Membership Site Marketing: 4 Simple Steps To Retain More Members

You can have thousands of members joining your membership site, but it won’t do you any good if you don’t keep them!  With all the competition you have on the Internet, you need to be creative in order to keep the members you have and attract new ones that will stay. This article will show you some proven methods to achieve this.

Step 1: Make Them Feel Welcome

With most websites, a person fills out their name, email and some personal information when they join. They send in their membership fee (if any), receive a confirmation email, and that’s the last they will ever hear from the website (unless they place an order or join a social forum that the site might sponsor). 

Do you think members would feel happy about joining? No, it’s just another business investment that will be replaced by the next big thing to come along!  Where does that leave you?

People tend to stay where they are certain that they’re welcome; and they avoid people and places that don’t give them a sense of personal connection.

One very quick and simple thing you can do to make them glad they joined your website is to send an email welcoming them by name to your site, and expressing a sincere wish that your relationship will be of benefit to both of you. 

Let them know that you will be there to help them should they need it, and that you consider their input a valuable asset. In doing this, you have just made them feel welcomed and appreciated, and they would remember your good gesture every time they log onto your site.  

Step 2: Give Them More Bang For Their Bucks

Nobody wants to feel as if they’ve wasted their money, and most people want as much benefit from their dollars as possible. If you over deliver, they would want to stay with your site!

Membership to your site shouldn’t just be for the privilege of moving your merchandise or taking advantage of the service you have to offer. Members should feel that they are getting more than they’re giving out! 

Think about the exclusive clubs that people join, such as a gym membership.  Some clubs have swimming pools and spas while others merely provide workout equipment. Which one do you think people will join? The more you give, the more they would want to stay. And it doesn’t have to cost you more than a few dollars or minutes of your time. 

Try setting up a networking section so that members can connect with others who share the same passion. Perhaps they can ask questions and share ideas that would benefit all members. 

Another idea that is often successful is an email newsletter giving strategies and suggestions on how to find new customers and open up new markets. Remember, the more successful your members are, the more successful you are! 

By helping them make the most of their dollars and more of them, you’ll keep people that might otherwise get discouraged and not renew their memberships.

Step 3: Reward Them For Staying

You can reward your loyal members for staying with you at very little cost. Rewards aren’t important for their monetary value, but for recognizing someone’s importance. 

Offer incentives, such as a gift or a huge discount when a member reaches a certain level of product usage. You might want to send a congratulatory email when they make their first, fifth or tenth order; and give them surprises that are not available to the public.

Another incentive that some membership websites have employed with success is lotteries and drawings. Yes, it’s a bit cheesy but who doesn’t like a game of chance? 

With every unit they buy - or for a social network, every pertinent post they make - their username is entered into a virtual hopper. And each month a username is “drawn” by random computer selection. That person can spin a computer generated wheel to win additional discounts, free shipping or a small cash prize via PayPal. It’s fun and exciting; and by posting the usernames of the winners, you encourage other members to play.

Send out email surveys every so often so that they know their input is important.  Ask for ideas to improve the site or add conveniences that might benefit the members. 

Offer a generous “members only” affiliate program to provide them with another stream of income. This could be a big incentive for someone to continue being a member of your site, especially if the affiliate program gives them special privileges not available to non-members (for example: bonus commissions, certificates, gift products, etc. depending on how much they’ve earned).

Step 4: Give Them A Reason To Stay

Why should anyone renew their membership to your site? Just because you want them to is no reason; they have to feel that their membership is benefiting them in some way. 

Send out renewal notices inviting them to keep their membership and point out the future benefits. Perhaps you could remind them how they have profited from the information inside the members area. Make it personal! Look up their records and congratulate them on the orders they’ve made or the members they’ve referred. Show them how valuable they are to you. Nothing makes a person feel more valued than personal attention.

You might also consider a renewal lottery. Again, everyone likes to win and you can award a gift with each renewal. Every three months you can “draw” a name of someone who has renewed their membership in the previous months and reward that member.    

The Bottom Line

Keeping your members and getting new ones is all a question of how welcome they feel and how much they benefit. If you can earn their loyalty and appreciation, you’ll have a large and stable member base.