subject: Membership Site Retention - Why Are They Leaving ? [print this page] Running a membership site can be a little hard particularly if it appears that your members are leaving faster than they are coming in. However, while this is without doubt quite a problem for you, your members have a different focus and that is perception of value for their time and or money.
Giving the impression of value is very important if you want to get members and keep those paying members. People want to feel like they have gotten more than they paid for. It's true that some may not gripe about getting fundamentally good information, however this should not stop you from attempting to raise the perception bar significantly. Word of mouth is the most powerful advertising medium.
One of the easiest ways you can do this is to offer special bonuses. These can be either announced or unannounced. Using a combination of both works well because you get people excited, and you make them feel like you really care when they get something they weren't expecting. These bonuses can be resell rights or PLR products that you picked up on the side (hand's off for you!). These can be for you to buy, but your members will be thrilled with them!
Other things one might do is offer multimedia to fill out your text content. That doesn't mean you need to create new information for each form of content. For example, you could create an article, a video, and audio that all get the same basic information across, but in different formats. Having audio, video and text enables the material to find resonance with many different audience learning types. Your chances of giving user satisfaction is much higher this way.
One of my media instructors, taught me that sometimes, cheating is the best way. That totally interesting video that you shot has an audio track that can be re-used and re syndicated perhaps even as a podcast. Look mom, no additional work. You can then have the video transcribed in the form of text. Voil! You now have three different formats that will satisfy your members and enable them to feel as if they are getting a much stronger value from your membership site!
The last of our tips today, has to do with making your site look seriously professional. Some membership site owners manage to squeak by with minimalistic sites but the truth is that simple but relevant graphics and a clean easy to navigate layout will go far towards membership satisfaction.The old saying goes that "you shouldn't judge a book by its cover," but we all know that people end up doing that anyway! A great looking site is always a joy to explore.
Try to do all of the above mentioned tips. A rule of thumb is give 10 times the monthly value and your clients won't leave.When your members are highly grateful for the information that you are providing, word-of-mouth will spread and your members will continue their membership. Remember the first 30 days are the most critical.
