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Acquisition is often discussed as a crucial part of any business strategy. But Michael Gillespie, who leads Customer Success here at , has observed an important but under-appreciated aspect of the membership that happens just after the acquisition: onboarding.

"A large portion of members are focused on the selling of the membership. But after the sale has been made, that's when the hard portion starts!" says Michael. Those first interactions with the new member are crucial for membership since it involves an aspect of interaction with a human that you might not see in other industries.

What exactly does it mean to get someone aboard successfully? "Onboarding could be different to your membership. This could be a factor that drives a particular action, such as a welcome email - and certain members may quit there," Michael explains. But he believes the purpose of onboarding is to establish expectation: it lets a member understand the benefits they will gain by joining the community, not just immediately but in the months to come.

"Onboarding generally is a passive experience that fails to provide a clear path for the members" Michael adds. It's better to assume that when you first touchpoint with your community that your members are clueless about how to proceed. Insufficient information can create barriers that prevent new members from engaging with members in the manner you want.

Typical onboarding sequences

"In an average membership, I sign someone up by sending them an invitation email which includes between three and five links to content I want them to engage with, and then I'm done" Michael says. "Members feel overwhelmed or underserved."

The members who do not receive an onboarding guideline will not take part in the process and are often left to churn. But, members who know what actions to make will remain engaged. "It's crucial to establish the impression of a commitment from the new member," Michael says. "Tell your new members about the direction you're going to take them on your membership journey."

"If you're a creator of podcasts, do you want someone to engage with one particular show? Do you want users to interact with another type of media? If you're not explaining to members where you're taking them, and more importantly why you're taking them, they're going to be making their way through the membership in a vacuum," he explains.

CVX7fG7wFAWbYtUj6dIn For those who are podcaster and your onboarding may motivate people to participate in the particular episode

This is the only event that drives the majority of churn in the early stages of membership. "You've had a window of possibility of up to one day. Is there an action you want your member to take? Find out what you require from onboarding, and then how you engineer a process to ensure you offer the right experience for each customer," he adds.

Remove barriers to ensure the perfect journey

When designing your onboarding process first, you must consider the desired outcome. "Do you wish for a new member to move up to a higher tier that offers more advantages? Or maybe you have onboarded a monthly member, and you want to change the member to a annual one?" Michael asks.

It could be to complete a course or read a specific article. "Most people aren't sure what they want to accomplish when beginning their onboarding process, do not lay out intended outputs," he adds. "Make the list with between three and one expected outputs. Think about 'What are the barriers that may hinder the realization of these outputs?' there are always barriers to people engaging with your membership."

The barriers could be time, price, competition and competition, or all three. "Folks are limited in their period of time. They're very busy; they have many distractions" Michael explains. "Is there a limit on price when it comes to upgrades? In the event that there's an equivalent product available in the market, what is it that makes this member choose your membership over the other?"

Even knowledge could be a obstacle. "Members are often not educated on 'where they need to be' in the organization. What's the objective? Where would they like to be after a calendar year?" Michael asks. "The quicker members understand what's in it for them, the more quickly they'll be able to buy in and drive the output you want." Early engagement can help. One option for onboarding is to ask members to respond to an email welcoming them, with information such as any difficulties they're having.

Transparency: inform the members what you expect from the onboarding process - and what benefits they will get if they decide to take the initiative. "Don't be afraid to let the members of your organization know your intentions. People who are in good understanding of your intentions will take action whenever you require them to. These members are going to stay around for the longest time." Michael smiles.

Welcome videos

The welcome emails are easy and effective onboarding tools; the majority of new members expect the email to arrive shortly when they sign up. However, we believe it's possible to go further: "You have a small chance to wow that person who is a member," says Michael. "Memberships that include the video of welcome during initial onboarding experience have a 50% reduction in churn rates during the first two months of joining."

The welcome video will make you feel more human in your membership. "One of the greatest opportunities right now in membership is human interaction," says Michael. "Automation and AI-generated content are excellent, however membership comes with the added benefit of having a personal aspect of it. There is an inconsistency between what members feel they're missing today within membership products, it's human contact."

Jay Klaus from Creator Science offers a fantastic introduction video "In his welcome email, he puts a video and he will be welcoming you. He tells you why the way he's working, and he lays out the things you can expect to see during the next six months." Michael explains.

CVX7fG7wFAWbYtUj6dIn Jay Klaus from Creator Science has a great video of the onboarding process.

