Episode 92: 4 Common Reasons People Stay Inside My Membership

Summary

The Email Sound Booth with Liz Wilcox
Episode 92: 4 Common Reasons People Stay Inside My Membership
Release Date: February 11, 2025

In Episode 92 of The Email Sound Booth with Liz Wilcox, host Liz Wilcox delves deep into the four primary reasons why members remain committed to her Email Marketing Membership (EMM). Celebrating the membership’s upcoming four-year anniversary, Liz provides a comprehensive analysis based on feedback from her long-term members. This episode serves as an invaluable resource for online business owners, marketers, and entrepreneurs aiming to create or enhance their own membership programs or digital products.

Introduction: Celebrating Four Years of EMM

Liz kicks off the episode with enthusiasm, reflecting on the milestone of EMM’s fourth anniversary set for February 16th. She emphasizes the dedication required to maintain a successful membership, praising both herself and her listeners for their consistent efforts.

Liz Wilcox [00:00]: "I have worked really hard on how, how can I do that? That's not an accident, right. It's something that I did very much on purpose."

Reason 1: Exceptional Content Keeps Members Engaged

The first cornerstone of EMM’s success, according to Liz, is the high-quality content that continuously attracts and retains members. She highlights various components that members appreciate, such as templates, live Q&As, and insights from guest experts.

Liz Wilcox [05:30]: "When you know you are onto something. That is when you know things are going to sell really well."

Members have cited the utility of templates and the inspiration they provide, enabling members to overcome creative blocks and enhance their email marketing strategies. Liz underscores that producing valuable content is fundamental to sustaining member interest and fostering a thriving community.

Member Feedback [12:45]: "One word: templates. I love not having to start with a blank page."

Reason 2: Built-In Accountability Drives Consistent Engagement

Accountability emerges as the second key factor that keeps members committed. Liz explains how EMM incorporates accountability through regular template distributions and weekly tasks that encourage members to implement what they’ve learned.

Liz Wilcox [18:10]: "That is the weekly accountability. Are you doing this? And then within the email almost every week, you know, I say, hey, let's get moving. I believe in you."

By sending out weekly templates and setting clear, actionable tasks, Liz ensures that members remain active and consistent in their email marketing efforts. This structured approach helps members avoid stagnation and continuously progress toward their business goals.

Reason 3: Easy-to-Implement Instructions Simplify Complex Concepts

Liz attributes a significant portion of her membership’s retention to the clear and actionable instructions she provides. With a background in education and leadership, she excels at breaking down complex email marketing strategies into digestible, easy-to-follow steps.

Liz Wilcox [25:20]: "Clear, direct language, especially when you're learning complex systems and ideas, is what's best."

Members appreciate the straightforward teaching style, which demystifies intricate marketing concepts and allows them to apply strategies effectively without feeling overwhelmed. Liz emphasizes the importance of simplicity in education, drawing parallels to how smartphones are designed to be user-friendly despite their complexity.

Liz Wilcox [30:50]: "It really is the make or break for any entrepreneur that is trying to sell like information products."

Reason 4: Genuine Care and Support Foster a Loyal Community

The final reason Liz identifies for sustained membership loyalty is the genuine care and support she provides. Members feel valued and supported, not just as subscribers but as part of a community striving for mutual success.

Liz Wilcox [40:15]: "You have to care, right? You can't make all these promises and then do it half-assed."

Liz shares anecdotes illustrating her commitment to her members’ success, such as referring a member to another expert when she couldn’t personally provide one-on-one assistance. This dedication reinforces trust and demonstrates that EMM prioritizes members’ needs over profit.

Member Feedback [45:30]: "You give genuine help and responses. The point being if this is your signature product, you've got to be in it, you've got to care."

Celebrating EMM’s Anniversary and Looking Ahead

As Liz approaches the four-year mark of her membership program, she reflects on the lessons learned and the growth achieved. She expresses excitement for the future, promising to continue enhancing EMM with even more valuable content, robust accountability systems, and user-friendly instructions.

Liz Wilcox [50:00]: "I can't wait for the next 365 days to build in even more amazing content, greater accountability, simpler, easier to implement instruction and just put my heart and soul into this."

