Designing for the different members you serve

Most membership sites serve more than one kind of member. A writing community might include people who have never finished a short story, people halfway through a first novel and published authors looking for peers. Each group joined for a different reason, needs different things first and is frustrated by different things. Yet many sites show every member the same home page, the same menu and the same welcome emails, and hope each person finds their own way.

Designing for different members means recognizing those groups and giving each a clear path through your site. It does not require building separate memberships. Usually it means a few well-placed choices, some clear labeling and a little thought about what each group sees first.

Identify the groups that really matter

A persona is a short, realistic description of a type of member, based on what you know about the people who actually join. The goal is not a detailed fictional biography. It is a practical summary of what someone needs and what gets in their way.

Start with evidence rather than imagination. Look at:

• Answers to any question you ask at sign-up or in a welcome survey
• The questions members ask most often by email and in the forum
• Which content different members use first
• Your own conversations with members

Look for differences that change what someone needs from your site. Age and location often matter less than experience, goals or available time. Aim for two to four personas. With more than that, you will not be able to design for them all.

A worked example: three writers

Here is how a hypothetical online writing community might describe its members:

The Starter. Has always wanted to write but has not finished anything yet. Needs confidence, short exercises and a gentle routine. Frustrated by advanced craft discussions that make them feel behind.

The Drafter. Working on a first novel and stuck in the middle. Needs structure, accountability and feedback on pages. Frustrated by beginner content they have outgrown.

The Professional. Has published and wants peers, industry knowledge and time-saving tools. Needs quick access to specific resources. Frustrated by long onboarding and anything that wastes time.

Each description fits on an index card, and each immediately suggests design decisions, which is the point.

Map a path for each persona

For each persona, sketch the first few steps you would want them to take after joining. Keep it to four or five steps:

1. Starter: welcome video, then the ten-minute daily writing prompts, then the beginners' forum, then the first short course.
2. Drafter: the novel structure course, then a critique group, then the monthly word-count challenge.
3. Professional: the resource library, then the industry briefings archive, then the professionals' discussion group.

Now compare those paths with what your site actually does. Can a Starter find the daily prompts without wading through advanced material? Does a Professional have to click through the beginner welcome sequence to reach the library? The gaps between the ideal path and the real one show you exactly what to change.

Let members tell you who they are

The simplest way to put a member on the right path is to ask. A single question, asked at the right moment, can do a great deal of work:

Where are you with your writing right now?

• I'm just getting started
• I'm working on a longer project
• I'm already published

Ask it on the welcome page or at first login rather than on the registration form, where every extra question costs sign-ups; the reasons are covered in registration forms: asking only what you need. Keep the choices short, write them in members' own words, and let members change their answer later. People move between groups, and that is a good thing: a Starter who becomes a Drafter is a success story.

Adapt what each member sees

Once you know which group a member belongs to, you can adjust their experience in small ways. Depending on what your membership platform supports, you might:

• Show a recommended starting point for each group on the member home page
• Send a different first week of welcome emails
• Label content by stage, such as “Getting started,” “Building your draft” and “Professional,” so members can filter for themselves
• Offer collections or learning paths named for each group
• Point each group to the forum area where they will find peers

The member home page is the most powerful of these, because members see it every time they log in. The ideas in making the member home page a reason to log in work even better when the home page reflects who the member is.

Where your platform cannot personalize, labeling does most of the work. Clear signposts such as “New to writing? Start here” and “Already published? Go to the professional library” let members sort themselves.

Avoid the common traps

• Designing for yourself. Owners often design for the member they most enjoy serving, or for an earlier version of themselves. Check your personas against real evidence.
• Too many paths. Four personas with four entirely separate experiences are hard to maintain. Share most of the content and differentiate the starting points.
• Labels that sting. Nobody wants to click “Beginner” if it feels like a judgment. Describe the stage or goal rather than the person.
• Setting and forgetting. Membership audiences shift. Revisit your personas whenever your content or your audience changes noticeably.

Your first steps

1. Review your sign-up answers, support emails and forum questions, and note the main differences between members.
2. Write two to four short personas, each covering needs and frustrations.
3. Sketch the ideal first five steps for each persona.
4. Walk through your site as each persona and note where the real path breaks down.
5. Add one question on the welcome page to identify each member's group.
6. Give each group a clear starting point on the member home page or a signposted page.

When members find content that fits them from the first day, they settle in faster, and a member who feels the site was built for them is far less likely to leave.