Membership sites are a terrific way to develop a stable, recurring and high-end income from your internet business.
However, this only happens if you can retain subscribers for longer than the average retention rate of 3-4 months.
Ideally, you want the large majority (65%+) of your subscribers to stay with you for at least 1-year, we call this the “stick rate” or rate of stickiness your paid subscriber membership site has.
Stickiness doesn’t happen by accident, instead there are many factors that go into making your subscription membership site retain customers, here are the top 10 from our own experience.
1. Content Updated Weekly
It doesn’t matter how great your content is, if you rely on static content, the lifetime loyalty of your subscribers will be limited. The main advantage you have (and commitment and value you are offering to your marketplace) is providing current and useful information. I have found that updating content weeekly is important. Useful content doesn’t necessarily mean HEAVY or intensive content. Useful content may simply be a case study, Q&A or new tip each week that helps your market achieve their desired outcome.
2. Discussion or Mentors Private Forum
Having a discussion forum within your membership site is important to get your subscribers exchanging information, allowing them to become known to other members and to see that you are “real” as you respond to questions and queries in a timely fashion.
3. Exclusive Offers
These could include discounts or returning some of the affiliate commissions you may earn off of highly used services or packages to your members. For example, you endorse a major launch for a training program that costs $1000 for which you will receive 40% commissions on referrals. Offer your members the $350 back when they buy from you via Paypal as a special for your members
4. Regular Coaching or Q&A Calls/Webinars
Going the extra mile to connect with your subscribers is perhaps the best way to create stickiness and loyalty for your paid subscription website. I often run bi-weekly Skype, Free Conference Call or Webinars for my members. Some of these sessions are trianing, some are purely Q&A and some are reviews/opinions on new things that are happening in the marketplace. The key is that your market gets to see you live and get an opportunity to interact.
5. Give Updates On What Is Coming
I like to have a video twice a month where I explain the content plan to my subscribers. You can expect to see…outlined as a rough plan for the next 2-3 months will keep your subscribers waiting for your next updates. Without giving them this information they may simply give up on you despite the fact they could really use what you have coming.
6. Offer Tools, Templates or Forms
My content plans typically include at least one new tool, template, form or PLR offer that my subscribers can use in their business or life each quarter…even more than information, these tools offer value in the eyes of your market and create significant loyalty to your paid subscriber base
7. Call-In Days
I picked this up from being in a Gold Inner Circle Program with Dan Kennedy years ago where he would have 1-day per month where you could book a 15-20-minute slot and ask him any question or get help with anything you wanted in that time period. This takes some organization, but can add tremendous value and loyalty, especially on higher-end or top-tier membership options.
8. Case Studies or Results Content
One of the most valuable types of content you can provide your market is the “I tried X and found Y” type content. For example, if your topic is on business you can try paid advertising and outline your results, what worked and what didn’t work saving your subscribers time and money figuring this all out for themselves. Another example, if you are in the weight loss niche, then you design a 10-day program to try a new exercise or diet approach and give your subscribers inside views into your results and experiences. This type of “trial and result” content is extremely sticky
9. Ask For Feedback And Content Ideas
Build a monthly poll for content ideas into your site, you may even consider rewarding the top idea of the month with a free giveaway or financial incentive. One of the biggest challenges with operating a membership site month after month can be coming up with good ideas for new content, having your subscribers feed you content ideas is a great way to kill two birds with one stone
10. Simple, Well Organized Content
One of the complaints I used to hear about our InfoMarketer’sZone membership site before we moved to a new platform was that there was so much content, they felt overhwelmed.
Our subscribers did not know where to start, or necessarily how to find the content that was most important to them at their stage in ramping up their online business. So we not only changed platforms but re-organized our material into actionable categories and even step-by-step programs so that it was easy to dig in and use the content, tools and techniques whether they were a brand new subscribers or a long-time, loyal membership subscriber.
Stickiness is critical to the success of your membership site, use these 10 techniques to not only improve your stick rate on paid subscriptions, but to also create strong champions and word-of-mouth endorsements leading to more buzz and front-end subscriptions.
