163: Nurturing Members After A Launch: Essential Engagement Tips

Welcome back to the Professional Creative Podcast. I'm Bonnie and in today's episode, we're diving into the heart of member or student engagement and why it's crucial for the success of your creative business. In this episode, I'm excited to share with you my favorite retention techniques and strategies for really nurturing your students and your members.

I'm Bonnie Christine and this is where all things creativity, design, business and marketing. I'm a mama living in a tiny town tucked right inside the Smoky Mountains, running a multi seven figure business, doing

the most creative and impactful work of my life. But when I first set out to

become an entrepreneur, I was struggling to make ends meet and wrestling with how to accomplish my biggest dream of becoming a fabric designer. Fast forward to today. I'm not only licensing my artwork all over the world, but also teaching others how to design their creative life and experience the same success. I'm here to help you spend your life doing something that lights you up. I'll help you build a creative business that also creates an impact, changes people's lives, gives you all of the freedom you want, and is wildly profitable. Welcome to the Professional Creative Podcast.

So imagine this. You've just launched your latest course or class or membership, and you can feel the excitement in the air. And then it's like, well, what happens next? How do you keep that momentum going and ensure that your students stay engaged and happy long after the launch is over? You know, we've probably all been there. You launch an incredible course or membership, and initially everyone is just incredibly focused and excited. But then as time goes on, right, it's just kind of natural that engagement will start to wane. And it can be frustrating as the owner of the product to see kind of engagement fall off. Because if you're like me, there's nothing that you want more than for your students or your members to find success. And the best way to find success is to really show up and engage with what you're teaching or sharing inside your program. So you pour your heart into the content and then you know the value of what you have to offer. And yet, keeping members engaged and really participating in what you're doing can kind of feel like a treadmill that's just slowly getting slower and slower. So I remember back in the early days, so I've had my membership since 2012, which means, yeah, this is its 14th year. That's amazing. So I launched my membership back in 2012, and I do remember at the beginning it just seemed to be a bit of a treadmill. Right. I was kind of on a content treadmill and then I was also kind of on a treadmill to try to keep people engaged and keep them coming back to really dive into the content week over week. So it's like this initial excitement and then it feels like a little bit of an uphill battle and oftentimes it can leave you feeling a little bit discouraged. So that's what we're going to talk about today and how to really keep people engaged. So today my membership looks completely different. Picture a thriving, super engaged community where our members feel really valued and they're excited to be a part of a community that was specifically designed for them. So not only are they recommitting year after year, but they're also building last connections and expanding what they know, learning more things all the time, receiving support and seeing their goals come to life. So let's go back to 2012 when I launched my membership. Now it was under a different name, but I launched it in a blog post to my blog readers for $5 a month. And really I promised nothing specific except for some kind of weekly content delivered via email. And, and it was things like, I don't know, everything from recipes and clip art to printable greeting cards and Adobe Illustrator tutorials. And so that was delivered every single week. And I brought in 200 people the weekend that I opened the doors to the membership, some of which are still around today. And part of what I do with my membership is I lock people in to the price that they start paying when they, when they join. So I still have some members paying for the membership at $5 a month. They're the actual original members. It's so fun to see them. So with the introduction of this membership into my business came something called mrr. Now that stands for Monthly recurring revenue. And this was something that I had never, ever had before. And let me tell you, it was life changing. It was the first time as a creative that I had any kind of predictability to my business. But it wasn't long before my retention rate started to kind of look like mountains. If you imagine mountains on a graph paper, right, there are big peaks and big valleys. So every time we would promote it, I would have this big peak and then it would just kind of take itself down to a valley until we launched again and we would have this big peak. Now that's not ideal. What you really want is more of a staircase graph, not so much a mountain and valley graph, but that was what mine looked like for many years. So there were these High peaks and low valleys. And that's because member engagement was really severely lacking. I had no trouble kind of getting members in, but I struggled to keep them in once they were there. And a lot of that had to do with just, you know, building the membership that they would want to come, keep coming back to over and over and again. So of course this was disheartening. I questioned my content, I questioned my approach, I questioned my ability to even continue successfully. But once I learned the strategies for how to nurture my members, they not only brought back the disengaged members, but it also boosted kind of overall satisfaction and value. So this gave members a reason to stay and come back over and over. Today I'm going to share all of those strategies with you. Now I'm going to probably say the word members a lot because we use this in my membership, but it would also pertain to any type of product or program that you have people coming in, whether it's a course or a class or some kind of offer. So since I began implementing these Strategies back in 2019, our retention rate has drastically improved. We went from struggling to keep members engaged to now maintaining an incredible 96% plus retention rate. And it gets even better. Our retention rate has steadily increased over the years and is reaching an average of 97 to 98% for 2024 so far. So this just goes to show that when you truly invest in your members experience and contin nurture your community, the results will speak for themselves. Now, before I get into the framework, I've got to say something really special happened in 2019 and