It is an excellent way to ignite engagement during the early stages of onboarding. For video, the engagement rate in an email with video content is seventeen times higher on average than hyperlink texts. "Put your message in the forefront, regardless of what you're trying to convey, and humanize the message you're sending to your target audience. Make it one time, and then present it many times over," he adds.

Roadmaps

An onboarding email needs to contain a road map. Establish expectations: how do the members gain access to benefits? Do they have a timetable for those benefits, perhaps every week? Where do they find those benefits - do they need to open their email inbox? Do they need to log in?

"This is an easily ignored aspect of membership however, letting members know exactly what's being offered is crucial to limit the rate of churn within the first two weeks," Michael explains. "Members aren't supposed to figure anything out by themselves."

There have been plenty of instances in recent times. "The initial email that you send out contains hyperlinks to a variety of fantastic content, but members get lost. In the event of this you'll end up having a member who's not engaged, or you end up with a member who's confused and isn't willing to put in an effort to check out your website to learn more about the subject," he continues.

It's not possible to put too much information in front of a member when it comes to a roadmap. It's easy to assume people know how to use the content, but it's better to believe that a user knows absolutely nothing. "Explicitly provide everything to your users as you'll notice a less frequent churning rate," Michael adds.

Upsells

Most people don't think about selling immediately upon signing up a new member. If done properly, it can be a significant part of onboarding and you will see a significant increase in revenue.

Michael has noted that newly-enrolled members are the most likely to respond to upsells within the first 24 hours to one week after purchasing a membership. "It's much easier to convert members within the first few days because they've got all the context around the membership. Already, they're 'one foot in'" He states.

Upsell offers within onboarding have a different positioning than those on your website. They typically don't show on your website - they are reserved to be used for onboarding. "Once someone is part of your program, they feel a part of some kind of. Upsells are a great way to offer them a more enjoyable experience through additional benefits," he adds.

"Let's say you have an e-newsletter that costs $6 per month, and you give someone the opportunity to upgrade to a year-long option which offers more value for the same price, but for a month-long basis. People who have been educated during onboarding are more likely to buy an upgrade on their annual subscription. We typically see conversion rates between 30 and 40% for these offers," Michael reports.

Furthermore, these members get all year to enjoy the content you provide. For members who take advantage of these kinds of deals their lifetime value for those members is about four or five times more than the member who wasn't responsive to the offer.

"Think about how you can enhance your experience as a member. You could do this by adding additional benefits that you can make an exclusive membership plan," Michael adds. "Every membership has a segment of customers who are active, and they will be more likely to convert on an offer in the initial times. But you have to put your offer in front of them."

The message in the welcome email you receive could read something like: 'This week, only, we're offering an opportunity for new members to purchase a VIP membership. It will include three individual membership coaching calls per month for an entire year. There are two aspects to the offer: it's limited, with a clear date of when it's due to expire, and it includes a significant savings.

Increased sales reduce the chance of churn in the near future. "Members who lock in, for example, 60% off the cost of an annual membership in the first week after joining will be 80% more likely to remain members two years after now," Michael reports. "The upsell only has to be incrementally higher in price. But statistically those members who upgrade will remain loyal members for a long time, which will mean more income to your business."

The rates for upsells within the onboarding series can be 7 to 10 times more than first-time purchases. "If you're able to achieve a three percent conversion rate for the regular membership, after you get these folks into your membership, you could expect a 30% conversion rate," Michael explains. When you offer upsells at initial onboarding, new members generate five times more money for your membership over those who don't convert on the upsell.

Pricing

From a pricing standpoint We would suggest that you do not exceed 50% when it comes to the difference in increments.

"For example, I'm currently a annual member. I've signed up for $50 a year. I'm presented with an upsell offering that offers access to a variety of products for $75 per year. This is a jump of 50% but it's also 50% more income you've already earned from the customer during the initial year," Michael explains. Over the next few years of membership, that member is going to generate five to seven times more revenue.

"Think about the ways you can add to the existing benefits for a better experience. Upsells that convert well will result in a huge amount of income which would otherwise be left to be spent. You will have members in your membership that have a desire for deeper experiences," Michael concludes.

The best part about selling upsells is that it allows the user to instantly locate those folks at the opportune date and take that benefit. The upsell will continue to hold this value for the next years, if this customer decides to make the switch.

We hope this helps you with your onboarding strategies. Feel free to reach out on social media if you have any concerns. Best of luck!