I love to picture you and I sitting across from each other having a chat about business. It’s one of my favorite things to talk about. Today we would be chatting about membership programs and deciding if one is right for your business. A membership program is a product that you create on a regular basis. A customer signs up for it and they pay every month to have access to the content.

A membership program is a beautiful thing for your business for a few reasons:

1. You can create recurring income that is guaranteed. This can be a huge help for entrepreneurs living on unpredictable incomes.
2. You develop deeper relationships with your audience- you really get to know who you serve and they get to know you better, too. 
3. You get a raving community because you’re serving them often

I talk about this a lot in my membership group, Money Makers. (Have you joined us yet? Why not?) We hang out every day, we have a live q&a every week.  You don’t have to feel lonely because this is an awesome community of women who are supporting each other and it’s the best place for you to grow your business. Join us there. 

Besides that, the cool thing about being in Money Makers is that I get to go live everyday and do a coaching video. The videos aren’t super long and are very actionable. Everything is done on an app called Channels by Marco Polo. It’s just us in there, in this app, and it’s awesome. I’m able to have a deeper connection with you in that group. I like to picture all of these moms that are in my group, who are running businesses and raising kids, and I picture them washing dishes and doing laundry while listening to my videos. I think this is an amazing thing and it’s such a deeper level of connection and it also produces raving fans because you are serving them on this deeper level. 

Are you up for running a membership program?

So that’s why membership groups are so amazing. It does take effort. I am continually making content.You don’t have to make content every day in your membership. But you do have to commit to creating on a consistent basis.

Ask yourself, “ Are you up for creating content consistently and committing to a membership?”

A lot of people try to do a membership program and then give up because they think it’s not working or it’s not what they expected it to be. But you have to really commit to your membership and commit to doing the work and finding your people that need what you’re offering. 

 

There are 3 questions I want you to ask yourself when considering adding a membership program to your business: 

1- Who is your audience and what are their common problems that you can solve with your membership program?

Do they have any habits that they need help developing? Maybe you offer a  running membership, an exercise membership, a hand lettering membership, etc.

• Are there any skills they want to have that you can teach?
• What services do they need on a regular basis?
• What products can you create that would help with their problems? 

There’s a membership service that I think about when I look at these questions. It’s run by Six Sisters. They have a meal plan membership program. They send out a meal plan for the month and you get the meal plan for every day, a shopping list, and recipes. This is genius. They know their target audience is busy moms who don’t want to take the time to figure out dinners. It’s a recurring common problem. You sign up, it’s not very expensive, and you get a monthly email with the information you need to plan your meals for the month. It’s a simple membership program, but for those who are a part of it, it’s a lifesaver!

2-Do you have a community?

Do you already have people who are ready to sign up for your membership?

Do you have a problem you are known for solving? Have you set yourself up as an expert for the field you are in? 

If not, it might be wise to take time and set yourself up as an expert. This might just be starting an ig and teaching your audience and becoming the expert your audience is looking for. 

Are people already coming to you for advice and help? You know you’re ready to launch something if people are already coming to you for advice and help. What are people asking you to do for them or to teach them?

If you don’t have a community, following, how do you build an audience? It’s better to take a few months to intentionally build a following of the people who need what you’re offering. It doesn’t have to be 1000’s of people, but you need an audience who is looking to you to teach them.

 

3- What is the problem you solve and could you solve it with a membership program? 

Your community has problems. That’s what a business does. They come in and solve problems. So what type of content or product could you produce on a regular basis to solve their problems? Do you already have content that you’re creating on a regular basis that you could use for a membership program? Think about this. Where are you people right now, what are their problems and how can you show up for them in a consistent way that would really help their business? 

If you know the answer to the 3 questions from earlier: 

• You know who your audience is. 
• You have a community and they already come to you for a specific topic. 
• You know what problem they have and how you can solve it. 

A membership program might be a good fit for you.

I recommend listening to my webinar, Money Making Membership for more information on building a membership. Also, I’m using Channels by Marco Polo for my membership group. If you’re looking for a platform for your membership group, I highly recommend it. Mention my name, Michelle Gifford, when you contact them. If you need business coaching, join my membership group, Money Makers, and see how amazing memberships can be. We would love to have you.

I hope you consider these questions when you are deciding if a membership is right for you. I’ve really loved the connection I’ve made with all of you and with my Money Makers. I think that a membership is a great thing for a business to have. What do you think? Will you add a membership program to your business?