Terms

It's common to discuss acquisition as an essential element of any business strategy. However, Michael Gillespie, who leads Customer Success here at , has observed an important but overlooked element of membership business, which happens immediately after acquisition: onboarding.

"A lot of folks focus on the sale of the membership. But once the sale happens then the difficult portion commences!" says Michael. The first encounters with the new member are crucial for membership due to the aspect of interaction with a human that you aren't likely to see in other sectors.

What is it that you mean by be able to successfully board someone? "Onboarding is a term that may pertain to your membership. It could be something which triggers a specific action, such as the sending of a welcome message - but certain members may stop there," Michael explains. However, he feels that it is designed to establish expectations: it let a member be aware of the benefits gained from joining your community - not just immediately but in the coming months.

"Onboarding generally is a passive experience that fails to create a roadmap for the members" Michael adds. The best way to approach it is by assuming that when you first contact with your community the member is clueless regarding what they should do. Lack of knowledge creates obstacles that hinder the new member from engaging members in the manner they want to.

The typical onboarding process

"In the average member, I enroll someone and then send them an invitation email, they receive between three and five hyperlinks to the content I would like for them to read, then I'm done" Michael says. "Members feel overwhelmed or underserved."

Members who don't receive an onboarding roadmap will rarely take part in the process and are often left to churn. On the other hand members who understand the actions to take remain invested. "It's important to create an atmosphere of commitment among the new member," Michael says. "Tell your new members about the direction you're taking them on the membership journey."

"If you're a podcaster Do you wish for someone to engage with the particular podcast? Would you like users to interact with another type of media? If you're not able to explain to your members the direction you're taking them, and more importantly why you're taking them there, then they'll make an effort to navigate through the members with zero intent," he explains.

If you're a producer, your onboarding might encourage people to engage with a specific episode

This is the only event which causes the bulk of churn in the early stage of membership. "You've been given an time of just one day. Are there any actions you want your member to perform? Work out what you need to get out of the process and what you will do to create a system so that you provide an enjoyable experience to every member," he adds.

Removing barriers for the ideal onboarding experience

When designing your onboarding process first, you must consider the desired outcome. "Do you wish for a new member who is upgrading to a level with additional benefits? Or maybe you have onboarded as a monthly customer, but you're looking to change into a yearly membership?" Michael asks.

This output could also include completing a class or read a particular article. "Most individuals in the process of starting their journey, don't lay out intended outputs," he adds. "Make an outline of one and three intended outputs. Think about 'What is the biggest obstacle that could hinder the realization of those outputs?' - There are always obstacles to people engaging with your membership."

The barriers could be time, price, competition as well as a mix of the three. "Folks only have a limited amount of time. We're busy people; we are constantly distracted," Michael explains. "Is there a limit on price in the case of upgrades? In the event that you have a comparable product on the market, what's making this member choose the membership instead of another?"

The lack of knowledge can be a obstacle. "Members do not usually get educated on 'where they need to be' within the organization. What's the purpose? What do they hope to be in the next period of time?" Michael asks. "The faster members can grasp the benefits, the faster they'll be able to buy in and help you achieve the results you're looking for." Early engagement can help. One option for onboarding is to ask members to respond to an welcome email with information such as any issues they're experiencing.

Be transparent: tell them what you would like to get out of the onboarding process and also what advantages they'll receive if they choose to participate. "Don't worry about not letting members know what your intent is. People who are in keen understanding of what you are trying to accomplish will be able to take action whenever you require them to. The members who are aware of your intentions will be around for the longest amount of time," Michael smiles.

Welcome videos

The welcome emails are easy and efficient onboarding tools. many new members are expecting an email immediately when they sign up. We think that you can go one better: "You have a small chance to impress your member," says Michael. "Memberships which include a welcome video in their initial onboarding experience have a 50% lower churn rate in the first two months of joining."

A welcome video humanizes your membership. "One of the biggest possibilities in the current state of the world of membership is interaction with humans," says Michael. "Automation and AI-generated content is fantastic, but membership offers the added benefit of having a personal aspect to it. If there's a gap in what consumers believe they're lacking today in membership products, it's human interaction."

Jay Klaus from Creator Science provides a wonderful onboarding video "In the welcome email he sends to new employees the company includes a video that will be welcoming you. He gives you the reason the way he's working and then lays out the things you can expect to see during the next 6 months," Michael explains.

CVX7fG7wFAWbYtUj6dIn Jay Klaus from Creator Science provides a wonderful video of the onboarding process.

