In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series we covered how to START a paid group, and how to plan CONTENT to get it going.
Now I want to cover what may be the most important piece of the puzzle…
How do you continuously deliver value so that people stay in the group month after month, year after year?
The answer comes down to 3 important elements:
- Keeping up with the times
- Giving people real value
- Creating a sense of community
Let’s break these down a bit further…
The times are (constantly) changing.
While it’s important to plan your content calendar in advance, and you can easily touch on the same themes year after year…
You always want to have in mind that the times are changing.
What was true back in 2015 may not be true in 2016, or may be mostly true…with a few important updates.
You want to position your group as being on the cutting edge of a constantly changing landscape.
As a member of your program, your customers will always be up to date on the newest trends and most relevant, up-to-date information.
And if your members know that, then they have a big reason to stick with you month after month, because they’re constantly getting updated information.
What have you done for me lately?
When someone first joins your group, they’re generally excited about all the content available.
Proving the value of the group isn’t hard in the beginning, but after a few months, they may begin to question why they’re still paying for membership.
After a while, getting your members to consume content becomes more challenging.
That’s when you run the risk of having someone think to themselves, “Well, I don’t really need that membership right now.”
And boom…they’re gone. Your program has become expendable.
So how do you ensure that doesn’t happen?
By providing not just new content, but providing your members with WINS.
Wins (big or small) are a great way to create positive energy and build loyalty among your customers.
Similar to the idea of “Micro-Commitments” in the Ask Method, your goal is to deliver small wins to your members to keep them engaged and coming back for more.
How do you create these small wins? By leveraging something called “Micro-Workshops”.
A Micro-workshop is an event that happens in your group on a very specific, focused topic.
Not just a simple video training or article, a workshop has an interactive element where you ask your members to implement.
You can even turn it into a contest to increase participation.
We do this in NLM with our yearly Black Friday promo contest.
By encouraging members to swipe a specific short email sequence and send out just a few emails…
They’re able to see a quick influx of income as a direct result.
That jolt of cash and/or energy is a great reminder of WHY they became a member in the first place…
And gives them a very good reason to stick around.
If you plan your Micro-workshops strategically, you can have your members excited and anticipating their next win simply by continuing their membership.
The Art of Creating Community
Ironically, as we’ve become a more “connected” society (to our phones, computers, and tablets), we’ve become disconnected in so many other ways.
Everyone is looking for a place they can feel connected to other people…
To feel like they’re a part of something larger and more meaningful.
And that can happen if you create the right kind of online community.
Being an entrepreneur, especially online, can get pretty lonely.
What our Next Level Group Mastermind does is give people a place to ask questions, get answers, and make valuable connections.
And your membership program should do that for your tribe as well.
Because in most cases people are drawn to your group for the content, but the reason they STAY…is for the community.
So how do you cultivate this kind of community?
Well, it’s a challenge, and there are some nuances to it.
It’s difficult to describe in just ONE short blog post.
In fact, there are some specific things that we do in the Next Level Group Mastermind that have really transformed it into a community…not just another group.
I learned these techniques from someone who is better than anyone else at creating community, Stu McLaren.
He’s the “secret weapon” that helped us take NLM from an idea on the back of a napkin to a multi-million dollar business.
Stu’s been sharing some amazing content recently on how to build these kinds of communities through membership sites.
Check out this video to learn more
In this series, I’ve walked you through how to create your own membership site, from the idea and initial launch, to content creation, to keeping people coming back month after month.
Now I’m curious…
I’d love to hear your biggest takeaway, so please leave a comment below and let me know!