Episode 25: 5 Mistakes People Make When Creating a Membership Program

If you're thinking about creating a membership program, there are a few mistakes you need to avoid first. Because here's what I've seen over the years: most people don't fail because memberships don't work. They fail because of how they set them up. And if you don't catch these early, you can spend a lot of time building something that doesn't grow, doesn't retain people, and honestly becomes frustrating. So today I want to walk you through five of the most common mistakes I see so you can avoid them.

And I want you to hear this from experience. I've created membership programs that worked really well, and I've created some that didn't work the way I expected. So what I'm sharing with you today is not theory. This is what actually happens.

Mistake #1: No Clear Outcome

This is the biggest one. A lot of memberships are built around ideas like "I'm going to teach every month," or "I'll give them access to content," or "we'll have a community." But there's no clear result tied to it. And if people don't know what they're getting out of it, they won't stay. Because every single month they are asking themselves, "Is this still worth it?" And if that answer is not clear, they cancel.

People don't pay for information. They pay for transformation. So if your membership is not clearly tied to a problem and an outcome, it's going to feel optional. And optional things are the first things people cut.

Mistake #2: Not Speaking to the Right People

This is something I've taught for years. Profit equals people plus problem plus pay. And I want to slow this down for a minute because this is where a lot of memberships go wrong.

First, people. Who are you actually speaking to? And I don't mean broad categories like "entrepreneurs" or "coaches" or "women over 50." You need to be clear on who they are, what stage they're in, and what they're struggling with right now. Because if you're not clear on the people, your messaging is going to feel off. And when your messaging is off, people don't connect.

Second, problem. What is the actual problem they are trying to solve? Not what you want to teach, but what they are actively trying to fix right now. Because here's what I see all the time: people build memberships around topics instead of problems. And those are two very different things. People don't wake up saying "I need more content." They wake up saying "I need help with something specific." And if your membership is not tied to a real problem, it's going to be hard to sell.

And then the third piece, pay. Are they willing to invest in solving that problem? Just because someone has a problem does not mean they are willing to pay to solve it. Some problems are interesting, nice to know, but not urgent. And if your membership is built around that, it won't convert.

So when you look at this mistake, it's not just that you're not speaking to the right people. It's that the alignment is off. The people aren't clear, the problem isn't strong enough, or the willingness to pay isn't there. And when those three things don't line up, your membership is going to struggle no matter how good your content is.

Mistake #3: Waiting Until You Have "Enough Content"

This one stops a lot of people. They think they need to build everything first, have a full library, have months of content ready. So they delay and delay and delay. But here's the truth: you don't need more content, you need clarity.

And especially for those of you who are Monetized Authors, if you have a book, you already have content. You should be able to pull 10 to 12 topics and 10 to 12 lessons right from your book. That's your starting point. And here's something most people don't realize: your best content will come from your members. The questions they ask, the challenges they bring, that's what shapes your content over time. But you can't get that if you never launch.

Mistake #4: No Marketing Plan

This is where a lot of memberships stall out. People create the membership, launch it, talk about it for a short period of time, and then stop. And they think, "Well, it's there if people want it." But that's not how people make decisions. People need to be reminded. People need to see it multiple times. People need to understand why it matters to them.

And here's something I've learned over time: some people will watch you for years before they invest. So if you're not consistently talking about your membership, you're missing the people who are just now ready.

Mistake #5: No Structure or System Behind It

This is the one that ties everything together. Because even if you have good content, the right audience, and a great idea, without structure it falls apart. If there's no clear system for how people join, what happens after they join, how content is delivered, and how the experience flows, it creates confusion. And confusion leads to disengagement. And disengagement leads to cancellations.

Most membership problems are not content problems. They are setup problems.

So when you look at these five mistakes, you start to see a pattern. This is not about doing more, creating more, or adding more. This is about building it the right way from the start.

And if you're listening to this and thinking, "I don't want to get this wrong," then this is exactly why I created my upcoming workshop, The Membership Blueprint 2.0.

In this workshop, we're going to walk through how to structure your membership properly, how to align it with the right audience and problem, and how to build something that people actually stay in. This is not about guessing, and it's definitely not about overcomplicating it.

The workshop is happening on Tuesday, April 21st at 7 PM Eastern, and your investment is just $69. If a membership is something you are serious about creating, now is the time to get the foundation right. Because it's a lot easier to build it correctly than to fix it later. Go to DMAWorkshop.com for more information.

Memberships can absolutely work, but only when they are built with clarity, structure, and intention. So don't rush the process, get the foundation right, and I'll see you in the workshop.