The MemberScore Podcast: Recent Episodes
Amanda & Travis Northcutt
We (Amanda and Travis Northcutt) have a combined 15+ years in the membership space. We're here to share what we've learned to help you grow your membership business.
For more from Amanda, subscribe to her new podcast, Sales in the Subscription Economy wherever you listen and check out subscriptioncoach.com!
Val Geisler was kind enough to share her secret sauce on how to validate a digital product idea before going all in. If you are thinking of creating a digital product or adding one to an existing business, this is for you!
Val is an email conversion strategist & marketer, creator of a sold out copywriting incubator, and founder of fixmychurn.com.
Connect with Val on ValGeisler.com or Twitter @lovevalgeisler
I've had a string of consulting projects this year that have helped existing, high touch service businesses – predominately well established coaches and consultancies – expand their reach and revenue by creating a digital product like a course, membership, or subscription.
In short, this has looked like taking the methodology of the business owner, consultant, or coach, and packaging up their IP, or intellectual property, into a self serve format that they can sell at a lower price point to their prospects without as much 1 on 1 interaction.
Digital products like this give new clients the opportunity to see your expertise in action without the high touch price point and often serve as a way to feed a consulting or coaching pipeline.
Since I've been working with a lot of these types of clients, I'm doing a short interview series to unpack the decision making process and actual steps that business owners have taken who are moving toward digital products.
In episode 26 had the pleasure of interviewing Cindy Skalicky about how she has started to expand the reach of her consultancy by adding her first digital product.
She provides excellent advice for anyone taking their first steps toward a digital product!
With 25 years of experience under her belt, Cindy provides expert public speaking, coaching and brand consulting to business owners and professionals seeking to master their message on stage, online and in publications.
Her passion for crafting, analyzing and presenting messages developed through over 25 years in the corporate, academic and entrepreneurial worlds. She provides theory-based coaching to clients who want to enhance pitch decks, TED talks, storytelling, presentation presence, brand messaging, PR strategy and more. Contact Cindy at info@onpoint-communications.com or call 970-290-4684.
Ask yourself the questions posed is this show if you are considering adding a digital service offering to your business. This is short and sweet episode, but don't let the brevity fool you, the content is exactly what you need to hear if you're thinking of making this kind of move!
In episode 23, Travis and I broke down from a bird's eye view the differences between online courses, membership, and subscription products. Today we take a deep dive in to the decision making process of how to determine which one is right for your business.
I have the distinct pleasure of chatting with Janelle Allen, founder of Zen Courses, about the DNA an existing high touch service business needs to have in order to successfully add a digital product like a course, membership, or subscription to their existing business model.
Janelle is a Learning Designer and serial entrepreneur who believes that every company is in the education business. For the past ten years, she's worked with corporations such as Pearson Education, Potbelly Sandwich Works, Starbucks and Apple to create training and online courses, using principles of adult learning and design. In 2015, she changed her focus in order to help small businesses create profitable courses that change lives. She lives in the great city of Chicago with her partner.
Check out Janelle's podcast: Level Up Your Course and sign up for her weekly newsletter on online learning & business, or connect with her on Twitter at @janelleallen.
Listen up and learn what you need to know to make the right digital product choice for your business!
It all begins with marketing, but doesn't stop there. Proper expectation setting is necessary through every step in your customers' journey. Be proactive and position yourself to truly delight your customers and build a highly profitable business based on reliable recurring revenue. Listen up and we'll show you how!
This is the ninth episode in a series on how to create systems and automations that will help you run your membership site more efficiently and effectively. We've broken everything it takes to run your site into 8 categories. In episode 21 we continue our conversation on how to create effective systems and automations for the general management of your site.
System 1: Lead generation
System 2: lead nurturing
System 3: onboarding
System 4: engagement tracking
System 5: content creation
System 6: community management
System 7: Customer service & Success financial, tech, staff management, KPI tracking
System 8: General Management: KPI tracking, your tech stack, finances, and management of staff
Crossing your "t"s and dotting your "i"s on the back end of your site will save you hundreds of hours a year and give you the peace of mind you need to run your site smoothly and efficiently. Listen as we break down some of the nitty gritty parts of running a successful membership site.
This is technically episode 8b in our series on the 8 systems you need to run a successful membership site. Today we dive into your tech stack, finances, and staff management. Happy listening!
This is the eighth episode in a series on how to create systems and automations that will help you run your membership site more efficiently and effectively. We've broken everything it takes to run your site into 8 categories and episode 20 will teach you how to create effective systems and automations for the general management of your site.
