What we learned from launching and shutting down 5 paid membership programs [Ep. #300]

Paid membership programs are often promoted as really good, easy revenue for educators and entertainers alike on YouTube, but after launching 5 different paid memberships and doing everything we knew to do in order to grow it, eventually we ended up shutting every one of them down. Why? We just shut down our most recent paid membership effort, called The Growth Network, after a year and a half of giving it everything we had. But through that experience, I think we're getting closer to the thing that's actually going to work. In this episode I share what we tried, what happened, why I think it didn't work, and what we learned from it going forward for our business. Plus, I introduce you to a new platform we're using that's been incredible for our business. JOIN ME IN VOLLEY! And get free access to a mini-course that the co-founder and I put together to help set you up for success in using it to grow your business and your audience at the same time. Click here: https://hi.volley.app/land?tk=UmD8rkwMfnfPbyFunZ7auE-tk (I said I'd be here until the end of January, but we're having so much fun that I'll be hanging out in this Volley space with you until the end of February instead! Come say hi!) LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Check out our YouTube foundations course, "30 Days to a Better YouTube Channel," here: https://videocreators.com/30days Our new Video Creators Academy free 1 month trial: https://videocreators.com/vc-academy/ To register for the next session of our advanced YouTube group coaching program, Video Labs, go here: https://videocreators.com/video-labs/ To have us create a custom YouTube growth strategy for you that meets your goals, let's start by doing a one-hour consultation first. Sometimes people find they get everything they need from that one hour first and don't end up needing our full, hands-on custom Action Plan. https://videocreators.com/consulting EPISODE CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction 1:08 I'm not anti-membership 2:29 My first failed membership program 5:21 I tried Patreon instead 7:55 A math exercise for my time and effort 8:44 My most recent membership attempt 14:37 Evaluating what I did wrong 20:59 What the data is leading me to try instead 28:42 The main lessons I learned through all this 30:40 Stumbling across something GREAT for us 33:29 Discovering Volley as a perfect solution 39:53 Trying Volley with our other programs 41:26 Volley directly solves our problems 42:05 Creators who could benefit from Volley 44:03 Get direct access to me in Volley 48:07 Conclusion