Membership Geeks Podcast with Mike Morrison

Membership Geeks
  • 4.9 (152)
  • Marketing
  • Updated Weekly

Join Mike Morrison - founder of the Membership Geeks - for advice, tips and insight on planning, running and growing a successful membership website plus interviews with existing membership owners and industry experts.

  1. 6d ago

    What’s The End Goal For Your Membership Business?

    Back in 2025, we ran our second ever live conference, Retain Live, and my closing keynote there was called Scalable Strategy. It's all about the things that take a membership beyond just a marketing or retention strategy into a genuine long-term plan. This episode is part one of that talk. It tackles a question most membership owners have never actually sat down and answered: what are you building, and why? We get zoomed into launch goals, then revenue goals, then member count goals, and the bigger picture rarely gets a look in. If you've hit a growth plateau, or you just have that nagging feeling you're working hard without working towards anything in particular, this episode is for you. In this episode:Why the tactics that got your membership to where it is now will eventually stop workingWhat's really behind most membership growth plateaus (it's rarely what you think)Why fear of change is the thing quietly keeping you stuckHow to figure out whether you're building an empire or a lifestyle business, and why that distinction mattersThe four exits every membership owner will eventually face, whether or not you ever plan to sell Want a guided way to actually work through your own end goal? Grab the free Define Your End Goal Planner, walking you through where you sit on the empire-to-lifestyle spectrum, what "done" looks like for you, and which of the four exits you're working towards. And if you'd like a wider view of where the gaps in your membership business actually are, our free Membership Healthcheck is built for exactly that. Key Quotes & Takeaways:"What got you here will not get you there. If you want to get to that next level, it's going to call for a different approach." "The audience stops growing and eventually the well runs dry, because every sale you get from an audience that isn't growing is increasing the ratio of non-buyers and never-buyers on your list." "You're not less of an entrepreneur if you just want to create an amazing lifestyle. You just need to be asking yourself this question, finding clarity around where this ends." "It's not one huge cataclysmic exit event. For memberships, it's more like four exits." You might also find useful:Setting Goals For Your Membership Business: A Practical ProcessWhy Your Membership Signups Have Slowed DownHow to Handle Shutting Down Your Membership WebsiteThe 3 Pillars of Exponential Membership Growth Thank You For ListeningWe really appreciate you choosing to listen to us and for supporting the podcast. We would be eternally grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show. They're extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and we read each and every one personally! Finally, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast to make sure that you never miss an episode.

    What’s The End Goal For Your Membership Business?

  2. Sep 15

    Five Things High Performing Membership Owners Do Differently

    This episode isn't about your membership. It's about you, the person running it. You could have the best content, the smartest retention strategy, and the tightest community in the industry, and none of it matters if the person at the helm is stretched too thin, winging it, or quietly burning out. I've spent years watching who lasts in this industry and who burns brightly for a year or two and then disappears. It always comes down to the same five things, and none of them require any kind of special talent. This is for you if you've ever wondered whether you're working on the right things, or you're starting to feel that first flicker of dread before a live call. In this episode:Why knowing a handful of key numbers beats "flying blind" or drowning in data you never act onHow vague goals like "grow the membership" quietly guarantee they never happenThe difference between busywork and the work that actually moves your membership forwardThe specific mindset gremlins (perfectionism, imposter syndrome, comparisonitis) that derail even experienced ownersThe early warning signs of burnout, and why ignoring them puts your entire membership at risk Want a guided way to catch your own burnout warning signs before they take you out? Grab the free Banishing Burnout Workbook. It walks you through spotting your personal early indicators, auditing where your week actually goes, and setting two boundaries you can start this month. And if you'd like a wider view of where the gaps in your membership business actually are, our free Membership Healthcheck is built for exactly that. Key Quotes & Takeaways:"When you don't know your numbers, every decision becomes guesswork." "Nobody wins if you lose." "A burnt-out founder can't run a membership, and a membership without its founder will quickly fall apart." "They know that self-care, that looking after yourself, isn't a luxury. It's a strategy." You might also find useful:Avoiding Burnout When Running A Membership Site9 Non-Negotiable Traits of Thriving Membership OwnersTime Management I Use to be a Productive Membership OwnerKPI's Every Membership Site Owner Should Be Measuring Thank You For ListeningWe really appreciate you choosing to listen to us and for supporting the podcast. We would be eternally grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show. They're extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and we read each and every one personally! Finally, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast to make sure that you never miss an episode.

