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Membership cancellations are a normal part of any membership site. However, it’s in your best interests to ensure the user leaves your membership program happily.

Ensuring customer satisfaction even after they cancel their subscription can help you create a good brand impression. This is why it’s important to focus on how well your membership cancellation policies are set up and if they make it easy for your customers to cancel their membership subscriptions. As a result, you encourage users who leave your site to come back again or recommend your membership site to their friends or family in the future.

In this post, we’ll dive deeper into some of the worst membership cancellation policies you want to avoid at all costs.

The importance of membership cancellation policies

Before we talk about the importance of a good membership cancellation policy, it’s first important to understand what a membership cancellation policy is.

It’s essentially a formal agreement that lets users who subscribe to a membership plan cancel their subscription at any point in time. Membership cancellation policies dictate how (and when) a user can cancel their subscription. Similar to offering easy subscription methods, you also want to offer an easy way for users to cancel their membership plan anytime they’d like.

Let’s go over some main reasons why it’s important to pay attention to the cancellation policy of your membership site:

Brand image. If you have a poor membership cancellation policy on your membership site, users who cancel their subscription plan will not be happy. This can damage your brand image and cause users to leave your membership site.

One major reason for having a legal, formal agreement when users subscribe to your membership plan is to steer away from fraudsters and trolls. However, if your membership cancellation policy is not up-to-par, fraudsters can find loopholes and possibly scam your business out of money.

User-experience. Ideally, you want to offer a great user experience on your membership site, even if subscribers want to cancel or abandon their subscription plan. Similarly, you also want to ensure members who previously canceled their subscription can rejoin your membership site later if they’d like.

Re-subscriptions. Even if you lose a subscriber, it doesn’t mean you should cut off all ties with them. Instead, through a great membership cancellation policy, you can encourage users to re-subscribe to your membership plan whenever they’re ready again. Offering everyone an easy way to re-join your membership site is a great way to promote a more “inviting” brand image and help grow your business in the long run.

Terrible membership cancellation policies to avoid at all costs

Here, we’ll take a closer look at some of the worst membership cancellation policies you’d want to avoid at all costs and talk about some useful tips to help prevent such mistakes.

#1. Hard to find the “cancel subscription” button

You don’t want to hide the “Cancel Subscription” or “Abandon Subscription” buttons on your membership site as a way to stop subscribers from taking such actions. This just makes it difficult for users who want to cancel their subscription immediately and discourages them from joining your membership site again later.

Similar to how call-to-action buttons are used on your site to encourage customers to subscribe easily, you also want to make sure it’s as easy for them to unsubscribe from your membership site. A great way to do this is by letting users manage their subscription plan from a “My Account” page and cancel their subscription immediately whenever they’d like.

#2. Users need to issue a 30-day notice

If you’re asking users to issue a 30-day notice before they can cancel, you’re delivering a poor user experience that’s likely leaving subscribers dissatisfied. This is because a 30-day notice limits subscribers from immediately canceling their membership plan and losing money on something they don’t really want to continue with. You don’t want to create a “hostage” situation with your subscribers when they decide to cancel their membership plan.

Ideally, you want to give your subscribers the option to either immediately abandon their subscription or choose to continue their subscription till it’s time to pay again. For instance, if a user still has 2 weeks of subscription time left, they can simply choose not to re-subscribe next month automatically and enjoy the subscription plan till their last paid date. As a result, it helps users get the most value for their money and makes it easier for them to leave your membership site if they choose to immediately.

#3. Delaying the cancellation process

When a subscriber decides to cancel their subscription plan, the last thing they want is for you to delay the process, causing them to lose precious money and time. For instance, if a user requests you to cancel their subscription, you don’t want to keep them waiting for a response. If your onboarding process is quick and easy, your cancellation process should also be straightforward.

The easier you make it for users to cancel their subscriptions, the more likely it is that they’ll leave your brand satisfied. As a result, it can encourage them to re-join at a later date or recommend your membership site to other people.

#4. Not giving an easy way for old subscribers to re-join

While you may have lost a subscriber once users leave your membership site, there’s always a possibility they might want to join back at a later date when they’re ready. For example, a user might cancel their subscription plan because they have to travel or fall ill. However, once they are ready again, they might want to rejoin the membership program for more quality content.

This makes it important to ensure that you offer an easy way for old subscribers to re-join your membership site or re-subscribe to their previously subscribed plan easily later.

