The Crucial Step Most Membership Site Owners Miss
You’ve built a website that converts like crazy. You’ve created killer content that fills a need like nothing you’ve ever seen. You’ve recruited affiliates and even have John Chow, Ryan Lee, Yaro Starak and Shoemoney sending dedicated emails to their lists during launch week. There are so many things you’re checking off your list as you begin to throw open the doors, you’re head is spinning. The launch is terrific and you’ve made some green.
But as month one becomes month two and three, you realize your attrition is horrendous. Nearly 30% of your members each month are canceling and you can’t figure out why. New members are coming in, but not nearly enough to stop the flood of members heading for the door.
If you’ve been starting and growing membership sites for a while, this has probably happened to you. It’s happened to us. Until we made a small change.
We told them how to use the information.
It sounds simple. Of course I’ve told them how to use my content…… haven’t I?
When you’re creating content it’s common to get so wrapped up in creating it, that you forget to tell your members, subscribers and buyers how to apply what you are teaching in real life. It may seem obvious to you, because you’re the expert. You’ve been passionate about the subject for years and you know exactly how you would apply the information and content to the problems and challenges it addresses.
When we went overboard and told our buyers exactly how to use the information we provided to take action and make things happen, my first reaction was, “We’re treating out buyers like they’re idiots.” But whenever we assumed they’d know how to use the information, our attrition rose and our revenue declined. Then I realized that we’re not treating them like idiots, we’re just not taking anything for granted.
When people buy from you, they are expecting three steps (even if they don’t know it):
1) Tell me why this is the information I need now
2) Tell me the information
3) Tell me how to use the information.
Internet marketers are extraordinarily good at #1. They’re even pretty good at #2. But for most, #3 is an afterthought. Yet it’s the one thing we’ve found that results in the most satisfied customers and the least attrition month to month. In fact, you can probably be mediocre at 1 and 2, and if you can rock #3, you’ll probably do very well selling content.
It’s become so important to our business that every lesson, chapter, segment, level or video we create is now required to have some sort of “how to apply this” area.
Call it “hand-holding,” call it “do it for you” or even step-by-step. However you categorize it, be sure you’re showing your buyers exactly how to apply the knowledge you’re selling. You can’t be too detailed or too obvious. You can go overboard with #1. You’ll never go too far showing users the practical application of your content with examples, case studies and step-by-step procedures.
creating content, selling content online, starting a membership site