    Five Things High Performing Membership Owners Do Differently

  3. Sep 8

    Ask Mike: Should I Onboard Trial Members Differently?

    Every month inside Membership Academy, I run a live Q&A where members bring me their toughest questions. One that keeps coming back around is this: should you onboard trial members differently to your regular paying members? Most people either run one blanket onboarding sequence for everyone, or assume trial members need something completely different. Neither is quite right. The answer comes down to a concept I call the off-ramp, and once you understand how your trial length lines up (or doesn't) with your natural off-ramps, the right approach becomes obvious. In this episode:Should your trial onboarding be the same as your regular onboarding, or different?What is an "off-ramp," and why does it decide how you should structure your trial sequence?How does a 2-week trial change your approach compared to a 1-month trial?How do you detect (and nudge) trial members who haven't actually used their trial?What's the case for letting trial members skip the trial altogether? Want a simple way to check your own trial onboarding against this? Grab the free Trial Onboarding Timing Map at membershipgeeks.com/490. It maps out exactly what should change based on your trial length, plus ready-to-adapt nudge and upgrade prompts. And if you want a wider view of where the gaps in your membership strategy actually are, our free Membership Healthcheck will show you in about two minutes. Key Quotes & Takeaways:"There are some natural off-ramps within the member journey where people are more prone, more likely, more at risk of leaving your membership." "If someone signed up for a trial, there's less impetus for them to actually use what they've signed up for than if they'd paid for it." "Assuming your membership is as awesome as it should be, all you need to do is you get people using the membership, you get them getting results, you get them consuming your content, then that's going to make it far more likely they'll stay than if they've not used it." "When somebody joins on a trial basis, they are not entering with the same expectations, with the same commitment level, with the same intent and purpose to someone who would be joining as a regular member. They are not the same, and therefore your onboarding should reflect that." You might also find useful:Advanced Tips and Tactics for Offering a Membership TrialShould Membership Trial Periods be Free or Paid?5 Things to Include in Your Member Onboarding SequenceWhy you need a solid member onboarding process Thank You For ListeningWe really appreciate you choosing to listen to us and for supporting the podcast. We would be eternally grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show. They're extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and we read each and every one personally! Finally, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast to make sure that you never miss an episode.

    Ask Mike: Should I Onboard Trial Members Differently?

  4. Sep 1

    Here's How to Make Your Member Experience Truly Memorable

    In this week's episode, I break down member experience, the single biggest factor in long-term retention, and why a forgettable, unengaging membership is the fastest way to lose members who never got the result they joined for. I'm walking you through 7 specific ways to make every part of that experience work harder for your members and for your retention. None of them involves piling on more content, and we'll also cover the 5 types of overwhelm that quietly kill memberships from the inside. In this episode:How to apply the AAA framework, Affirm, Acclimate, Advance, to build a 90-day onboarding strategy instead of a one-off welcome sequenceWhy personalizing and segmenting the member experience drives a measurable jump in engagementHow to use gamification without accidentally rewarding busywork instead of real progressPractical ways to deliver value off-platform, from member-only podcasts to newsletters that are the value, not just a summary of itHow to set up automated engagement triggers using the 3 signals that actually predict a member drifting Grab the free Engagement Trigger Cheatsheet to help you take action on this episode, or if you want our dedicated support, head over to Membership Academy. Key Quotes & Takeaways:"Member experience is the single biggest factor in long-term retention." "Members don't need instruction, they need inspiration." "Subscriptions rebill passively, so the fact someone continues paying doesn't instantly mean that they're engaged." "Churn is a lagging indicator. It is the result of problems that set in 3 months ago, 6 months ago, 12 months ago." You might also find useful:Why You Need a Solid Member Onboarding ProcessWhy Membership Owners NEED to Embrace Off-Platform EngagementUse Feedback Loops To Drive Our Membership GrowthHow To Reduce Overwhelm In Your Membership Thank You For ListeningWe really appreciate you choosing to listen to us and for supporting the podcast. We would be eternally grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show. They're extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and we read each and every one personally! Finally, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast to make sure that you never miss an episode.