that's the fact that I took the membership experience by Stu McLaren. So a lot of what I'm sharing here with you are things that I learned and tested ourselves through the membership experience. If you have a membership or you're thinking about a membership, this course, there's just nothing like it. Stu McLaren is incredible. And my membership literally did a 180. It's like before TME, the membership experience and after TME. So retention strategies was a large part of what we walked away with that experience with. How do we keep members happy and engaged? So let's take a look at the framework. The first step would be to really look at your onboarding. Now onboarding is a process for welcoming and acclimating your members into your community when they join. So while you might not have given kind of much thought to this aspect of your membership or onboarding, onboarding done well can be a really powerful engagement and really retention strategy. So in my membership we used to not really do anything. We just figured people would come in and figure it out. But today we have a super robust focus on onboarding. So when our members first enroll, they receive an automated welco almost nurture sequence of emails that are delivered within the first week of joining. This sequence not only introduces them to the membership and what it has to offer, but it shows them exactly how to best use the membership for whatever stage they're in. So we have six different stages that you might identify being in if you join the membership. So once you know what stage you're in, you're gonna be shown exactly how to focus your attention and avoid kind of the overwhelm of seeing all the at once that you might have unless you knew. It's almost like a direct path for where you're at and how to come in and start taking action. We also have a gentle hand holding approach to onboarding. We really take care of our members in every way we can think of, which includes an entire module of membership content that's based on building that solid foundation. In fact, we call it our foundations module. So as well as a video tutorial and tour of the whole platform itself and the community, we just make sure that everyone knows how to get the most use out of the platform and the features that we offer. So it might sound like a lot, but think of it as really giving them an incredible roadmap. Getting off to the right start with the most efficient route and all of those best stops to make it along the way. Are you a creator who's been thinking about sharing what you know through teaching? If so, I'd love to invite you to join me in Amy Porterfield's exclusive bootcamp where you'll learn how to create your very own digital course. No need for any ideas to start with, any experience or even an audience. Amy's got you covered. Amy has successfully launched eight digital courses, each generating millions in revenue. She's not just a pro, she's also one of the kindest and clearest teachers you'll ever meet. In this bootcamp, you'll work on your idea alongside an incredibly supportive community of like minded individuals who are eager to explore online education as a way to really escape the 9 to 5 grind and break free from the Time for Money model or one to one services. I'll be there too, sharing my own insights all along the way. Here's what you'll get inside the bootcamp ideas on what to teach in your own digital course. Even if you're Starting from scratch, insights into pricing with examples from industries of all kinds of guidance on structuring your course content for the biggest impact and strategies to start building an audience right now so they're ready to enroll when you're ready to launch all of this for just $47. I honestly can't believe it. It's such an incredible opportunity. If you're in on digital courses or even if you're just a little bit curious, head over to BonnieCristine.com Amy to learn more. Plus, when you sign up, I've got an incredible bonus for you. I've developed a six month pre launch roadmap. It's exactly what we do before we go into our very own course launch and it is gold. It is so valuable and it's yours if you come join us for the Bootcamp. So go ahead and visit bonniecristine.com Amy and I'll see you inside the Boot Camp. Now the second step would be to talk about putting processes in place for highlighting and recognizing members. We all love a good shout out, right? Especially for those who have reached big milestones and have had a really big win. We believe in the power of celebrating all sizes of wins, small, medium and large. So in my membership it's called Flourish. We do this in many different ways. We've, we've been really blown away by what an impact it makes for our members. We recognize our members through badges in our community, so we use Circle and we can badge people based on accomplishments that they have. Members can get badged for all sorts of reasons, but a few of them are fun, like the Humor Bloomers. So for someone whose sense of humor has shined through and made us laugh that month, we have one called the Research Rose, and that one is for a member who has just taken a lot of time and care in researching a topic. We have one called Kindred Creator, so that's for someone who has been extra helpful and kind to another member. We also feature our members on our dedicated Instagram page for students and members. That one is called We Are Surface Pattern Design and we have multiple weekly and monthly threads inside our community where members are invited to share their wins and celebrate whatever they're up to. So we also feature member shout outs in our weekly newsletter as well as our quarterly newsletter. So every week we send a newsletter with what's happening in the membership and that week's content. And then every quarter we do a bit of a more robust newsletter. It's almost like an E magazine that has that upcoming quarter's syllabus and we do lots of shout outs in there as well. So the point is that when you highlight your members achievements, you're not just acknowledging their hard work, but you're also inspiring others to stay engaged as well. They see other people having success and thus stay inspired to keep at it as well. We found that it just creates this positive cycle of motivation and recognition. And also it's so incredibly fun for me and the team to just see the progress that our members are making. Now, step number three would be about the power of allowing your members to contribute to content through regular surveys. Meaning this goes back to what I say all the time. You don't have to wonder what your content is going to be or what you should be teaching next. All you have to do is ask. So we're a big believer of consistently and frequently surveying our members and getting their feedback on where they're at and