It is an excellent way to ignite engagement during the early stages of beginning the process of onboarding. In the case of video content, the percentage of clicks with video content is seventeen times greater than hyperlink texts. "Put front and center whatever you're trying to accomplish, and humanize the message you're sending for your audience. Build it once, deliver it a million times," he adds.

Roadmaps

An onboarding email needs to contain a road map. Set expectation: where do members access benefits? Do they have a timetable of these benefits, maybe every week? What is the best place to find these benefits? Do they require to access their email account? Are they required to sign into their account?

"This can be a glaringly ignored aspect of membership but informing your members exactly what's being offered is essential in capping churn rate during the initial 2 weeks," Michael explains. "Members shouldn't be left to make decisions independently."

We've seen a lot of them in recent times. "The welcome email contains links to lots of great material, but the members become confused. If that's the case it's either a member who's not engaged or with someone who's lost and won't make an effort to check out your website to learn more about the subject," the author continues.

You cannot put too much details in front of the user with regards to an outline. It's easy to assume members know how to consume your material, however it's more secure to think a member knows absolutely nothing. "Explicitly lay out everything for your members as you'll notice a decrease in churn," Michael adds.

Upsells

Most people don't think about selling immediately upon signing up as a new customer. However, when it's done correctly, upselling is an extremely effective element of onboarding. It are able to secure significantly more revenue.

Michael has noticed that new members are most likely to react to offers within the first 24hrs to one week after purchasing an account. "It's much easier to convert a member within the first couple of days since they already have the necessary background information regarding the membership. They're already 'one foot in'," the author explains.

Offers for upsells within onboarding are given a different positioning than those that you have on your site. Typically these offers don't even show on your website - they're reserved to be used for onboarding. "Once an individual is enrolled an active member and feels like they are part of an organization. They are an excellent way to provide them with a better experience through additional benefits," he states.

"Let's imagine you've got an e-newsletter that costs $6 per month, and you offer a subscriber the chance to upgrade to a yearly option which offers more value for an incrementally smaller price per month. Members that are educated enough during onboarding are more likely to opt for an additional subscription. There are typically conversion rates of 30 to 40% for these offers," Michael reports.

Additionally, they get the entire year to enjoy your contents. If members take advantage of such offers their lifetime value for those members is between four and five times greater than that of the member who wasn't responsive to the offer.

"Think about deepening the experience of your members. It could be with other benefits you could make an exclusive membership plan," Michael adds. "Every membership includes a section of members that are extremely active, and they tend to be the ones most likely to buy an offer in the initial days. But you have to put the offer in front of them."

The text in your welcome email could say something like: 'This week only, we're making an opportunity for new members to buy an exclusive pass. You'll receive three personalized membership coaching calls per month throughout the year.' There are two aspects to the offer: it's limited, with specific dates for the day it will expire; and it includes a significant savings.

The possibility of upselling reduces the likelihood of near-term churn. "Members who sign up for the 60% off the cost of the cost of a year's membership in the first week after joining will be 80% more likely to remain members two years after now," Michael reports. "The upgrade must increase incrementally in cost. But statistically those members who sign up for the upgrade are loyal members for a long time, which means more revenue to your business."

The upsell conversion rates for the onboarding program are 7 to 10 times more than for first-time purchases. "If you have a 3 percentage conversion rate on your current membership, when you have these people in the program, you may expect a 30% per cent conversion," Michael explains. If you have an upsell during the onboarding process, your members can earn five times more revenue for your membership on average as compared to those who do not get the benefit of an upsell.

Pricing

In terms of pricing We would suggest not exceeding 50% with regard to the difference in increments.

"For example, I'm a annual participant. I've joined for 50 dollars per year. I'm greeted with an upsell offer that includes access to four or five different items for just $75 per year. This is a jump of 50% however, it's a 50% increase in money you've earned already from this customer within the first year," Michael explains. Within the next couple of years of membership, that member is going to generate up to seven times the revenues.

"Think about how you could add to the existing benefits to provide a more satisfying experience. Upsells that convert well will generate amazing amounts of revenue that are otherwise money left to be spent. There are always members in your group who have a desire for deeper experiences," Michael concludes.

The best part about selling upsells is the fact that it permits you to immediately find those people at the right moment and then extract the value. The upsell will continue to hold this value for the next months and years if that member does choose to convert.

We hope that this will help to improve your approach to onboarding. Feel free to reach out on social media if you have any concerns. Best of luck!