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Heyguys.Welcometoepisode71ofTheMembershipGuysPodcast.I'myourhost,MikeMorrison.Thankyousomuchfordownloadingthisepisodeandchoosingtospendalittlebitofyourdaywithme.HopefullyI'llmakeitworthyourwhile.Ifthisisthefirsttimetuningin,thisistheshowforprovenpracticaltipsandadviceforbuildingandgrowingasuccessfulmembershipwebsite.Ifthatsoundslikethesortofthingyou'reafter,youareintherightplace.Inthisepisode,I'mtalkingaboutsomethingalittlebitdifferent.Weusuallytalkaboutavarietyofdifferentthingsaroundhowtoplanoutyourmembership,ifyou'restillinthatinitialstageofputtingthingstogether,throughtosomeofthetechstuff,thelogisticalstuff,ofbuilding,tolaunching,togrowingit,runningit,andsoon.Iwanttotalkaboutwhathappensattheendofyourjourney,theendofyourmembershipjourneywhereyoumayneedtoconsideroryoumaybethinkingaboutclosingdownyourmembership.Obviously,wetalkallthetimeaboutthefactthatmembershipsareamarathonandnotasprint,andsowhenyou'restartingamembership,youneedtodosowithalongtermview.Yourmembershipissomethingwhichcouldgoonforyearsandyears,evendecadesatatime,andobviouslyit'salwaysgoingtobechanging,it'salwaysgoingtobeevolving,butit'snotafixedjourney.There'snotanaturalendpointwhereyousetupamembership,yourunitforfiveyears,andthenyoumoveontosomethingelse.Amembershipissomethingthatyou'regoingtowanttoberunningonanon-goingbasis,sorightnow,perhapstheconceptortheideaofclosingyourmembershipisonethathasn'tevencrossedyourmind,buttheremaybecircumstancesthatcomeupwhereyou'refacedwithadecisionaboutwhethertocloseyourmembershipandperhapsyoudecidethatit'sbettertodoso.Whathappens?Whatdoyouactuallydo?Howdoyouturnoffyourmembership?Whatdoyouhavetothinkaboutbeforeyoucloseyourmembershipdown?Whatyoudon'twanttodoisjustpulltheplugovernightbecausethat'sgoingtodocatastrophicdamagetoyourreputation,toyourbusiness,tothetrustthatyourmembershaveinyou,nottomentionthepotentialproblemsthatyou'regoingtohavefrompeoplewhopaidtheirhardearnedmoneytoaccessamembershipthatsuddenlydisappears.Ifyou'rethinkingaboutclosingyourmembershipforwhateverreason,definitely,definitelyavoidtheapproachwhereyoujustpullthepluganddisappearovernightbecausethat'snotgoingtoturnupverywellforanyoneinvolved.Ifyouarethinkingaboutclosingyourmembership,thefirstthingtoquestioniswhy.Whydoyouneed,orwhydoyoufeelthatyouneed,tocloseyourmembership?Isthereasonbehindthisdecisionashorttermthing?Isitacaseofmaybeyoujusthavesomefinancialdifficultiesor

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there'sstuffgoingoninyourliferightnow,whichmeansyou'renotabletofocusonyourmembershipsite?Whenstufflikethathappens,itcanseemlikeaholethatisgoingtotakeyouforevertogetoutof,butbeforeyoumakeadecisionaboutwhetherornottocloseyourmembershipbecauseofcircumstancesthatyou'regoingthroughrightnow,thinkaboutwhatwillhappenwhenyoucomeoutwiththeotherend.Prettymuchallproblems,allbadsituations,haveanexpirydate,sohowareyougoingtofeeltwelvemonthsdownthelinewhentheshorttermissuesthatyou'redealingwithrightnowareover?Howareyougoingtofeelifyou'veclosedyourmembershipandyou'rehavingtostartfromscratch?Inthatregards,areyougoingtoregretclosingyourmembership?Ifyouare,thenyoucanquiteeasilytakeabreakfromyourmembershipwithouthavingtocloseitdown.Maybeyoubringinsomeadditionalresourcetohelpwiththedaytoday.Perhapsyousimplycommunicatetoyourmembersthattherearecircumstancesorsituationsthatyou'redealingwithwhichmeanthatmaybeyou'renotgoingtobeasaccessibleforthenextfewmonths,butthatyouaregoingtobegettingbackonthehorseandgettingthingsbackontrack.Ifyouweretodothat,nodoubtyouwouldlosesomememberswhoareperhapsnotassympatheticorwhoseowncircumstancescan'taffordthemtheopportunitytobeforgivingtodealwithamembershipwhenmaybethey'renotgettingwhattheypaidforforafewmonths,butevenifyouweretolosehalfofyourmembers,youstillaren'tthenhavingtostartfromscratchalloveragainwhenwhateveryou'redealingwithrightnowistakencareof.Definitelydigdeeperandexplorethereasonswhyyou'reclosingyourmembership.Isitsomethingthatyoumightregret?Ifso,orifyouthinkit'ssomethingyoumightregret,thenlookatwhetheryoucanputsomethinginplaceshorttermtohelpyougetthroughwhatevercircumstancestherearethatarecausingyoutoquestionthedecisiontocontinuerunningyourmembership.Itmayjustbethatmembershipsimplyisn'twhatyouhopeditwas.Maybeyou'renotenjoyingitwhatsoever.Again,makesomeattemptormakesomeefforttotryandreigniteyourpassions.Maybeyoucanpivot.Maybeyoucanchangewhatyou'redoing.Maybeitisjustacaseofneedingtotakeabreakawayjusttorefreshyourself.Itdoesn'thavetobesomelife-alteringorlife-impactingcircumstancesorissuesthatyou'redealingwiththatgiveyoureasonfortakingsometimeawayfromyourmembership.Youmightjustbeburnedout.Youmightjustbealittlebitboredofthesubjectthatyourmembershipisbasedaround,inwhichcase,takingafewstepsback,havingalighterlevelofinvolvementwithyourmembershiponadaytodaybasis,maygiveyouthecapacitytoreigniteyourinterestandfindotherwaysofapproachingyourmembershipthataregoingtokeepyouexcited.Definitelyaskyourselfwhyyou'reclosingyourmembership,butifit'sasortofsituationwhereyouknowthatamembershipsiteisnotsomethingyou'regoingtocontinueonwithforwhateverreason,thenextquestiontoaskyourselfis,doyouneedtoshutitdowncompletely?Firstandforemost,couldyouhiresomebodytorunthemembershipforyou?Ifyou'vegotyearsworthofmaterial,ofdiscussions,oftraining,courses,resources,andallthatsortofstuffinthere,howmuchdoyouactuallyneedtobeinvolvedyourselfpersonally?Canyoufocusonexpandingyourteamandhiringinpeoplewhocanhandlethedaytodaylogistics,maybepeoplewhocancreatecontentorwhocanbringinoutsideexpertsorotherindividualstocreatecontentforyou?Maybeyoujustneedtopivot.Itmightbeacaseoftotallychangingwhatyourmembershipconsistsof,soallofthestuffyou'vecreatedsofarstaysinplace,butperhapsyourupdatedorrevisedmembershipofferingdoesn'trequirequiteasmuchofyou,ofyourtime,ofyourinput.Maybeitdoesn'trequireyoutospendasmuchmoneyorexertasmucheffortandenergyintokeepingthatmembershiprunning,soitcouldjustbeapivotintermsofwhatyou'reactuallyoffering.

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Maybethatpivotisawayfromrunningamembershipandinsteadistowardsrunninganonlinecourseorturningwhatyoucreatedinyourmembershipintoamoretraditionalonlinecourse.Inwhichcase,again,you'renothavingtoclosethingsdownorthroweverythingout.You'rejusttakingtheingredientsyou'vealreadygotandmixingthemupinadifferentwayinordertocreateaproductthatservesthesameaudience,addressesthesameproblems,itjustdoessoinadifferentway.Maybeyoucansellyourmembership.It'sgoingtobetrickybecauseoftenpeoplewilljoinamembershiplargelybecauseofthepersoninvolved,particularlywhenyou'redealingwithonlinemembershipsthatarebuiltaroundyourcredibility,yourauthority,yourpersonality,yourexpertise.Sellingontosomebodywhoyouraudiencehavenoconnectionwithisn'talwaysgoingtobeasmoothtransition,butagain,ifit'sachoicebetweensellingontosomebodyelsewhowillthentakeoverandrunthemembershiporclosingthemembershipcompletely,thensellingitmaybethebetteroption.Again,that'sgoingtoreallydependonhowimportantandhowintegralyouaretoyourmembership.Ifyouarerunningamembershipwithanexitinmind,perhapsyouareplanningtoexityourbusinessortoremoveyourselfasthebottleneck,asthemainperson,themainthingthatmakesyourmembershiprun,themainreasonpeoplejointhemembership,ifyouareplanningtomakesurethatyouhavesomesortofexitsoyourmembershipdoesn'trequireyoutobeinvolved24/7,thenagainthismightbesomethingtostartthinkingaboutnow.Howcanyoustructureyourmembership,howcanyoucreatecontent,thatmakesitsoyou'renotthekeyingredient,noteverythinghastorevolvearoundyou,noteverythinghastoflowthroughyou?There'sdifferentoptionstosimplyshuttingdownyourmembership.Expandingyourteamandreducingtheactualworkthatyou'reresponsibleforbyhiringotherpeopleandbringinginpeopletoactuallytakecareofthingsdaytodaycouldbeanoption.Pivotingawayfromamembershipandintoanotherformofonlineproductiscertainlysomethingtoconsider,orsellingupsoyourmembershipcontinueson.Youjustarenolongerinvolvedinit,butyouraudiencehasbeenserviced,they'regettingwhattheypaidfor,andessentially,thingsdon'treallyskipabeatotherthanyou'renolongerhangingaroundtheplace.If,afterallofthat,you'restilldeterminedtoclosedownyourmembership,whatyouneedtodoisputintoplaceanexitplan.Thefirstpartofthatisestablishingatimeline.We'vealreadysaidyoudon'tjustwanttopulltheplug,turnoffthelights,andtakeyourmembershipsiteofflineovernightbecausethatisgoingtocauseyouaworldofproblems.Youneedtodecidewhenyou'regoingtoclosethedoorintermsofnewmembersbeingtakenon,whenyou'regoingtostopanyrecurringorrepeatingpaymentsfromyourexistingmembers,andalsowhenyou'regoingtotakeyourwebsiteofflinecompletely.Thesetimeperiodsneedtobespreadout.Whileyoustillhavepayingmembers,youstillhavearesponsibilitytothosepeople.Youneedtomakesurethatthere'sawindowoftimeduringwhichyourpayingmemberscanstilllogin,theycanaccesswhattheypaidfor,andparticularlyifyouhavelifetimemembersorifyouhavememberswhohaveapaidanannualpaymentandperhapstheypaidtheirannualrenewaljusttwomonthsagothatpaidyoufortwelvemonthsofaccessandthensuddenlyyou'regoingtobeclosingyourmembershipdown,forthosepeople.Alsojustforexistingmembers,eveniftheyaremonthly.Youmaybewanttothinkaboutwhetheryouwanttoenablethosememberstodownloadthematerialthatyourmembershipsitecontains.Ordinarilywithinyourmembership,you'reprobablynotmakingyourcourses,videos,tutorialsdownloadable,butinlightofyouclosingyourmembership,youmightdecidetoactuallyaddthatoptionin.Thatthengetsaroundanysortofcomplaints,particularlyfromlifetimememberswheretheyhaveanexpectationofbeingableto

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accessthematerialtheypaidforprettymuchforever.Ifyougivethemtheoptionofbeingabletodownloadthatmaterialontotheirownharddrive,you'restillfulfillingthatresponsibility.Eventhoughyoudon'thavethatsameresponsibilitytomemberswhoarepayingyoumonthonmonth,givingthemtheabilitytodownloadmaterialfromyourmembershipiscertainlygoingtomakethewholeannouncementandtheirwholeacceptanceofthefactthismembershipisgoingawayaloteasierbecauseyou'renottakinganythingawayfromthem,you'rejusttellingthemthattheycandownloaditandconsumeitsomewhereotherthanonyourmembershipsite.Ofcoursethataddressesthecontentsideofthings,butalargepartofsuccessfulmembershipswillbewhentheyhaveathriving,activecommunity.Evenifyourcommunity'squitesmallorquiteintimate,themoreactivemembersaregoingtobequitedisappointedaboutthefactthecommunity'sbeingtakenaway.SomethingyoumightconsiderdoingissimplysettingupafreeclosedFacebookgroupthatyouthenencouragethecommunitytomovetobecauseyou'regivingthemanewhome,you'reenablingthemtosticktogether.Youdon'tnecessarilyneedtobeinvolvedinkeepingtheFacebookgrouprunning,butbysettingoneupaspartofyourexitplan,itjustshowsthatyou'veactuallythoughtaboutwhathappenstoyourcommunity,whathappenstoyourexistingmembers,tothesepeoplewho'veinvestedtime,money,andeffortandenergyintoyourmembership.Ifclosingdownyourmembershipisdefinitelyonthecards,makesureyouhaveanexitplan.Makesureyouknowthetimelineyou'regoingtoworkto.Closethedoorsintermsofrecruitingnewmembersearlyonbecauseit'snotfairforyoutobechargingpeopletojoinamembershipsitewhenyouknowthatthismembershipisgoingtogoawayinafewmonthstime.Earlyoninthattimeline,closethedoors,makesureyou'recommunicatingtoyourexistingmembersaboutwhat'sgoingtohappen,haveadateatwhichyoucancelanyrecurringsubscriptionstomakesureyou'renotcontinuingtotakemoneyfrompeopleforamembershipthat'snotgoingtobehereinafewmonths.Giveyourmembersawindowduringwhichtheycanstillloginanddownloadanymaterialfromthewebsite.Theycanmakesurethey'vegoteverythingsothatwhattheypaidfordoesn'tjustdisappearovernight.ConsidersettingupsomesortofalternativecommunityinaFacebookgroup,LinkedIngroup,Slackchannel,orsomethingelsethatbasicallyjustgivesyouractivemembersinyourcommunityanewhometomoveto.Youmightbethinkingtoyourself,"Thisallsoundslikealotofefforttotakecareofmembersofawebsitethatwon'tbehereinthree,four,five,orsixmonthstime",butyouneedtorememberthateverythingreflectsonyou.Thewayyouconductyourself,thewayyouinteractwithandserveyouraudience,yourhistoryonline,allformsyourreputationandyourreputationsticks,especiallyinthedaysofsocialmedia,especiallyinthedaysofpeoplebeingmorelikelytodoextensiveduediligenceandextensiveonlineresearchbeforetheymakeabuyingdecision.Ifyoushortchangeyourmembersnow,ifyoubasicallyscrewoverpeoplewho'veinvestedtheirtime,theirattention,theirmoney,theireffortsintoyourmembership,ifyouscrewthoseguysovernowandthenyouresurfaceinayear'stimewhenwhateveryou'redealingwithrightnowisover,whenyou'vedecidedonanewpath,ifyou'reclosingyourmembershipbecauseyou'rechangingdirection,thenifyoustingpeoplenow,that'sgoingtocomebacktobiteyou.Youwanttoconductyourselfethically,positivelyinordertoensurethatyoucancontinueagoodrelationshipwithyouraudience.Ifyou'refacingdowntheveryrealpossibilityofclosingyourmembershiporifyou'retoyingwiththatdecisionrightnow,ormaybeevenifyou'rejustsomeonewho'spragmaticandlikestoimagineandthinkandplanforallpossibleoutcomes,thenIdohopethisepisodehasgivenyousomeusefulfoodforthoughtonhowyoumightbeabletocloseyourmembershipwithoutburningbridgesandwithoutcausingallsortsofproblemsforyourself.That'sitfrommefromthisepisodeofTheMembershipGuysPodcast.Idohopeyouguyshavefoundituseful.Asalways,pleasegivemeashoutonsocialmedia.Youcangetmeontwitter@membershipguys,orinourfreeFacebookgroupformembershipsiteowners,

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talkmemberships.com.Letusknowwhatyouthoughtoftheepisode.Ifyou'vedealtwiththissituationbeforeoryou'rethinkingaboutclosingyourmembership,we'dliketohearfromyou.Ofcourse,ifyouhaveanyquestionsorcommentsontheepisode,letusknowtoo.We'realwaysgratefulforpositivereviewsoniTunesaswell.Ifyougetthechancetoleaveareview,givemeashoutonsocialmedia,letmeknowthatyouhavedonesoIcanthankyoupersonally.Onceagain,thanksfordownloadingthelatestinstallmentofTheMembershipGuysPodcast.I'llbebackagainverysoonwithanotherepisode.Ifyou'veenjoyedtoday'sepisodeofTheMembershipGuysPodcast,weinviteyoutocheckoutthemembersiteacademy.com.TheMemberSiteAcademyistheessentialresourceforanyoneatanystageofstarting,growing,andrunningamembershipwebsite.Whetheryou'restillfiguringoutwhatyouridea'sgoingtobeorwhetheryourwebsiteisalreadyupandrunningandyou'rejustlookingforwaystogrowitandattractnewmembers,thenTheMemberSiteAcademycanhelpyoutogettothenextlevel.Withourextensivecourselibrary,monthlytraining,exclusivememberonlydiscounts,perks,andtools,andasupportive,activecommunitytohelpyoualongthewaywithfeedback,encouragement,andadvice,TheMemberSiteAcademyistheperfectplacetobeforanyonelookingtostart,manage,andgrowasuccessfulmembershipwebsite.Checkitoutatmembersiteacademy.com.