Simple Strategies to Grow Your Membership Website’s Sign-Ups, Sales & Leads

Guest Presenter: Spencer Mercy 00:00:00

• Spencer Mercy from Brilliant Setups, a third-party partner in the Brilliant Directories Marketplace, has extensive experience working with business directory website owners.
• Spencer specializes in helping website owners create a holistic business plan for their directory and membership websites.

Introduction 00:01:12

• Spencer Mercy is the founder and Senior Strategist at Brilliant Setups, an agency that helps businesses with strategy, implementation, and marketing for their Brilliant Directory websites.
• Brilliant Setups offers a full range of services, including website setup, development, marketing, and ongoing support.

Case Study 00:02:05

• Cindy Pearlin created the Alternative Pain Treatment Directory, a website that provides information and resources on alternative pain treatments.
• The website educates visitors about alternative pain treatments and connects them with professionals and products in the field.
• Cindy focuses solely on alternative pain treatment and tailors her content to specific user personas.
• Curated educational content improved the website's membership.
• The text-heavy homepage is suitable for the medical alternative pain treatment market, as users seek comprehensive information.
• The initial subscription fee goal was adjusted to align with industry standards.

Strategy 1: Introducing Upsells Into Your Pricing Strategy 00:08:21

• Introduced upsells to overcome resistance to a $50-$60 monthly subscription price point for practitioners.
• Practitioners can sign up for $25/month and list their services as alternative pain treatment practitioners.
• Vendors can sign up for $25/month and list their products.
• Once practitioners and vendors are familiar with the brand and content, it becomes easier to upsell them to the $50-$60 monthly subscription.
• Many practitioners and vendors want to advertise products or services on the site, making the upsell more appealing.
• Brilliant directory owners face challenges in conveying the value of their directories.

Strategy 2: Bring Clarity on the Value Being Offered 00:09:47

• When selling a product or service, emphasize the benefits rather than just the features.
• Establish a personal connection with potential customers by introducing yourself and sharing your story.
• Highlight the advantages of your product or service on the pricing page.
• Consider offering a free membership plan or lead magnet to build a relationship with potential customers before asking them to pay.
• The goal of a buyer's journey with a free membership plan is to address their pain points and showcase the benefits they will gain by signing up.
• Use email automation or discovery calls to continue marketing to potential customers and foster a relationship with them.
• Provide paid content and opportunities for free members to engage with it to accelerate the membership upgrade process.
• Enhance the user journey and increase conversion rates by including buttons in the dashboard for additional offers or sales.
• Expedite the buying process by offering newsletters, email nurture sequences, and opportunities for potential members to book calls and interact with the website owner.

Making Sure Each Website Section Delivers Value 00:16:15

• Focus on 2-3 post types and provide a great experience for users.
• Avoid listing all the features of the website if there is not enough content to support them.
• Cindy adds an article every week based on industry trends and keywords.
• She uses moz.com to find trending topics and keywords.
• Cindy renames the community articles page to "inspiring stories" and shares positive client experiences.
• She publishes these stories every few months.

Promoting Her Members and Products 00:18:56

• Cindy promotes her members through newsletters, social media, and her massive LinkedIn following, providing valuable content and building trust.
• She creates articles and blog posts that link back to her website, enhancing user experience and search engine optimization.
• Spotlighting members through articles attracts new members and generates interest in advertising or spotlight articles on the website.
• The website has a clean and user-friendly homepage, clear pricing, and a system for promoting content that establishes the owner as an industry expert.
• The owner focuses on optimizing the buyer's journey, creating valuable content, and developing marketing strategies rather than extensive custom design work.

Conclusion 00:26:20

• Free sales video course on buyer journeys available at www.brilliantsetups.com.
• One-on-one consultation with Spencer can be booked at brilliantsetups.com/discoverycall.
• Vendors and practitioners have separate top-level categories on the website.
• The products post type was used for vendors' products.
• Pain points were identified through Cindy's expertise in the industry and understanding the challenges professionals and vendors faced.
• For those less familiar with the industry, it's recommended to research competitors and identify the problem the directory site aims to solve.
• Sydney primarily used LinkedIn, where she has a large following, to drive traffic to the site.
• SEO is a long-term strategy, and tools like moz.com can be helpful.
• Some social media marketing was done on Facebook, but LinkedIn and newsletters were more successful.