Why your best content should not be behind the paywall
Hiding your best work behind the paywall keeps search engines and prospects out. Learn what to give away, what to keep for members, and why it pays.
Membership Website Tips
Practical, in-depth advice for membership site owners: planning, content, retention, pricing, marketing, SEO, courses, community and more.
Price your membership from its value, not the competition
Stop copying competitors. Learn how to price your membership from the value it delivers, compare it with the real alternative and test it with real people.
Where your first hundred members will come from
Your first hundred members will come from people who already know you. Here is how to use personal networks, existing audiences and one-to-one outreach.
The first thirty days decide whether a member stays
The first thirty days decide whether a new member stays. Plan the first login, a week-one email and quiet check-ins that turn sign-ups into regulars.
Write for the member who joined yesterday
Keep membership content accessible to new members with plain definitions, helpful links and a start-here page for the member who joined yesterday.
Writing comparison and which-one-is-right-for-me content
Comparison and which-one-is-right-for-me content helps people make decisions and brings in search traffic. Learn how to write fair, useful comparisons.
Heatmaps and session recordings: useful or intrusive?
Heatmaps and session recordings can reveal where visitors struggle, but they raise privacy questions. Learn when they help and how to use them responsibly.
Showcase and demo days
Showcase and demo days give members a stage to present their work to the community. Choose a format, help presenters prepare and run a day people remember.
Where should an email click go?
Where should an email click go? Send members to the exact page that finishes the job, handle logins gracefully and choose links that keep working for years.
Should your price go up as your library grows?
Should your price go up as your library grows? Learn when accumulated content justifies a higher membership price, when it does not and how to decide fairly.