Listen on…
How does a little recurring revenue in your business model sound?
So many of you have asked me questions about setting up a membership site so you could serve your audience in a bigger and deeper way. Well, I thought I better bring in someone who knows membership sites in and out and directly ask him your burning questions, all about membership sites. I like to call Stu McLaren the Membership Man. He is hands down, the go-to source for all things membership.
In 2008, Stu knew something had to give. He was burning the candle at both ends providing one-on-one services to clients. While his business would be seen as successful by most because the money was there, he was trading time for dollars and this was not the answer to where he saw his future. Especially one with kids in it, like he and his wife were hoping for.
How a Recurring Revenue Model Can Change The Trajectory of Your Business
Long story short, Stu decided he needed a new business model to take what he was already doing and share it in a more leveraged way — a model that included recurring revenue. Upon the suggestion from a friend and business mentor, he started a membership site. Not only did he create a membership site for himself, but he saw a need for a tool for implementing a membership site, so he set out and created one.
Throughout his time working with the 70,000 clients who flocked to use WishList Member, the membership software platform Stu created, he learned a lot about what worked and what didn’t when it came to creating a membership site and he joined me on my podcast today to share all of that wisdom.
Here’s a snapshot of what we covered in our chat where he answered your 10 most burning questions:
- [8:30] The difference between a membership site and a course
- [15:40] Having your course as a prerequisite for your membership site
- [17:03] How to manage the content creation process every month
- [22:04] What kind of content you need to have inside your membership site
- [31:40] Pricing your membership site and how it's different than digital course pricing?
- [40:22] Open or closed launching, and how Jennifer Allwood scaled her membership site from 700 members in three years to 1,200 new members in 5 DAYS
- [46:36} What incentives work best to encourage members to join your membership site
- [47:12] The secret to the ONE and only ad that made Stu buy (and how you can apply it to your membership site)
- [51:37] How Nicholas Wilton recruited 180 members from a single webinar before he had even created his membership site
- [57:30] How paint store owners, fitness experts, dog trainers, and other surprising examples of membership site founders have found success with their membership sites
- [58:02] Why you shouldn't wait to start your membership site
- [1:00] The membership site misconceptions you don't need to buy into
Stu brought so many great insights on how to make a membership site work for you. This was truly one of my favorite episodes of the podcast. Join us both and listen to the episode now!
Wondering whether a membership site can work for you?
Bottom line, almost any business can benefit from having some type of membership site. And it doesn’t have to be a lot of work to invite members in or to create content every month. The beauty of a membership site is that you get to leverage your knowledge with the content you provide and the recurring revenue that a membership will bring to your business.
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Listener Spotlight of the Week
Well, Kate, I’m glad you feel like I’m reading your mind…that’s what I like to hear. I’m so glad you enjoy the podcast and get value from it. Thanks so much for leaving this note in iTunes!
