In this episode of the Membership Geeks Podcast, I dive deep into the topic of legacy pricing for membership businesses—a practice I’ve long advocated, but one that can pose major challenges as your membership grows and evolves.

I discuss the benefits and pitfalls of letting members lock in their original pricing, explore when legacy pricing stops serving your business, and outline strategies for dealing with long-term members who are paying far less than new signups.

If your membership has gone through significant changes over the years, this episode will help you navigate the often-tricky conversation around updating your pricing structure while staying fair to your most loyal members.

• What is legacy pricing, and why has it traditionally been seen as a best practice for member retention and conversions?
• When does legacy pricing begin to work against you and your membership business, rather than for you?
• How can you fairly and effectively address the issue of long-term members paying outdated rates, especially when your offering has fundamentally changed?
• What are the practical options and communication strategies for transitioning legacy members to new pricing, and how can you do this while maintaining trust and goodwill?

Key Quotes & Takeaways:

"The fact that I would lose out on that legacy pricing, the fact that if I left and then came back in the future would mean I'd be paying a lot more. That can be enough of an incentive for me to not cancel, for me to leave my membership active for a month or two, even if I'm real busy, in order to hold on to that really advantageous, really attractive legacy pricing."

"So instead of going from $20 a month to $80 a month, you maybe go $20 to $50 a month, and they're locked in at that rate. So you acknowledge their loyalty by giving them still a significant discount, but you also acknowledge the fact that the product has changed, and you're taking care of them essentially by saying, you know, what you're paying for now, this is a total different product."

"You can take the original offer as a basic tier whereby what people get at that level more closely resembles what was originally offered at the time those members signed up."

We 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.

In this episode of the Membership Geeks Podcast, I tackle the dangers of blindly following membership plugin recommendations you see in Facebook groups and online communities.

I discuss why generic advice can often lead you astray, and share practical steps for cutting through the noise to make tech choices that truly fit your unique membership business.

You'll learn how to critically assess plugin advice and what questions you need to ask yourself—and others—before committing to any platform.

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by conflicting plugin recommendations, this episode will help you make smarter decisions.

• Why is asking, “What’s the best membership plugin?” a potentially risky question in online communities?
• How can you tell if someone’s plugin recommendation is actually relevant to your specific business needs?
• What key factors should you consider before choosing a membership plugin for your site?
• How can you avoid falling for hype, affiliate-driven suggestions, or outdated advice when evaluating tech options for your membership?

Key Quotes & Takeaways:

"Anyone who offers you advice on plug ins or software, but doesn't ask what your membership actually is, what you're offering, how you wanna run it, what features you need, They're just giving you generic advice with zero basis, and generic advice is dangerous for your member"

"If you're not technically inclined, don't pick the most complex plug in just because someone says it's the most powerful, it's the most flexible, you can do everything with it."

"good tools will not make a bad membership work, but the wrong tools can definitely get in your way."

We 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.

In this episode of the Membership Geeks Podcast, I dive into one of the most common questions I get from soon-to-be membership site owners: how big does your audience actually need to be before launching your membership?

I get real about the numbers, explain why your email list is so much more important than your social media following, and break down how engagement and quality matter far more than pure quantity.

If you’ve ever wondered if you’re “ready” to launch or what you should focus on before taking the leap, this episode is here to give you clarity.

• What’s the recommended size for your email list before it makes sense to launch a membership?
• Why is the quality and engagement level of your audience more important than just having a big subscriber list?
• Why shouldn’t you rely on social media followers when measuring your potential audience?
• What specific steps can you take if you don’t yet have a large, engaged email list and want to launch a membership in the future?

Tune in to get practical, honest advice that will set you up for membership success!

Key Quotes & Takeaways:

"a list of 300 highly engaged, relevant, interested people beats a list of 3,000 who don't even remember who you are when you pop up in their inbox and they have no idea why they're on your list in the first place."

"You can only create a solution in the form of a membership if you understand the problems that membership will solve."

"Focus more on email subscribers than the vanity metrics of social media. Don't just play the numbers game. Make sure you're attracting the right kind of people and ignore all that nonsense gimmicky advice..."

We 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.