How I Launched A $12,000 Membership As A Beginner (and you can too!)

Modern Millie
31 Jul 202417:01

TLDRThis video offers a guide for beginners on launching a successful membership program. The creator shares personal experiences and strategies, including identifying the right membership model, determining content offerings, and setting competitive pricing. Tips on community engagement and leveraging audience feedback are also provided to ensure a consistent income stream and member retention.

Takeaways

  • 😀 Launching a membership can provide a significant income boost, especially for beginners without a job, offering a sense of community and exclusivity.
  • 🏆 Memberships are a popular and scalable income stream among top creators, often ranking in the top five revenue sources.
  • 💰 A membership offers predictable, recurring monthly payments that can be scalable, unlike one-time digital product sales.
  • 🔑 The success of a membership requires consistent involvement from the creator, contrary to the misconception of it being a purely passive income.
  • 🤔 Deciding to create a membership involves weighing its pros and cons, including the need for ongoing engagement with members.
  • 📝 Brainstorming potential membership content should start with an initial brain dump, followed by audience, competitor, and membership research.
  • 📊 Audience research is vital; ask your followers what they want included in a membership to tailor the offering to their needs.
  • 👀 Competitive research can provide insights into what successful memberships in similar industries offer and how they price their tiers.
  • 🛠️ Membership platforms like uscreen can provide creators with tools to build a membership site, video library, and even branded apps.
  • 💡 When setting membership tiers and pricing, consider the value offered, audience expectations, and competitive rates.
  • 📈 Start with a lower price than expected to avoid the complications of refunds or dissatisfaction when raising prices later.
  • 📲 Utilize all available channels, like YouTube, Instagram, and email lists, to promote the membership and encourage sign-ups.

Q & A

  • What was the speaker's initial monthly income before launching their membership?

    -The speaker was making about $1,200 a month before launching their first membership in 2021.

  • How much revenue did the speaker generate with their first membership as a beginner?

    -The speaker generated $122,000 with their first membership as a beginner.

  • What are the pros of creating a membership according to the speaker?

    -The pros include creating a sense of community and exclusivity, being a popular and scalable income stream for creators, and providing a predictable recurring monthly payment.

  • What is the main con mentioned by the speaker regarding memberships?

    -The main con is that memberships could require more active involvement from the creator, both upfront and long-term, rather than being a completely passive income source.

  • What are some strategies the speaker suggests for deciding what to include in a membership?

    -The speaker suggests an initial brain dump, audience research, competitor research, and membership research as strategies for deciding what to include in a membership.

  • How did the speaker engage their audience to determine what to include in their membership?

    -The speaker asked their audience directly through Instagram stories, pulling their opinions and desires for what they would want included in a membership.

  • What is the importance of tiers in membership pricing according to the speaker?

    -Tiers allow for different levels of access and benefits, catering to various audience needs and willingness to pay, while also preventing burnout by not overpromising on services.

  • How did the speaker determine the pricing for their membership tiers?

    -The speaker asked their audience directly about the maximum they would pay for the listed benefits and set prices based on audience feedback and competitive research.

  • What are some methods the speaker recommends to get people to sign up for a membership?

    -The speaker recommends including a call to action in YouTube videos and pinned comments, sharing behind-the-scenes on Instagram stories, and emailing an established email list.

  • Why is having an email list considered valuable for launching a membership according to the speaker?

    -An email list is valuable because it allows direct communication with a potentially interested audience, and it can lead to quick sign-ups without relying solely on social media promotion.

  • What platform does the speaker mention for building a membership site and what are its benefits?

    -The speaker mentions uscreen as the platform for building a membership site, highlighting its ability to create a video library and branded app for members, catering to both iPhone and Android users.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Launching a Membership: From $1,200 to $122,000

The speaker reflects on their journey of launching a membership in 2021, which transformed their income from $1,200 to $11,000 a month. They aim to guide viewers on how to create a successful membership, discussing the importance of identifying whether a membership is the right choice, understanding its benefits like community building and exclusivity, and the potential for scalable, predictable income. The video promises to cover what to include in a membership, pricing strategies, and tips for attracting and retaining subscribers.

05:00

📝 Developing Membership Content: Brainstorming and Research

This paragraph delves into the process of brainstorming and researching content for a membership. It suggests starting with a brain dump to get all ideas out, followed by audience research to understand what they want. Competitive research is recommended to see what others in the industry offer, and membership research to find inspiration from existing memberships. The speaker also mentions a free training on uscreen's website, featuring a creator who built a successful membership community, as a resource for those interested in this business model.

10:01

💰 Pricing and Structuring Membership Tiers

The speaker outlines the process of determining the structure and pricing of membership tiers. They emphasize the importance of offering valuable content and not overpromising to avoid burnout. The paragraph discusses the creation of a top tier with premium content, a middle tier with essential offerings, and a lower tier with the basics. The speaker also shares their experience with audience engagement to set a realistic price point, comparing it to competitor pricing and adjusting accordingly to ensure value and competitiveness.

