Online Business Myths – You Need a Membership Site


Just in case there weren’t already enough dazzling shiny objects for your eyes to be drawn to – let’s talk about why you Need a Membership Site – or not!

Membership sites are hot. There are membership sites dedicated to er… membership sites. There are software applications, there are integrated sales solutions and all-in-ones, there are courses on how to create a membership site, there are courses on how to create a funnel for your membership site, there are experts who’ll help you choose a topic, how to market it, how to do your graphics.

But here’s what they’re not talking about:

If you’re struggling to get enough one-to-one clients – how the hell do you think you’re going to fill a membership site?

It’s easy to get caught up in all the excitement surrounding something like this with it’s entry-level membership of let’s say $9.99. But how many members are you going to need to even break even? To pay for the membership software alone that month without even looking at your time and investment creating the damned thing.

It might be fantastic value for money and you may well be able to provide a stack of value for $9.99 – but if nobody knows who you are and nobody’s asking – where is your client base? How are you going to poach clients from bigger players?

Before you go creating a membership site (or even a one-to-many group programme) – make sure you’re fully booked out with one-to-one clients first and that you’re struggling for time to serve them all.

(*April 2021 – I’m not a fan of 1:1 work anymore – so for argument’s sake, before you think about starting a membership you need at least 2000 people on your list!)

When you’ve got a tiny list you’re not going to sell out – and when the membership is so quiet it could be mistaken for dead – your churn rate is going to be enormous.

Park it. Write it down and re-visit in 6 months. Right now you need to concentrate on growing a business with the clients you can reach right now – not hypothetical hordes waving their notes at you.

I made the mistake right at the beginning of thinking if I couldn’t get a good quantity of quality one-to-one clients I would create a membership site with a much lower price-point. Can we all say “Alex was technical-tinkering again”? Because that’s what it was… just another way I procrastinated instead of going and getting more one-to-one clients.

I did this because back then in 2013/2014 or so, Ali Brown (who is a big name in the coaching world) had a membership programme with 3 tiers – Bronze, Silver & Gold (why! how original!) – and years later I remember her saying she couldn’t get it to work. Now if someone with that size of a list – even back then – struggled to make it work – then you’ll find it easier to climb Everest without oxygen! 


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About Alex Sheach

Alex is an expert strategist with a flair for expressive writing which connects with her audience and evokes emotion.

She believes in the power of harnessing the written word and using it to demonstrate expertise, confidence and clarity when marketing online businesses.

She's anti-BS, anti-fluff and embraces grown-assed methodology for growing an online business with authentic Sales & Marketing strategies.

Nae drama!

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