How to build a great member onboarding process that works

How to Build a Great Member Onboarding Process That Works

When a membership site launches, it needs to attract new members to grow a member base. This member base is what will sustain the membership site. Depending on your membership model, you may attract members all year long or only at certain times.

However, the fact remains the same: at some point in your membership’s life, you will want to grow your member base. And when you do, you need to have a great member onboarding process to get new members oriented.

Without an onboarding process, your new members will be left in the wind, potentially disoriented and confused. And confused members are usually only one step away from unsubscribing.

Onboarding is one of the most important stages in the member lifecycle, so it’s important to put effort into the process.

So how do you build a member onboarding process that will show your new members the ropes and deter confusion? Read on, and we’ll tell you.

Choose your type of onboarding process

The first step to a successful membership onboarding process is to choose an onboarding method. There are various ways you can onboard your new members. Many people use email, but you can also use interactive site tours, videos, explanation pages, or a combination thereof!

Onboarding emails 

Email onboarding is a common way to onboard new members. Its popularity may stem from it being relatively simple to set up. You can use an email marketing service like MailChimp or ConvertKit to set up an automated email series. Once a new member is added, they will immediately begin receiving onboarding emails.

If you use a membership platform like MemberSpace to run your membership business, you can automatically add new members to your onboarding flow after they sign up for your membership. Using Zapier, MemberSpace makes it possible to seamlessly add members to email lists in tools like Mailchimp and ConvertKit without adding any additional steps to your workload.

You can automatically add new members to your member onboarding process using Zapier
Use Zapier to automatically add new members to your onboarding email workflow

One advantage to email onboarding is that it gives you the ability to space out emails. This delay can help members digest the onboarding process slowly, which can save you from overwhelming them with too much information.

However, email onboarding alone isn’t without disadvantages. If members want to get started right away, waiting around for an email series will be frustrating. Members may also disregard your emails, which could cause them to miss out on important information.

Because of this, it may be a good idea to combine onboarding methods. The email series can offer tidbits of onboarding information and reminders, while another onboarding method, like a video or an explanation page, allows members to jump right in.

Onboarding pages

You can also utilize an explanation page as part of your onboarding process. An onboarding page is just a webpage that holds all of the onboarding material. Think of it as a list of resources or tutorials to help the user navigate your offering. It’s a great option to pair with the email onboarding method. Plus, existing members can also refer back to this page for information.

MemberSpace empowers you to protect any page on your website so it’s only available to your members. This means you could protect your onboarding page so it isn’t publicly accessible by website visitors who are not members. 

Use MemberSpace to protect your member onboarding process pages from non-members
Protect your member onboarding process page from non-members

Once someone joins your membership, you could have them automatically redirected to that onboarding page so there isn’t any confusion about what to do next.

Automatically send new members to the onboarding process page
Automatically redirect new signups to the member onboarding process page

Onboarding videos

Videos are an excellent way to introduce your members to your offering. While email and page onboarding methods can make use of screenshots, videos can show members where and how to navigate your site.

Videos are also less overwhelming than an entire page of text, so they can be a great alternative to the onboarding page. However, video creation processes can be time-consuming, so be prepared to sink some time into it.

And onboarding isn’t the only way to use videos on your membership site either. Here are some great free tools you can use to create videos.

Free Screen Recording Software

If you want to ensure only members can view your onboarding videos, or if you plan to add additional members-only video content to your website, you can easily protect those videos using MemberSpace’s Content Links feature. By creating Content Links for your videos before adding them to your membership website, you’re adding an extra layer of protection. So even if someone savvy makes it around the paywall, they still won’t be able to watch your videos.

Use Content Links to add extra protection to your member onboarding videos
Protect your onboarding videos for members only with Content Links

Interactive onboarding

Interactive onboarding is an effective method for teaching users how to use your offering. However, it may require more technical know-how, depending on the implementation you choose.

Interactive onboarding will force the new member to complete steps around your site before allowing them to explore. This is usually done with site overlays that can point out important aspects of your website and give quick snippets of information.

interactive onboarding teaches members how to use their membership
Teach members how to use their membership with an interactive onboarding process

This method is useful because it physically shows the member where everything is. It also forces members to pay attention to it (if they want the freedom to explore your site). These interactive overlays are prone to using small callouts, so the written text is often easy-to-digest snippets, which can help keep members from being overwhelmed.