15:02

📈 Promoting Membership: Strategies for Sign-Ups

The final paragraph focuses on strategies to encourage sign-ups for a membership. It suggests using calls to action in YouTube videos and pinned comments, sharing behind-the-scenes successes on Instagram stories, and leveraging email lists for direct communication. The speaker highlights the effectiveness of an email list in driving membership sign-ups, as demonstrated by a student who successfully launched a coaching group through a single email. The paragraph concludes with a reminder to follow one's passion and a sign-off.

Mindmap

Keywords

Membership

A membership in the context of the video refers to a subscription-based model where individuals pay a recurring fee to gain access to exclusive content, community, and benefits. It is central to the video's theme as it discusses launching and managing a successful membership program. The script mentions creating a sense of community and exclusivity, offering predictable recurring payments, and the importance of member engagement.

Creator Journey

The term 'Creator Journey' encapsulates the personal and professional development of an individual who is creating content or a brand, often from scratch. In the video, the creator shares their experience of launching a membership as a beginner, highlighting the challenges and successes they encountered early in their journey.

Community

Community in this script denotes a group of people who share common interests or goals and are brought together by the membership program. The creator emphasizes the importance of community in providing a sense of belonging and exclusivity, which is a key selling point for the membership.

Income Streams

Income streams refer to the various ways in which a creator can generate revenue. The video discusses memberships as a popular and effective income stream for creators, highlighting the potential for scalability and predictability in earnings.

Recurrence

Recurrence in the video script refers to the regular, repeated income that a membership provides. It is a key benefit of memberships, as opposed to one-time sales, because it offers a predictable and sustainable revenue source for creators.

Pricing Strategy

Pricing strategy is the method used to determine the cost of membership. The video provides insights into how to price a membership by considering audience affordability, value perception, and competitive rates. It also discusses the importance of balancing the creator's worth with the audience's willingness to pay.

Audience Research

Audience research is the process of gathering insights about the preferences and needs of the target audience. The script describes how the creator asked their audience what they would want in a membership, which is a crucial step in tailoring the membership to meet their expectations and increase the likelihood of sign-ups.

Competitive Research

Competitive research involves analyzing what competitors offer in their memberships and at what price. The video mentions using this research to identify gaps in the market and to price the membership competitively, ensuring it stands out in terms of value and cost.

Content Creation

Content creation is the process of producing material for the membership, such as videos, challenges, and bonus materials. The video script discusses the importance of creating engaging and valuable content to retain members and justify the membership fee.

Scalability

Scalability refers to the ability of a business model to handle growth, both in terms of audience size and revenue. The video highlights the scalability of memberships, explaining how they can generate increasing income as more members join without a proportional increase in the creator's workload.

Call to Action

A call to action (CTA) is a prompt encouraging the audience to take a specific step, such as joining a membership. The video suggests using CTAs in YouTube videos and pinned comments to drive sign-ups, emphasizing the effectiveness of direct and clear invitations to join.

Email List

An email list is a database of subscribers' contact information used for direct communication. The video script underscores the value of an email list in promoting the membership, as it allows the creator to reach out to a captive audience and is a powerful tool for driving sign-ups.

Branded App

A branded app is a mobile application designed specifically for a creator's brand or membership. The video mentions that using a platform like uscreen can provide a branded app for the membership, enhancing the viewing experience and accessibility of content across various devices.

Highlights

Launching a membership as a beginner can lead to significant monthly income, as the creator made $12,000 in their first membership launch.

A membership offers a sense of community and exclusivity, providing members with access to exclusive content and a close-knit community experience.

Memberships are a popular and scalable income stream for creators, with 33% of top creators offering them.

A predictable recurring monthly payment is a key advantage of memberships, offering financial stability and scalability.

The creator initially misunderstood the passive nature of a membership, finding it required daily interaction and content creation for the community.

Creating a membership can be less about passive income and more about active engagement with members to ensure value and retention.

Yoga with Adriene's membership model focuses on upfront work with pre-recorded videos, allowing for less maintenance over time.

The creator emphasizes the importance of being consistently involved with members to ensure a successful membership.

Brainstorming, audience research, competitor research, and membership research are recommended steps for deciding what to include in a membership.

Asking the audience directly through social media or email can provide valuable insights into what they want from a membership.

Competitor research helps identify what others in the industry are offering in their memberships and what is successful.

Usability of platforms like uscreen for building membership sites is highlighted, with features like video libraries and branded apps.

The importance of not over-promising in membership tiers to avoid burnout and ensure sustainable value delivery is discussed.

Pricing strategy involves understanding audience willingness to pay and competitive pricing within the industry.

Starting with a lower price than initially considered can prevent issues with refunds or dissatisfaction if the price is later increased.

Strategies for getting people to sign up for a membership include calls to action in videos, sharing behind-the-scenes stories, and leveraging email lists.

An email list is a powerful tool for launching a membership, as demonstrated by a student who sold out her coaching group with a single email.