    Here's How to Make Your Member Experience Truly Memorable

  5. Aug 25

    Ethically Using Urgency and Scarcity to Market Your Membership

    Fake countdown timers, staged waitlists, closed doors that mysteriously reopen the moment someone hesitates. These tactics work in the short term, and they quietly wreck your retention in the long term. In this episode, I dive into a bit of a hot-button topic for me: how to use urgency and scarcity in your membership marketing without crossing into these manipulative tactics that give this whole area a bad name. I break down why the closed-door model gives you the worst of both worlds, what real, ethical urgency actually looks like, and a simple test you can run on any deadline before you publish it. If you've ever wondered whether the "urgency" in your marketing is doing more harm than good, I'm here for you. In this episode:Why the closed-door model gives membership owners the worst of both worldsHow fake scarcity and staged waitlists quietly destroy member trustWhy positioning your membership as a painkiller, not a vitamin, is the real source of urgencyWhich legitimate urgency levers (launches, price increases, live events, capped bonuses) you're probably not using yetThe simple "day-after test" for checking whether any deadline you're using is actually real Want a tool that tells you exactly which of those legitimate levers fits your situation right now? Grab the free Urgency Lever Decision Tree. And if you'd like a wider view of where the gaps in your growth and retention strategy are, our free Membership Healthcheck is built for exactly that. Key Quotes & Takeaways:"Someone has a raging headache, they don't need a countdown timer to convince them to buy a painkiller." "The right kind of members, the members who are prone to sticking around long term, they don't need countdown timers and fake scarcity to panic them into joining." "If you have a deadline that actually exists, if the offer genuinely ends and goes away, if the bonus is genuinely limited, then there's nothing manipulative about leaning into it." "People who respond to pressure are more likely to crack under it once they actually get in there." You might also find useful:Using Urgency to Promote an Evergreen Membership SiteEverything You Know About Scarcity Marketing is WrongAvoid the Lie of Scarcity Marketing for Memberships Thank You For ListeningWe really appreciate you choosing to listen to us and for supporting the podcast. We would be eternally grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show. They're extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and we read each and every one personally! Finally, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast to make sure that you never miss an episode.

    Ethically Using Urgency and Scarcity to Market Your Membership

  6. Aug 18

    My Proven Strategies for Consistent Audience Growth

    If your membership signups have slowed down, your first instinct is probably to look at your sales page, your emails, or your pricing. Nine times out of ten, that's not where the problem actually lies. In this episode, I break down why stalled signups are almost always an audience growth problem in disguise, and I share seven proven strategies for keeping new people flowing into your world even after your membership is up and running. In this episode:Why stalled membership sales are almost always an audience growth problem, not a sales problemThe three core levers for growing your audience, and why they work best combinedHow to build a brand and content strategy that reaches people at every stage of the buyer journey, not just oneHow to repurpose your content so more of your audience actually sees itA repeatable framework for landing guest spots, collaborations, and other borrowed-audience opportunities Want the CLEAR framework as a ready-to-use template? Grab the free Collaboration Outreach Swipes, which includes the fill-in-the-blank pitch email, a leverage currency worksheet, and a pre-outreach checklist. And if you want a wider view of where the gaps in your membership business actually are, our free Membership Healthcheck is built for exactly that. Key Quotes & Takeaways:"It is almost always the audience growth that is the main culprit." "Your brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room." "Paid ads should amplify and accelerate what's already working organically. It's not a fix for a broken system." "Go in there and be a valuable member. Share useful tips, generously answer questions, contribute to discussions." You might also find useful:The 3 Pillars of Exponential Membership GrowthGrowing Your Membership with Joint Venture PromotionsUnderstanding the Customer Journey with Kenda Macdonald4 Tactics for Accelerating the Growth of Your Membership Audience Thank You For ListeningWe really appreciate you choosing to listen to us and for supporting the podcast. We would be eternally grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show. They're extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and we read each and every one personally! Finally, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast to make sure that you never miss an episode.

    My Proven Strategies for Consistent Audience Growth

  7. Aug 11

    Ask Mike: Should I Drip Content to Improve Retention?

