Donald Trump identified a silent movement of fear and loathing within white America that delivered him to the White House. But, Trump didn’t invent fear-based movements; he’s simply a current practitioner. There’s evidence that fear has been used to lead and control people since the beginning of human history. The primary purpose of public crucifixions for Roman emperors was to … Continued
You Don’t Have to Fight Churn Alone, Instead Create a Community
How many times have you picked what looked like the fastest line at the grocery store, and it turned out to be the slowest? Argh! Isn’t it frustrating? Today we are in the “subscription economy” or the “membership economy.” Growing a subscription business is the fastest way to scale a successful business. Or so it may appear at the outset. … Continued
3 Biggest Lessons of 2nd Quarter of 2017 To Help Stop Your Members From Quitting
I had the pleasure of visiting Bonn, Germany, for full week to work with the team at VNR Verlag für die Deutsche Wirtschaft AG. I conducted a seminar on Monday with more than 50 members of the team. Then, Tuesday through Friday, I conducted workshops with nine different publishing divisions from family magazines, health, financial, and technology publications. While everyone … Continued
How Much Money Do Failed Credit Card Transactions Cost You Each Month?
I remember, early in my monthly continuity days, waking up on the first of the month, looking at my Blackberry, and seeing hundreds of emails from my credit card processor — one for each transaction, indicating all of the credit card pre-approved subscription payments getting processed for the month. It was a moment of sweet appreciation. Even now, as I … Continued
I Hate Churn, and You Should Too
Graduations are an amazing opportunity for reflection. For starters, they last for at least three hours once they begin. And my family has to arrive at least an hour early to make sure we get a good seat, near the front. This gives you plenty of time to think. As I mentioned a couple of months ago, our son, Robert … Continued
Why Subscribers Join and What Keeps Them From Quitting
Have you heard about those OPEC meetings where leaders from oil-producing nations agree to production rates to control the price of oil around the world? Have you ever wondered what those meetings are like? Is everyone at these OPEC meetings sitting on chairs made of solid gold, speaking while a team of servants fans them and feeds them grapes? Or … Continued
The Secret for Faster Recurring Revenue Growth, Invest More on Member Retention
It’s been exhilarating working with several $100 million — and larger — publishers over the last couple of months. These companies spend millions of dollars on member acquisition. They track their numbers and know what’s working — and what’s not — within their marketing and sales funnels. Some have weekly training seminars for copywriters. They get together, analyze promotions that … Continued
Discover Your “Retention Point” to Turn Subscribers Into Lifetime Members of Your Vibrant Tribe
Since completing the Boston Marathon last April, I’m often asked, “When is your next marathon?” “My next marathon is going to be a Netflix binge-watching marathon,” is my current answer. “With all of our training, my wife and I fell behind on our binge-watching of the new season of ‘Orange is the New Black.’” But what makes a show binge-worthy … Continued
Copywriting for Customer Engagement, Retention and Lower Churn
The biggest mistake I see in ongoing content is that it’s 100 percent “how-to” information. Too much how-to is boring, overwhelming, and monotonous. Plus, there are billions of pages of how-to content available for free on the internet. Yes, “how-to” is important, and when you ask your members, that’s what they always say they want; however, when you deliver content … Continued