21 marketing channels for membership sites: Wrap up

This post is part of a series, based on the ebook 'Top 21 marketing channels for membership sites', written by The Subscription Coach Amanda Northcutt.

Download the entire series as an ebook >

I hope 3-6 of these acquisition channels resonated with you and you feel equipped to run some simple marketing tests in the coming months. Follow the steps outlined at the beginning of this ebook to determine which channels are viable (both profitable & reliable) for your membership. Follow the steps outlined at the beginning of this guide to determine which channels are viable (both profitable & reliable) for your membership.

Effective marketing is vital to the lifeblood of your business, but it's not the be-all and end-all answer to long term success. First you must have a viable membership product. Then you must attract – through your smart marketing efforts – those people who have the potential to become power users. If you already know the secret sauce of what actions members take on your site to become power users, you're halfway there!

Once armed with the knowledge of what your power users love the most about your membership and the problem you solve for them, you're best poised to test marketing channels to find viable ways to bring on more members that resemble those power users.

No matter the channel, your marketing messaging should point prospects to the things about your membership site that your power users love the most. If you start by attracting those types of people in the first place, rather than casting a wide net to get as many sales as possible, you're setting yourself up for profitability and scalability. Not to mention, your members will be happier, more successful, and rave about you online!

Once you have determined 2-4 viable acquisition channels that best target people who have the potential to become power users, and you have a lead nurture sequence in place (emails + retargeting ads), all you have to do is keep those members around. Easy, right? I’m afraid not. Churn, or member cancellations, is the growth killer of all membership businesses, and in many cases, leads to their eventual demise.

According to Harvard Business Review, it costs between 5 and 25 times more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one! That’s a tough pill to swallow for someone that relies on a recurring revenue model, like you.

It's your responsibility as the site owner to track member engagement and intervene when your hard-earned paying customers are slipping away and becoming unengaged. If you have the right people paying for your membership, it's your job to help them recognize the value they're paying for.

Ready to take your membership to the next level? Check out our coaching and consulting services for one-on-one insight, accountability, and everything else you need to succeed.