#5. No option for subscribers to “freeze” their subscription

Some members might not want to leave your membership site; however, there can be some reasons causing them not to continue their subscription plan. For example, if a user cannot continue their subscription due to health reasons or wants to take a break. Instead of just giving them an option to cancel, you can also offer a way to essentially “freeze” their subscription until they are ready to start once again.

This offers a more comfortable environment for subscribers and makes it easier for them to continue with your membership site, even if they have to take a break temporarily.

#6. Deleting user data after they cancel their subscription

If you’re deleting user data once a subscriber cancels their subscription on your membership site, the chances of them subscribing again are low even if they decide to visit your site again. This is because they wouldn’t want to go through the hassle of registering and setting up their account once again.

Instead, you can simply keep user data saved on your membership site even after subscribers cancel their subscription plan and leave your site. This way, when an old subscriber is ready to join again, they can simply log in to their already existing user account with their personal details and start their subscription plan.

#7. Restricting access when a user decides to cancel

Ideally, once a user cancels, you want to give them the option to continue their subscription plan until the date they have paid for it or leave your membership site immediately.

You don’t want to restrict access to premium content for users when they click on the “Cancel” button. This can cause them never to trust your brand again or recommend your membership site to their peers. Instead, it’s you should let users enjoy the premium content until their subscription date, so they don’t have to worry about losing money if they decide to cancel or not re-subscribe next month.

#8. Letting go of subscribers without asking them why

Another major mistake when creating a membership cancellation policy is not asking subscribers why they decided to cancel or leave your membership site. This way, you aren’t finding the problem that caused a user to leave to cancel their subscription after deciding to pay you.

While asking subscribers why they decided to cancel can help gather feedback, it’s also a great way to make members feel special and helps enhance your brand image.

Conclusion

It’s important for your business’s growth to make sure your membership site doesn’t have a terrible membership cancellation policy. While you’re already losing sales, with a bad membership cancellation policy, you’ll also leave old subscribers on a bad note.

This discourages users from re-joining your membership site later on while damaging your brand image in front of prospective customers. In addition to this, a bad membership cancelation policy can also cause fraudsters to target your membership site, which can damage your business and result in you losing more money.

Looking for a way to catch the attention of your target audience? You need to stand out as the go-to expert in your industry.

If you want your membership site to be successful, you will need to grab the attention of people who matter to your business. This is why you need to build yourself as an authority in your industry and establish yourself as the “go-to” expert on your membership topic.

In this article, we’ll dive deeper into some great ways you can position yourself as the go-to expert on your membership topic in the industry you operate in.

Tips to help you stand out as the go-to expert on your membership topic

Here, we’ll go over some useful tips that can help you stand out as the go-to expert on your membership topic.

#1. Be consistent

One of the most important things when standing out as an expert on a specific membership topic is making sure you’re consistently publishing content relevant to the membership topic. This is because if your target audience doesn’t get to see much of your content and your knowledge through posts, there’s a high chance they won’t even have an idea you’re an expert.

You should consistently “remind” your audience that you know all the ins and outs of the membership topic. This makes it much easier to position yourself as the industry expert and helps gain the trust of your audience.

#2. Improve visibility

Another important factor in positioning yourself as the go-to expert on your membership topic is making sure your premium content gets in front of the eyes of the “right” people. If your membership content that showcases your expertise is not viewed by your audience, people won’t see your brand as the leading industry expert.

One way to improve content visibility is by repurposing content on your membership site. For instance, you can create a “best tips for managing money better” post out of an old “Money Management 101” guide. This way, you save yourself the hassle of creating new quality content about your membership topic and get fresh content in front of the eyes of more users. In addition to this, you can also add internal links to old posts that talk about your membership topic in new posts. As a result, it makes it easier for you to stand out as the industry expert on your membership site while improving content visibility so even new site visitors get to see your premium content.

#3. Niche down

It’s always a great idea to cover a niche topic instead of trying to cover multiple general topics. This is because you cannot simply position yourself as an industry expert if you’re publishing content about different topics or trending topics only.

Instead, you should publish content that’s relevant to your membership topic only, so you can focus more on publishing high-quality content and attracting the “right” users. By publishing content only for your membership topic, you essentially associate your brand with the topic. This also means users will see you as the go-to expert on your membership topic since that’s all your membership site is about. In addition to this, It's also a great way to back up your brand’s claims of being the industry expert and helps catch the attention of new users.

