what we post on social media is about to change significantlySpecific tips and tactics for Tik Tok, Instagram and more Related links:Promoting Your Membership using Social Media: A 12 Step PlanUsing Instagram Stories to Promote Your MembershipMembership Academy

With more businesses migrating online, how do you give yourself an edge?Amanda Schonberg, a chef and marketing enthusiast, shares the answer to that question in this informative episode. She’s not just a skilled baker, she’s also passionate about generating sales and taking her business to new heights. And it looks like she’s cracked the code.In the spirit of community, she’s gone on to teach fellow bakers how to strike that balance between craft and business with her own membership – The Entrepreneur Community.In this episode, we hear about Amanda’s inspiring membership journey —the highs, lows, and everything in between.Essential Learning Points:How Amanda uses 4 Cs to offer value to her membersAmanda’s transition from working a business partnership to sole proprietorshipWhy serving before selling worksHow to use fun to create engagementThe importance of combining creativity with business skillsImportant Links & Mentions:Membership AcademyEntrepreneur CommunityBaking for BusinessKey Quotes:“I always emphasize a community of competition, we reach one by teaching one, so we strive to help each other out.”“Answering questions is one of the biggest things that attracts people because once you help them a little, they want to see what else they can learn.”“I believe that as creatives, we can't run a business successfully if we don't have that business background pushing us.”

Are you at that point where you’re wondering if the membership model is truly for you?Numbers are dwindling, and all of a sudden, it seems like people aren’t buying what you’re selling. You’ve probably fallen victim to one of the common obstacles we’re looking at on this episode of the Membership Geeks podcast.In this episode, we explore six common roadblocks that get in the way of membership sites and give a few pointers on how to tackle them head-on. With this newfound awareness, you should be able to smash through those barriers and get those membership numbers rising again.Essential Learning Points:Why it’s important to distinguish yourself from the competitionThe disadvantages of providing too many options within your membershipHow pricing can affect your membership offeringWhen it’s OK to charge a joining feeImportant Links & Mentions:The Membership GeeksCompeting with Established Memberships in Your MarketKey Quotes:“The more you add different pricing structures into the mix, the more time your prospect will have to spend deciding what works for them, and the less likely you are to get the sale as a result.”“Remember, if your membership is as good as you know it is and is sure to solve your audience’s problems, then you're doing them a disservice by not telling them about it.”“If you're not marketing enough between launches, then your audience isn't going to grow. So when you do open the doors to your membership, you're stuck marketing to the same people from your last launch and the launch before that.”

Do you ever find feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done in your membership?Or do you feel chained to an endless to-do list that taunts you at the end of the workday?Then this episode of the Membership Geeks is for you. Productivity specialist, Mike Vardy, joins us to discuss the concept of productivity, how it's changed, and the best way to approach it.He also delves into the idea of what productivity is not, while providing lots of actionable takeaways for membership owners.There are plenty of insights to dig into in this episode, so grab that pen and notebook.Essential Learning Points:Why productivity isn’t just about churning out workThe advantage of approaching low-energy tasks firstThe difference between projects and tasksHow to trick your brain into getting things doneWhy it’s better to approach perfection as a journeyImportant Links & Mentions:The Membership GeeksThe Starting SixProductivityistKey Quotes:“I don't think it's about getting as much done in as little time as possible, it's about what you intend to do and how you’re going to pay attention to it.”“You need to engineer your approach to productivity in a way that prevents you from feeling overwhelmed by everything you need to get done. Instead, ask better questions and you’ll get better answers.”“What we want is to strive for excellence, but I like the idea of perfection as a direction because it allows us to leverage our perfectionist tendencies.”

Social proof is an extremely powerful tool in your marketing arsenal and a key component of the Membership Marketing Flywheel.Demonstrating your ability to help others get fantastic results, and having those people advocate for joining your membership, will go much further than any marketing copy you write yourself.And testimonials from happy successful members are amongst the most effective types of social proof there is.In this episode, we share our top tips for collecting member testimonials, and most importantly using them effectively to add a whole new level to marketing your membership.In this episode:What makes for a good quality testimonialBest practices for requesting testimonials from your membersWhich format of testimonial works best?Specific ways to use testimonials in marketing your membershipRelated links:[Course] Attract More Members with the Membership Marketing Flywheel7 Ways to Add Social Proof to Your Membership Sales PageHow to Tap Into Your Existing Members to Create Social ProofMembership Academy

Running a membership has its perks, but there’s also the turbulent side of things. From transitioning through different iterations of her business to managing a spike of engagement during the pandemic, Nicola Taylor knows how to brave some turbulence.In this episode, she discusses the origins of the Makers Momentum Club and the various challenges she’s faced along the line. Nicola also shares some of her wins and lessons for aspiring membership owners.Essential Learning Points:How members reacted to Nicola’s switch to a membership style businessWhy more engagement can be a bad thingThe interesting effect of the pandemic on the Makers Momentum ClubWhy an action-driven community inspires more winsWhy passion is a major ingredient for starting a membershipImportant Links & Mentions:Membership AcademyMakers Momentum ClubKey Quotes:“The business skills we teach within the membership aren’t specific to makers, they include beginner fundamentals on how to make money from a business, find customers, promote yourself, and the dynamics of being an entrepreneur.”“You can really underestimate the impact a bad business model can have on your growth and your life. You end up constantly fighting against things, and making it more difficult than it needs to be.”“Overwhelm is a big thing for our members because there's a lot of stuff they have to put in place. I don't want the content to become one more overwhelming thing. So finding ways to get them to take action from the content is my goal going forward.”