Show members where everything is with interactive overlays throughout the onboarding process
Show members where everything is with interactive overlays throughout the onboarding process

MemberSpace uses this method to walk users through the first major steps to setting up their membership site. Making other features unavailable until the onboarding steps are completed helps users to focus on a single task at a time while also educating them on that feature so they know how to use it moving forward.

MemberSpace uses an interactive member onboarding process
MemberSpace uses an interactive member onboarding process

Onboarding process components

Once you have chosen your onboarding method, you may be wondering what you should include. An excellent place to start is to ask yourself what information a person might need if they are entirely new to your offering and membership site.

We’ve added some common elements to highlight during the onboarding process below. While not an exhaustive list, these items are commonly included.

Account information

Make sure you show your new members how to set up their membership profile and where to go to access their account settings.

Content

You should also direct your members to your content, ideally one of your most popular pieces. You want to get them involved and interested in your offering so that they keep coming back for more.

Offering features

If you have any essential membership features, make sure you point them out. This can be anything from your membership community to a feedback survey. If there is anything you would like members to know about or investigate, point it out — especially features that might not be immediately obvious.

Best practices for a great member onboarding process

So, you have an onboarding method and some items you want to include. Great! Now, how do you put together these elements without falling into common pitfalls, like information overload or confusion?

Troubleshoot

This might be a no-brainer, but make sure you troubleshoot your onboarding process. Nothing is more frustrating to new members than technical difficulties. So make sure you have all of the kinks ironed out before launching your new onboarding process.

MemberSpace makes it easy to test your member experience. By creating a free plan or using a 100% off coupon, you can sign up for your own membership and walk through the exact process your members will take when joining.

Make things clear

You are going to hear this over and over and over here, on other blogs, and as a general rule: make things absolutely, sparkling clear to your members. Confusion breeds discontent and, ultimately, unsubscribes. So you want to make sure readers know what is going on at all times.

But this is easier said than done. So where do you start?

Consider your audience

Communication can be tricky, especially since members can come from all walks of life and have different experiences with technology. Some people may be able to figure out complicated sites quickly, while others may not know where to begin.

We recommend you consider the understanding level of your average user. For example, if you have a membership site that targets grade school teachers, you may want to include more hand-holding than you would if for an audience of software engineers.

Choose Your Words

Choose clear words for your member onboarding process
Choose your words carefully when building a member onboarding process

When clarity is critical, make sure that you choose your words carefully. This especially holds true if you are using an onboarding method that relies heavily on written word.

It’s easy to write something. It’s harder to write something that everyone will understand. After you have written some content, a good practice is to leave it for a period of time and focus on something unrelated. After a few hours or days, return and reread it. Bonus points if you read it out loud. By rereading, you’ll be able to pick out problem passages and potentially confusing portions you may not have noticed before.

While not a fun process, it can significantly increase the clarity of your work, which will help your new members in the long run.

Get members involved

During your onboarding process, ask for member feedback! This is one surefire way to get members’ unabashed opinions while the process is still fresh in their minds.

While it can be terrifying (and even a little demoralizing) to get feedback from your members, trust us — it’s worth the pain. Armed with member feedback, you will be able to tackle the problem spots in your onboarding process and turn it into the onboarding experience your members want and need.

Now, keep in mind that not every piece of feedback will be a gem. You may even receive conflicting requests. When this happens, use your best judgment. When not sure, get a second opinion or wait for more feedback. It’s not a cure-all to onboarding problems, but it can definitely help give you ideas for improvement.

Establish your offering’s value

People like to feel good about their purchases, so the onboarding process is an excellent opportunity to make people feel like they are getting a terrific return for their investment.

You can do this by highlighting all the things they are getting. It doesn’t have to be a long, drawn-out process either. It can be a simple checklist that makes it look like they just got a bargain. Only X a month for all this content? What a great deal!

Just getting started and trying to figure out what your offering is worth? You can check out our article on finding the perfect price for your membership site (with bonus information about how to convert website visitors).

After it’s built

Building a great member onboarding process doesn’t stop after it’s been created. You should keep an eye on it as your membership site grows. If you add new features or make site changes, be sure to check back and make sure it’s up to date.

If you implemented a feedback feature in the process, check the feedback occasionally, and look for trends. If you have received a lot of complaints about a specific portion of the process, you may want to think about updating it.

Investing in the work to create a stellar onboarding experience for your members can save you time (and members!) in the long run.

For help building out your membership business, get started for free with MemberSpace!