what they want to learn next. And then we use that data to build out our curriculum and our content for the, you know, upcoming year. So surveys gather super valuable feedback. They also really build a bridge of communication between you and your members. By regularly asking for their input, you're showing them that you're committed to their growth, that you're interested in where they're at and what they want to learn next. So it's like joining a membership that is truly tailored to your interests and your growth. So as you create content shaped from what your members want and need, they'll see their feedback being implemented and thus feel more connected to the community and learn what they really need to learn next. Now the next step number four, I want to touch on how communication can be a powerful engagement strategy in itself. And by communication, I mean updates and teasers and connection that happens on a consistent and reliable basis. Regular communication, whether it's a weekly newsletter or a surprise announcement or popping into the community, it really ensures that your members are always informed about what's coming out, the newest, what's coming up in the events section, and any kind of important community news that you might have. So this consistency has really been key to maintaining high retention rates. I always feel like I want the membership to feel like it's a living, breathing offer and product and space to be in. There's always something new when you log in. There's always updates to see, there's always announcements to see. And we work really hard to keep members informed every step of the way. Now you can also use regular communication really as a way of teasing, like upcoming content. So by Giving your members a sneak peek of what's coming up, you're building anticipation and excitement and giving them a reason to stay right. It's like giving them that movie trailer or a sneak peek which keeps them coming back and looking forward to what's coming up inside your product. Lastly, we utilize regular communication through our community. We have a team of industry experts, we call them the Love Squad inside our membership and they're there to engage with, support and encourage our members every step of the way. Now, our Love Squad love what they do and they're gifted in serving and supporting in this way. And because of their efforts, every comment and question that is asked or posted inside our membership is answered by someone on the team. So our experts also provide ongoing accountability for our members, making sure they stay engaged and committed to their goals as well. We do that through a monthly accountability thread where if you want to be held accountable for something, you come into the membership and you comment on that post and someone from the Love Squad, our expert team will dedicate themselves to coming back and checking in with you on your progress every week for the entire month. So it's a really cool way to just have someone there working with you. Now the last step is number five and here is where I want to talk about the power of implementing member perks. Specifically, something we've recently introduced is one on one consultant support and one on one portfolio reviews. Now the introduction of this consulting program was really born out of the need that our members were asking for up leveled guidance. They were looking for a one on one the opportunity to get one person to come look at their portfolio or help them with Adobe Illustrator or just be a listening ear that can help guide them. So we listened and we took four of our top tier experts and graduated them into what we call a consultant. So now members have the ability to meet with any of our consultants one on one and receive customized high level guidance from an expert that they can also receive kind of immediate feedback on their work from a professional. That is really amazing. It's a perk because you have to be a member in order to book with one of the consultants. So these sessions are paid but they are private for members. So members can also pay to receive a dedicated portfolio review by one of our consultants. This is the kind of thing that I would have done anything for when I was in that building my portfolio, you know, phase. So it's something that they can't get anywhere else. And the introduction of consultant access has been such an incredible asset for our members. So now More than ever, they just have really everything that they need at their fingertips to get the support that they need. So kind of a common mistake I see is that so many times people feel like once someone joins the product that you have, let's say a membership, that the work is done. But the truth is member engagement is an ongoing long term process. Your work has really only just begun. So I want to shift the mindset around that. I want you to think of member retention as nurturing. A garden, like an abundant, thriving garden, receives regular care. It needs to be watered and the weeds need to be pulled and it needs consistent sunshine. And that's what your membership is. But in saying this, it might spark kind of the opposite concern. Like all that ongoing process of keeping members engaged might feel like a treadmill. Like I mentioned at the beginning of the episode. I understand that as well, but that does not have to be the case, so. Not if you utilize planning and regularly scheduled content that can be pre scheduled engagement posts, emails and updates. There is so much that you can do to plan ahead and make sure that you're engaging members feels really doable and impactful for them. You know, I did have many years where I would wake up on the day that content was going out and figure it out that day. And you don't need to do that. Please don't do that now. We work way ahead. We work more than a quarter ahead and something that just feels really good is sitting down to map out even an entire year's worth of content. Not that you have to stick to it strictly, but at least you'll know that you have an idea, you have ideas to pull from and you're never going to feel like you don't know what you're going to send out. So we've covered so much today. I love talking about the importance of member engagement and I'm so excited that you'll have this kind of suite of strategies for nurturing your own members. Remember, it's really, really about building relationships, connection, providing value and nurturing your community. Now it's your turn. Take one of these strategies and implement it in your membership or your program. This week, share your success with us. I would love to hear from you. Maybe over on Instagram. I'm just. Onni Christine. My friends create the beauty that you want to see come alive in the world. And remember, there's room for you. Sam.