    This episode kicks off a new regular feature on the show: Ask Mike, where I pull real questions straight from our monthly member Q&A archive inside Membership Academy and share the answers with you. First up is a question about drip feeding content. A membership owner running a diet and lifestyle site wanted to know if releasing their courses gradually, rather than giving members full access, would help improve retention. My answer might surprise you, because drip feeding as a retention tactic isn't actually the fix most people think it is. The real issue is almost always something else entirely. If you've ever wondered whether locking up your content on a schedule would keep people around longer, this episode is for you. In this episode:Why drip feeding content to force people to stay is the wrong way to think about retentionWhat to check first before you even consider a drip feed strategy (onboarding and offboarding)How to build a step-by-step content pathway that gives members a reason to stick aroundWhy too many live calls can actually make members feel like they're failingHow milestones, rituals, and habits keep people engaged without artificial gates If you want a wider view of where the gaps in your membership strategy actually are, our free Membership Healthcheck will help you find them fast. And if you're looking to get your questions answered by me in our next Membership Academy Q&A, you can join Membership Academy here to be part of the conversation. Key Quotes & Takeaways:"I'm not a big fan of just arbitrarily drip feeding content as a means of prolonging someone's membership." "Nine times out of 10, people drop off because they never really get started the right way." "If you give them that path, you don't need to drip feed because you're telling them exactly what to do and when you are laying out the journey for them." "I think members should stay members and stay subscribed because they're getting something from it." You might also find useful:Is Your Member Onboarding Missing These 3 Vital Things?21 Quick Tips For Improving Member RetentionHow to Identify Your Membership Drop-Off PointsThe 5 Key Stages of the Member Lifecycle Thank You For ListeningWe really appreciate you choosing to listen to us and for supporting the podcast. We would be eternally grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show. They're extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and we read each and every one personally! Finally, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast to make sure that you never miss an episode.

    Ask Mike: Should I Drip Content to Improve Retention?

  8. Aug 4

    Marketing to People Who Don't Realise They Need You

    In this episode, I break down the buyer awareness journey, a five-stage framework from Eugene Schwartz's Breakthrough Advertising that maps how someone moves from having no idea they have a problem to being ready to buy. I focus on the very first stage, problem unaware, because it's the biggest, cheapest, and least competitive audience available to you right now (and it's also the one most membership owners have no idea how to market to!). We cover what symptom-first marketing actually sounds like, why diagnostic content and case studies build trust faster than any sales page, and the mistakes that will lose this audience the second you make them. If you're tired of marketing that only seems to work on people who were already going to buy, this episode is for you. In this episode:What the buyer awareness journey is and why every stage needs a different kind of marketingWhy the problem unaware audience is the biggest and least competitive one you're not talking toHow to reframe your messaging from problem aware to symptom aware, in your audience's own wordsWhy diagnostic content, quizzes, and case studies build trust faster than sales copyThe mistakes that make problem unaware people tune you out immediately Want the exact questions to help your audience name their own problem? Grab the free Symptom Discovery Question Bank, full of ready-to-use prompts for your email list, quizzes, and social posts. And if you'd like a wider view of where the gaps in your membership business actually are, our free Membership Healthcheck is built for exactly that. Key Quotes & Takeaways:"Your job at this stage isn't to sell the solution, it's to give a name to the problem." "When you accurately diagnose and correctly name a problem that someone didn't even realize they had, you instantly become a trusted authority in their eyes." "This is someone who understands me better than I understand myself." "That market is saturated, it's expensive to acquire from, it's full of price-centered comparison shoppers." You might also find useful:Understanding the Customer Journey with Kenda MacdonaldBusting The Most Common Membership Marketing Myths9 Membership Marketing Tactics That'll Get You More Members Thank You For ListeningWe really appreciate you choosing to listen to us and for supporting the podcast. We would be eternally grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show. They're extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and we read each and every one personally! Finally, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast to make sure that you never miss an episode.

    Marketing to People Who Don't Realise They Need You
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Join Mike Morrison - founder of the Membership Geeks - for advice, tips and insight on planning, running and growing a successful membership website plus interviews with existing membership owners and industry experts.

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