System 1: Lead generation
System 2: lead nurturing
System 3: onboarding
System 4: engagement tracking
System 5: content creation
System 6: community management
System 7: Customer service & Success financial, tech, staff management, KPI tracking
System 8: General Management: KPI tracking, your tech stack, finances, and management of staff
This is the seventh episode in a series on how to create systems and automations that will help your membership site more efficiently and effectively. We've broken everything it takes to run your site into 8 categories and episode 19 will teach you how to create effective systems for customer service & success.
System 1: Lead generation
System 2: lead nurturing
System 3: onboarding
System 4: engagement tracking
System 5: content creation
System 6: community management
System 7: Customer service & Success
System 8: General Management: KPI tracking, tech stack, finances, and management of staff
Creating a culture of honest feedback will help you curate the best member experience possible on your site. Listen as we break down how to create that culture and systematize and automate the majority of your customer service & success. Happy listening!
Resources:
The Membership Guys article: 5 Things to consider when adding gamification to your membership site.
This is the sixth episode in a series on how to create systems and automations that will help your membership site more efficiently and effectively. We've broken everything it takes to run your site into 8 categories and episode 18 will teach you how to create effective systems for managing your online membership community.
This is the fifth episode in a series on how to create systems and automations that will help your membership site more efficiently and effectively. We've broken everything it takes to run your site into 8 categories and episode 17 will teach you how create systems for content planning and creation without going crazy.
Creating a large volume of content on a regular basis is one of the biggest causes of headaches for a membership site owner. This episode covers how to plan, batch, and product content that will help you retain your sanity. Happy listening!
This is the fourth episode in a series on how to create systems and automations that will help your membership site more efficiently and effectively. We've broken everything it takes to run your site into 8 categories, and in episode 16 we emphasize the importance of automating your engagement tracking and how to take action based on engagement intel you find.
Resources mentioned in the show::
- MemberScore.io
This is the third episode in a series on how to create systems and automations that will help your membership site more efficiently and effectively. We've broken everything it takes to run your site into 8 categories and episode 15 will teach you how to automate your onboarding process.
System 2: lead nurturing
This is the second episode in a series on how to create systems and automations that will help your membership site more efficiently and effectively. We've broken everything it takes to run your site into 8 categories and episode 14 will teach you how to streamline your lead nurturing.
Resources mentioned in the show:
- https://memberscore.io/podcast/008/ – How to create an email nurture sequences
System 1: Lead generation
First off, go back and listen to episodes 9-12 to learn about our top 21 marketing channels for membership site. In this episode we teach you how to:
- Create a customer avatar or ICP (ideal customer profile)
- Master the voice of your customer and use that language for marketing materials
- Determine what aspects of your membership you should be promoting the most
- Identify the 2-4 most viable marketing channels for your membership
- Automate and systematize your marketing
Resources mentioned in the show:
- https://postpromoterpro.com/ – social media scheduling for WordPress
- https://coschedule.com/ – schedule all your marketing efforts
- https://meetedgar.com/ - social media scheduling
- https://buffer.com - social media scheduling
- https://memberscore.io/podcast/007/ – Interview with Andréa Jones on social media for membership sites
With a new year just around the corner, this is a great time to think about how you're going to market your membership most efficiently and effectively in 2019.
This is the final podcast in a 4 part series where we discuss the top 21 marketing channels for membership sites. In this episode we break down these 6 final channels:
- Affiliate Programs
- In person events or meet-ups
- Speaking engagements
- Community building
- Becoming a leader in existing communities
- Reddit and Quora
Your goal should be to find the best 2-4 channels for your membership by running very simple tests, and then create automated processes with the most effective channels, so you can be as hands off as you want to be with your marketing efforts. The key is finding channels where you can acquire new paying members at a rate that is less than what the member spends with you over the lifetime of their membership (cLTV), and doubling down on those channels.
With a new year just around the corner, this is a great time to think about how you're going to market your membership most efficiently and effectively in 2019.
This is the third podcast in a 4 part series where we discuss the top 21 marketing channels for membership sites. In this episode we break down these 5 channels:
- Your own podcast
- Being a guest on someone else's podcast
- Cross promotions
- Webinars
- Direct Sales
Your goal should be to find the best 2-4 channels for your membership by running very simple tests, and then create automated processes with the most effective channels, so you can be as hands off as you want to be with your marketing efforts. The key is finding channels where you can acquire new paying members at a rate that is less than what the member spends with you over the lifetime of their membership (cLTV), and doubling down on those channels.
With a new year just around the corner, this is a great time to think about how you're going to market your membership most efficiently and effectively in 2019.