#4. Stay informed of the latest industry news

If you’re claiming to be the industry expert, it’s important you also stay on top of the latest industry news and updates.

This not only ensures the content you create is also relevant and meaningful to your target audience but also helps you brainstorm new content ideas. If you’re well informed about the problems going on in your industry, you can offer valuable solutions to the right users which can be profitable for your business while also helping your brand gain more authority.

#5. Ensure relevancy

Other than being well informed about industry news, it’s also important to ensure that all the content you publish is relevant to your membership topic.

For instance, if your membership topic is about photography, you don’t want to publish content on business marketing tips. This not only confuses your audience but also removes credibility when you claim to be the industry expert on a specific membership topic.

#6. Don’t hard sell yourself

No one likes it when businesses hard-sell products and services or make big claims that are hard to believe. This is why it’s important for you to make sure you’re not pushing the line too much with your target audience when making claims about being the industry expert.

Instead, you can showcase your expertise through high-quality content and offer valuable solutions to your audience. This way, you will have an easier time convincing your audience that you’re the go-to expert on your membership topic.

#7. Ensure maximum availability

Another important aspect of positioning your brand as the industry leader is making sure you’re always available for events going on in your industry. This means you need to be fully aware of any live events, conferences, and other types of public events that other businesses or organizations might host.

If you’re always there and participating in important events in your industry, it makes it easier for you to position yourself as the industry expert. In addition to this, this also helps you network with important figures in your industry and get your message across to the right people.

#8. Build online presence

Another great way to position yourself as the go-to expert on your membership topic is by creating a huge online presence for your business. This helps you get your messages across to more people and get high-quality content in front of the eyes of more interested users.

While there are many ways to create an online presence, consider using social media marketing channels and promoting your brand on other high-traffic websites, as well. For instance, you can join Facebook Groups that have people who are interested in your membership topic or use LinkedIn to get in touch with other businesses so you can publish guest posts on their websites.

#9. Always be confident

If you’re confident when making claims about being the go-to expert on your membership topic, there’s a high chance most users will find it convincing and easier to trust your brand’s claims.

If you know so much about a membership topic, it essentially gives you the right to speak more about it and helps solve more problems for your audience. This is the only way users will actually find out how knowledgeable you are about a topic and who they can go to whenever they have a problem regarding the topic.

#10. Create quality content for free

Since promoting yourself as the go-to expert on a membership topic involves getting your message across to more users in your industry, you need to have a solid way to attract new site visitors to your membership site.

A great way to do this is by publishing free quality content. This puts off the impression that you’re an expert who wants to share knowledge and help other people fix problems. It also helps you encourage more subscriptions and makes it easier for your target audience to trust your brand.

#11. Write a book

Another great way to showcase your expertise and let people know how well you know your membership topic is by writing a book on it.

A book can help you tell your “story” of how you became the expert you are today on a specific membership topic. It also helps make your story more legit and believable if it’s in the form of a full-fledged book. As a result, it increases your brand’s credibility when claiming to be an industry expert and leader.

#12. Publicly speaking

Publicly speaking about the topic that you’re experienced with can help you gain more attention from the right users in your industry.

Look for opportunities to speak at public events in your industry as the keynote speaker. This way, you have a better platform to speak your mind and get important messages across to the right people in your industry.

#13. Be open to guest posting

You don’t want to think that if you’re publishing content for free on other businesses’ websites, it’s essentially taking away from your brand’s authority.

Instead, it works the complete opposite as it helps your brand reach out to more people and tap into other brands’ markets. As a result, it’s much easier to stand out as the industry expert if all your competitor sites also have your content published on them.

Conclusion

Standing out as the go-to expert on your membership topic is important if you want to grab the attention of more people in your industry.

Ideally, you want to make sure you’re always creating high-quality content about your membership topic while also always staying on top of the latest industry news and updates. You can also use various promotion methods to grab the attention of more people such as public speaking at events, guest posts, or creating content for free on your site. This helps you send out important messages to the right people and position your brand as the leading industry expert on your membership topic.

Do you know of any other ways to stand out as the go-to expert on a membership topic? Let us know in the comments box below. Want more free advice and tips on building a membership business online? Get this free PDF here: https://www.wp-tonic.com/download-membership-guide/