Closing Remarks

In her concluding remarks, Liz invites listeners to join EMM, highlighting a special promotional offer in celebration of the anniversary. She reiterates the importance of each of the four reasons discussed and encourages entrepreneurs to integrate these principles into their own ventures to achieve long-lasting success.

Liz Wilcox [55:45]: "Email marketing membership, I'd love for you to join it is nine dollars a month. But tomorrow, February 12th until the 16th, we are running a four dollar trial."

Final Thoughts

Episode 92 of The Email Sound Booth with Liz Wilcox offers a thorough exploration of the fundamental elements that sustain a successful membership program. By focusing on valuable content, accountability, clear instructions, and genuine support, Liz provides a blueprint for building a loyal and engaged community. Whether you’re an existing member of EMM or someone looking to create your own membership or digital product, Liz’s insights are both practical and inspiring.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Liz Wilcox [05:30]: "When you know you are onto something. That is when you know things are going to sell really well."
• Member Feedback [12:45]: "One word: templates. I love not having to start with a blank page."
• Liz Wilcox [18:10]: "That is the weekly accountability. Are you doing this? And then within the email almost every week, you know, I say, hey, let's get moving. I believe in you."
• Liz Wilcox [25:20]: "Clear, direct language, especially when you're learning complex systems and ideas, is what's best."
• Liz Wilcox [30:50]: "It really is the make or break for any entrepreneur that is trying to sell like information products."
• Liz Wilcox [40:15]: "You have to care, right? You can't make all these promises and then do it half-assed."
• Member Feedback [45:30]: "You give genuine help and responses. The point being if this is your signature product, you've got to be in it, you've got to care."
• Liz Wilcox [50:00]: "I can't wait for the next 365 days to build in even more amazing content, greater accountability, simpler, easier to implement instruction and just put my heart and soul into this."
• Liz Wilcox [55:45]: "Email marketing membership, I'd love for you to join it is nine dollars a month. But tomorrow, February 12th until the 16th, we are running a four dollar trial."

This episode not only celebrates the longevity of EMM but also serves as a testament to the strategies that foster member loyalty and success. Liz Wilcox’s dedication and thoughtful approach provide a roadmap for anyone looking to create impactful and enduring membership programs.

Transcript

[Liz Wilcox]

What's up? What's up? Liz Wilcox here, the fresh princess of email marketing. This is episode 92. Can you believe it? Four common reasons people stay inside my membership. So if you listen to episode 91, you know we are on a four part series to teach you and give you kind of behind the scenes all about my membership. Why? Because my membership. Yay. Oh my gosh, I love it so much. It is turning 4 years old on February 16th. So incredible, you know. Yeah, I'm gonna give myself a round of applause here because when was the last time you did something? Every single day for four years that's been me and my membership. So give yourself a round of applause as well because I don't know how long you've been doing this business thing, but I know that even if you took days off, you were sick, whatever, you've been doing it consistently for every single day since you started. Because I know it lives rent free in your head. Now you might be thinking, you know, why, why do I care about, you know, reasons people stay inside email marketing membership? What does that have to do with me? Well, I'm hoping in order to share this, number one, of course, very selfishly, shamelessly, if you're not in the membership, I hope you join. Starting tomorrow, Wednesday, February Twelf, we are going to have a $4 trial for the four year birthday of Emm. But more importantly for you, number two, if you're thinking about creating a membership or even a certain, you know, creating an audience, right, where you sell products and services to them, I think these will help you. So last week I asked my audience, longtime members of email marketing membership, why the heck do you stay inside and excuse me, you can probably hear me drinking water. I started record so I'm not going to start over because I feel like the intro was good. I'm also not going to edit this because I got other things to do. So let's move into it. Right? So my hope again here, here is to give you kind of a behind the scenes look at my audience so you can understand whether you create a membership, a digital product, a service, a fan base, you know, whatever you're creating, this will help you understand why people buy and why they turn into repeat customers, why they stick around, why they share your stuff, et cetera. So the first common reason of course is the content, right? That's kind of what gets people in the door and shocker, it keeps people around. I had so many people say, you know, your templates, Liz, your live Q&As, your guest experts, you know, I just love the content in the membership. And that is when you know you are onto something. That is when you know things are going to sell really well. When people say, yeah, I bought it because I actually wanted the content, right? I mean, that sounds insane. But a lot of people also said, and I'm getting ahead of myself, like, oh, Liz, I, I stick around. I bought it because I love you, right? But we also want people to love the content. So one person, when I asked them, you know, why do you stick around? They said, one word templates. I love not having to start with a blank page. Someone else said, I'm a decent writer, but I tend to be kind of boring, maybe businessy. You give me fun ideas, better ways to email, right? And then this crown jewel, because of email marketing membership, I'll write my 163rd weekly newsletter today. I won't be shy or second guessing it, right? That is because my content for my membership is a weekly newsletter. So I have sent over 163newsletters to this person and they have used probably every single one of them, right? Or come up with their own, right? Which leads me into the second reason. Accountability, right? Because I was sending that person an email saying, hey, here's the new template. Every single week, every single week that person sent out a newsletter, right? I heard your membership gives me no excuse not to email. So my people remember who I am at the moment. They need me, right? And that's something that I teach inside my membership. That's part of the content. Hey, you need a weekly newsletter because not everybody has to, you know, buy gas for their car at the same time. But the 711 is always on the corner and it's always open for business to get gasoline, right? That's what we need our businesses to be. So that's why in the membership I bake in accountability, right? For my program, my industry. You, you know, you gotta write those newsletters, right? You can't get somebody on your list, ghost them for six months and then throw a Black Friday sale. That's not, you're not gonna see many results, right? Not any positive, really. And so I need to, for my product and my customers and my industry, I need to sell something that sells and creates accountability, right? So that's why when I send out my templates, I don't just upload the, to the, you know, email marketing membership dot com. I don't do that. I send out an email saying, hey, this is the new template. This is what it is. This is what it'll do click over, right? It's that weekly accountability. Are you doing this? And then within the email almost every week, you know, I say, hey, let's get moving. I believe in you. Can't wait to hear right Post in the Facebook group, et cetera. I also have accountability tasks. This is something we've built out in the last 12 months where at the bottom of each email it says something like not sure what to work on this week. And then you know, we have something according to our framework. Follower, friend, customer, okay. And that's a task that they can complete. The third reason people stay in is the easy to implement instruction. This is where I see so many people that create info products will say they miss the mark. And I'll tell you, I have the advantage, like sorry for you. I have a background in education. I have a master's degree in leadership. I know how to get behind people and push. I know how to break down complex systems and what's the word I'm looking for ideas. And you know, I know how to break those down into actionable steps into bite size information so you can understand it. That is something if you want your people to stick around, buy from you again and again, you have to learn how to do right. It is a skill. And I'm just gonna say you don't need to buy the next course on social media and how to get, you know how to sell in the DMs. You need to learn how to make better curriculum. This was in that Facebook post where I was like, hey, why do you stick around? This was one of the main, main themes here. People said you teach in a clear and direct way. That suits me. Guess what? That suits everyone. And not that this person isn't special, but clear, direct language, especially when you're learning, is what's best. Sure, throw in a metaphor and analogy every now and again, but clear direct language, when people are learning complex systems and ideas is what's best. So you have to learn how to break down the complex for people. That really is the make