This is the second podcast in a 4 part series where we discuss the top 21 marketing channels for membership sites. In this episode we break down 5 more channels:
- Industry conferences and trade shows
- PR
- Organic Influencer Marketing
- Paid Influencer Marketing
- Guest Blogging
Your goal should be to find the best 2-4 channels for your membership by running very simple tests, and then create automated processes with the most effective channels, so you can be as hands off as you want to be with your marketing efforts. The key is finding channels where you can acquire new paying members at a rate that is less than what the member spends with you over the lifetime of their membership (cLTV), and doubling down on those channels.
Here are the resources mentioned in the show:
- https://www.themembershipguys.com/
- https://www.membersiteacademy.com/
- https://www.themembershipguys.com/podcast/
- https://www.themembershipguys.com/category/behind-the-membership/
With a new year just around the corner, this is a great time to think about how you're going to market your membership most efficiently and effectively in 2019.
This is the first podcast in a 4 part series where we discuss the top 21 marketing channels for membership sites. In this episode we break down our first 5 channels:
- Organic Search Traffic
- The Big 6 Social Channels
- Content Marketing
- Referrals
- Paid Advertising
Your goal should be to find the best 2-4 channels for your membership by running very simple tests, and then create automated processes with the most effective channels, so you can be as hands off as you want to be with your marketing efforts. The key is finding channels where you can acquire new paying members at a rate that is less than what the member spends with you over the lifetime of their membership (cLTV), and doubling down on those channels.
Here are the resources mentioned in the show:
- https://blog.bufferapp.com/how-to-use-pinterest
- https://blog.bufferapp.com/facebook-ads-guide
- https://meetedgar.com/
- https://coschedule.com/
- https://buffer.com
- https://postpromoterpro.com/
- https://onlinedrea.com/free/
Once someone takes your lead magnet and joins your email list, what next?
You need an automated follow up sequence!
- 5 – 7 emails in the sequence
- Identify the top 5 – 7 features/benefits of your membership. What do members get the most out of?
- These are the topics for each of your emails in the sequence
- Focus on how these features help your members – explain each one as a benefit
- Include social proof to back up the claims you're making (testimonials, statistics, etc.)
- Include a call to action in each email. Move prospect closer to the sale by asking for action.
- Baby steps – CTA should be for what they're ready to do. Don't try to close the sale in the first email!
Andréa and Travis discuss:
- Getting started with social media for membership sites
- A framework for how to manage your social media content
- Converting social media effort into people actually joining your community
- And more!
Get Andréa's free 7-day video training series featuring simple steps to achieve visibility, growth, and engagement on social media: https://onlinedrea.com/free/
Find Andréa on your favorite social network:
- https://instagram.com/onlinedrea
- https://facebook.com/onlinedrea
- https://twitter.com/onlinedrea
In this episode we discuss making sure you take the time to work ON your business, not just IN your business. There's always more busy work to do; are you reserving time to tackle the bigger picture parts of your business and do things that have a long term impact? What are your business and personal goals, and are you working steadily toward them?
In this episode we discuss several reasons members might cancel their membership, why those are (usually) your responsibility as the membership site owner, and what to do about it.
Resources mentioned:
- We discussed "power users" in a previous episode: https://memberscore.io/podcast/001/
- The book Hooked by Nir Eyal
The four strategies we discuss today to reduce churn:
- Marketing and selling to the right members in the first place
- Predicting who will churn, and reaching out to re-engage before they leave
- Improve the product and overall member experience
- Increase the appeal of long-term subscriptions – and actually pitch them (at the right time
You need to have some content available for free, but figuring out what (and what kind) can be challenging. In this episode we cover two approaches:
1) Share the "what" and "why", but save the "how" for inside the membership
2) Share a high-quality sample of members-only content, and even skip the necessity of a free trial
Schedule your free 15 minute call with us at http://memberscore.io/podcast or email podcast@memberup.co, and we'll help you figure out your free vs. paid strategy.
We're brand new, so we'd really appreciate an iTunes review. Send as an email after you've left one, and we'll send you a copy of our book for free!
Grab our lead magnet – our guide to maximizing your membership site revenue with the members you already have: https://memberup.co/guide.
The Membership Guys "Membership Blueprint": https://www.themembershipguys.com/download-membership-blueprint/
Schedule your free 15 minute call with us at http://memberscore.io/podcast or email podcast@memberup.co, and we'll help you improve your lead magnet.
We're brand new, so we'd really appreciate an iTunes review. Send as an email after you've left one, and we'll send you a copy of our book for free!
In this episode we discuss what should be the foundation of your membership site marketing strategy: narrow and deep (niche) marketing.
Schedule your free 15 minute call with us at http://memberscore.io/podcast or email podcast@memberup.co, and we'll help you figure out your niche marketing strategy.
We're brand new, so we'd really appreciate an iTunes review. Send as an email after you've left one, and we'll send you a copy of our book for free!