Membership churn refers to the departure of members from a membership-based website or community, often quantified by the number of canceled subscriptions. The membership churn rate represents the speed at which members perceive the value of the service. While it is common for such platforms to experience some churn, the average annual churn rate for subscription sites is around %6.7.

What Is The Membership Churn Rate?

Membership churn means the number of members who leave a membership-based website, or community. This is usually measured by how many people cancel their subscriptions or memberships. 

A membership churn rate is the pace at which members are leaving an online membership platform. 

Analyzing membership churn is a key indicator of how members perceive the values of a membership-based online service, website, or community. 

While most such platforms experience some churn, the average annual churn rate for subscription sites is approximately 6.7%.

Why Do Members Churn?

You must understand why your members are leaving your platform to ensure that any retention strategy implemented stands a chance of success.

Here are the most common reasons why members churn:

Mismatched Value Perception

Members leave if they perceive that the value provided by the service or community doesn’t align with their expectations or needs. 

Subscription Model Incompatibility

The chosen subscription model may not suit the nature of the content or services. For instance, if the value is delivered upfront, a recurring subscription might lead to dissatisfaction. 

Financial Constraints

Members leave if they face financial challenges, making it difficult for them to continue paying subscription fees. 

Subscription Fatigue

Members leave when they feel fatigued from multiple subscription services, leading them to cut down on expenses by canceling memberships. 

Failed Payments

Issues with payment processing, expired cards, or other payment-related problems can result in members needing help accessing the service, leading to churn. 

Lack of Engagement

If members don’t find the content engaging or the community interaction is insufficient, they may lose interest and cancel their membership. 

Unaddressed Concerns

If members face challenges or have concerns not addressed promptly, they may choose to leave the service. 

How To Calculate The Membership Churn Rate?

To determine the churn rate, subtract the number of members at the end of a period from the number at the beginning. For example, if you began the month with 100 members and finished with 90, your churn rate would be 10%.

The ideal target for online memberships is a churn rate below 5%, representing a desirable retention level. Rates between %5 and %10 are common but suggest room for improvement.

However, if your churn rate exceeds %10, it serves as a significant red flag, signaling the need for immediate attention and corrective measures. 

High churn rates in this range indicate potential issues that require urgent intervention to sustain the health and growth of the membership base. 

How To Improve Membership Retention And Reduce The Churn Rate?

Consistently introduce fresh content 

To enhance member retention, make sure you consistently post and introduce fresh content to your members.

Consistently introducing new content doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to share entirely new or fully original material; consider incorporating workshops, masterclasses, live training sessions, or interactive elements like coaching phone calls and mentorship meetings. 

By continually building upon existing content, you provide ongoing value and incentives for members to remain engaged and committed. 

Survey Members For Content And Membership Marketing Ideas 

Crafting content for your membership website can pose creative challenges over time. To overcome creative blocks and determine the most appealing formats and topics, consider directly consulting your members through surveys. 

Embrace suggestions even if they propose strategies beyond your expertise, as collaboration offers a solution.

For instance, seek input on potential marketing strategies and consider involving experts to provide specialized training. 

Alternatively, leverage the expertise within your community by inviting members to host masterclasses or workshops. 

Implementing an exit survey for members who choose to cancel their subscriptions can offer valuable insights, helping you understand how to win them back or enhance retention strategies for the future. 

Implement Gamification 

Enhance member engagement by incorporating game-like elements into your membership platform. Introduce quizzes to incentivize completion of lessons, awarding badges based on progress. 

Establish a points and rewards system that unlocks exclusive bonus content, deals, or merchandise upon meeting specific criteria or achieving goals. 

Provide Completion Certificates 

Boost member's satisfaction and encourage content completion by awarding completion certificates. This recognition not only fosters a sense of accomplishment but also motivates members to finish the materials offered by your membership.

Send Special Gifts To Members 

Elevate the member experience and improve retention by sending special gifts as part of their benefits. Simple, personalized items like brand t-shirts or coffee mugs can make members feel valued and connected to the community. 

Pair Members With Accountability Partners 

Emphasize the community aspect of your membership by introducing accountability partners. 

Pair members together so they can support and hold each other accountable for their goals, promoting a higher likelihood of completing content and training materials.

Add A Group Or Forum

Capitalize on the community aspect by creating a group or forum where members can interact. 

Platforms like BuddyPress, bbPress, Slack, Discord, or Facebook groups offer dedicated spaces for members to connect, especially beneficial for online memberships with diverse membership bases. 

If you are a content creator, you should start your membership to provide exclusive content to your loyal fanbase. 

And for that, Crowdfundly can be your go-to tool exclusively for creators where you can easily create and offer memberships to your fanbase. 

With crowdfundly,

• It is easy set up your membership
• You have 100% control over your memerbship deals and packeges
• No third party interference

FAQs

What Is A Good Churn Rate? 

Achieving a churn rate of %5 or below is considered highly desirable for online memberships, while %5-10 is more typical but leaves room for improvement. A churn rate exceeding %10 is a significant concern, signaling the need for corrective actions to retain members. 

What Is Involuntary Churn?

Involuntary churn takes place when a member experiences payment failure, typically due to factors outside their influence, including expired credit cards or insufficient funds. 

What Is Voluntary Churn?

Voluntary churn occurs when members consciously decide to cancel their subscription, often due to financial constraints, lack of engagement, unmet expectations, time constraints, or shifts in goals and priorities. Common reasons for cancellation include changes in financial situation, dissatisfaction with engagement levels or delivered content, unmet expectations from the initial promises, time constraints, and evolving personal or professional priorities. 

Concluding Words

Now that you understand what membership churn is, follow the steps to reduce the churn rate of your membership site and improve your retention rate.