or break for any entrepreneur that or that is trying to sell like information products. Right. You've got to be able to break down the simple. Even look at the iPhone, right? When we think about it, a cell phone, a smartphone is incredibly complex. Right. But the makers of smartphones work really, really hard to ensure that the consumer. You thinks that it's easy? Oh, I just tap right here. That's what we need to do for our clients and students and customers and that apparently, you know, Stands out to people in email marketing membership. Someone says, the ease in which I can adapt what you create, again, that's because I've worked really hard on how, how can I do that? That's not an accident, right. It's something that I did very much on purpose. And I've worked for four freaking years to get better and better and better at. Somebody said, honest and straightforward advice. Again, that's kind of the same as clear and direct, right? When people are coming to me for advice in the, you know, the live Q&As or something, you know, I'm gonna give it to them straight. And I always say, oh, I say it with love or, you know, I invite you to think or, you know, things like that. And somebody else said, you keep things so simple and you model exactly what you teach. Yeah, don't be teaching XYZ and then doing abc. Right? That wouldn't make any sense. And the last one, and I'll say this, and sensor alert, if there's kiddos around, the theme that I was getting is my give a damn. Right? People can really tell in my membership that I care about their success. I email all these things, right? I've worked really hard to create easy to implement stuff. I work really hard to help them and hold them accountable. Right. That's the mark of a great educator, by the way, being able to. And not be like a turd about it, but to keep your students accountable. So, you know, people said, oh, you're generous with your time and expertise. Your cheerleading makes it feel so doable. It banishes my gremlins every time. Genuine help and responses. Now, I just told you, I'm pretty sure in the last episode, like, this is $9 if you email me and I gotta go pick up my kid. I'm not emailing you till tomorrow. But when I. That is not to be dismissive of your customers. When I am working, I am working. I am giving it 110%. In last, in the last episode, episode 91, I said something like, you know, I want to be the best mom I can be. And so I created something that allows me to be the best mom I can be. The same way I want to be the best mom I can be when I'm with my child. I want to be the best facilitator, the best leader in this email marketing industry that I can be when that is the hat that I have on. So when you are creating something, an info product, you know, etc, membership, a course, whatever, and you want that to be your Big thing. So emm, my membership is my big thing. It's my main bread and butter. Sure I sell one off other stuff but this is my main thing. You have got to care. I'm not saying, you know, under deli or under promise and over deliver, I tell you exactly what you're gonna get. I'm searching for my next thought. But you just have to care, right? You can't make all these promises and then do it half ass. Right? And then just hold boundaries just for the sake of holding boundaries. I hold my boundaries very well. I tell people if they're asking me a million and one questions in the inbox, hey, this is a great question for the Facebook group. I would love to get the hive mind behind this. That's holding a boundary. Meaning hey, you're paying $9 and you're getting thousand dollar advice in the inbox. But you know what? I also care if that isn't true. If I don't think the Facebook group can help them, I won't say that I will continue to help them or I will point them in the right direction. For example, somebody wanted to get on a one on one call with me and for the last couple years that just hasn't worked out. I haven't been able to do that stuff. You know, I was on Survivor then I was super sick. Now I've just promised so freaking much I had to hire a third person. And I'm still, I'm still working on my health and those one on ones really like fry my brain. But speaking of frying my brain, where was I going? But oh, I was able to refer them. I said, hey, I'm not the best person right now to get on a one on one with, but I can refer you. And I connected them to the right person. But that works for me because my product is $9, right? But even saying, hey, I'm not the best person, let me refer you, that shows them that I actually care. I'm not trying to just take money. Sure I could take money. I could have charged that guy 3, 4, $500 for one hour. But I care about him and I know after about 30 minutes of that one on one I'm gonna be tired and I'm gonna be ready to go home, so to speak. And I don't want that for him. I want him to get the best service, right? So I just loved that so many people pointed out that I cared. You know, somebody even said, you know, you have genuine, you give genuine help and responses. The point being if this is your signature product. If this is the thing you're going to sell over and over again, you've got to be in it, you've got to care. And even when you grow, you know, maybe even possibly hiring help, for example, you know, I mentioned I was on Survivor when I got off Survivor. I was really like emotionally and actually physically sick for a long time and it was hard to hold space in my membership. But I had Patricia in there helping me, you know, stick, stick, stick the course, stay the course. I think it's stay the course and you know, reminding me of my values within the membership. When I was like, I'm just too tired to do this or I can't, you know, she really got behind me and pushed me to remember that. Yeah, actually I do care. I love this program and I gotta get to work to help these people. All right, this is much longer than I thought it would be. I hope that in sharing these you understand a little bit more about what it takes to really have a long lasting product. Something that people stick around, they implement, they share with friends and one day you can celebrate the 4th, 10th, 20th birthday of. I certainly learned a lot from my memberships, excuse me, from my members, just from asking this question. And I can't wait for the next 365 days to build in even more amazing content, greater accountability, simpler, easier to implement instruction and just put my heart and soul into this. Anyway, as always, email marketing membership, I'd love for you to join it is nine dollars a month. But tomorrow, February 12th until the 16th, we are running a four dollar trial. So don't buy today. I know, crazy call to action, right? Don't buy today, wait until tomorrow. If you're on my email list, I'll be sending an email out about that sale. Very, very excited to offer this and celebrate with you four years of emm. I'm Liz Wilcox. You are awesome and I'll see you on the next episode.