Improve Your Membership Retention With These Copy Improvements
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Retain More Clients Using Retention-Focused Copy
People who have already purchased from you are 67% more likely to purchase from you again than a brand-new lead.
That means the people who already know, like, and trust your work are your most valuable sales opportunity.
However, service providers say, ‘thanks for the sale!’ and only deliver rather than keeping these people in their orbits.
But you’re reading this, and you’re smart! Which means you’re going to either read on or listen to this episode of Copy And.
Whether you run a membership, sell digital products, or do done-for-you work, I have a whole boatload of ideas to help you increase retention.
NOTE: This post goes through three segments:
👆Click on one of those to scroll to the section you need!
How Copywriting Can Improve Membership Retention
When we think of retention, we often think about it from a delivery standpoint: if we keep the quality of delivery high, people will either stay or repurchase. That's partly true.
But what drives your retention is often asking for it. This means either asking people to commit for longer upfront, or asking for people to renew their membership.
Which means that you need the copy and messaging around your offer to assume an ongoing relationship.
They must both see the value and see that you want them to stay.
Case Study - How I Increased My Membership Retention
When Copy On Demand launched three years ago, there was no minimum commitment. Members could come and go as they pleased. Average retention? Three months.
So, I added a three-month minimum for my clients. I saw that the people getting the most out of the membership were those that were going beyond quick fixes in their copy and wanted to change their writing habits overall.
Adding a three-month minimum bumped my membership’s retention to about four and a half months, but it still required me to launch at least 4x/year – this was exhausting for me, and meant that I wasn’t able to deliver as well as I wanted to within the membership. Plus, I knew that the folks who were staying the longest were still the clients seeing the most positive change in their copy.
So, I started positioning Copy On Demand as a 12-month minimum commitment. It was a year of support in which there were quick fixes, but also a ton of learn-while-you-do opportunities.
Retention jumped to 16 months. Enrollment increased at my next launch. I get to launch about ¼ as much as before, and be a better service provider as a result. Everyone wins!
So to be clear: copywriting changed my retention because I communicated the membership differently on the sales page. Increasing retention lets me be a better service provider.
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How to Increase Your Membership Minimum Without Losing Signups
The key is making sure your messaging reflects the outcome for your people, not the commitment for you.
When you raise your minimum, your copy needs to tell your future members what they get out of staying longer.
For Copy On Demand, that answer is: Sam in your back pocket all year long. Better copy habits over time. A strategic partner who actually knows your business.
When writing your copy, position the minimum as a feature, not a restriction.
Other Ways to Retain Membership Clients
Inside of your membership, there are other ways to keep people excited about staying in your orbit:
Shout-outs and progress tracking. If you know when a member goes from three clients to fifteen, say so publicly. People stay where they feel seen and appreciated!
Identity marketing. Veronica Romney's book Identity Marketing makes the case that people adhere to communities they feel are part of who they are. Give members an identity and they'll stick around longer.
Turn members into affiliates. When someone's making money by sharing your membership, staying makes financial sense!
How Copywriting Can Improve Digital Product Retention
Digital product buyers are one-time buyers by default. They grab the thing, get some value, and disappear unless you give them a reason to come back.
Here are a few ways to increase one-time-buyer retention:
Add Sales Opportunities Inside the Product
If someone's already inside your course or portal, they're a warm lead for your next offer. The moment they log in is one of the highest-engagement moments in your entire customer relationship.
You can use your membership portal to invite them to upgrade, purchase a different product, or tell them about your membership.
One example: Your clients log in to your course - a one-time purchase. When they login, they are given the opportunity to upgrade to your biweekly group coaching calls that help them put the lessons in the course into action.The positioning here is to "get more out of what you already bought.".
Use Segmented Emails to Retarget Buyers
When someone purchases a specific product, they are typically tagged in your Email Service Provider (ESP), then sent a post-purchase sequence. I recommend positioning an upsell or downsell as the next obvious step.
One example: If someone grabbed your template, the next logical offer is the DFY micro service that completes the templates, or a membership where they get feedback as they implement.
Think about the problem they'll face after they start to use your product, and make sure your email sequence is already waiting there with the solution.
Product Updates as a Re-Engagement Play
Updating an older product and sending it out to past buyers is an opportunity for retention and re-engagement. An email when you’ve improved something that people have already purchased reminds people who you are, shows that you take your offers seriously, and creates a natural opening to position what's next.
See How I Do It
You can check out my favorite digital product, my Launch Emails Checklist - 40+ emails most service providers forget to send when they’re launching
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You’ll see how I position future sales right on the sales page, in the post-sale sequence, and inside of the offer.
How Copywriting Can Improve Done-For-You Offer Retention
Done-for-you clients are the trickiest to retain because the nature of the work means they might not need you again for months or years. A brand photographer's client probably won't need another shoot for two or three years. A web designer's client might not need a new site for even longer.
The retention question (ugh that almost rhymed!) with DFY work is fun because it’s not just about getting paid for another big project, but also about how to stay in their business long-term.
Here are my ideas for DFY service providers:
Maintenance Retainers
If your service is anything that can break, drift, or become outdated (looking at you, design, SEO, tech systems, copywriting) a maintenance retainer makes sense.
I recently had a client do this for her web development clients and position it as preventative: "I'll spend two hours a month making sure everything's working so you're not calling me in a panic five weeks after something broke… but the minute you discovered it."
Maintenance retainers are a great option to position during the final stages of a project and during offboarding. I recommend bringing them up in the final client call, and including information in the offboarding emails. This is when trust and hype are highest.
Move Them Into a Membership or Credit System
A done-for-you client who just had a great project experience is a warm lead for your membership or retainer. If you have either, mention it at offboarding. When I worked in corporate, we would offer a ‘past client discount’. Because it’s cheaper to keep a client than to find new ones, this discount often pays for itself. Plus, people LOVE loyalty points!
A credit system is another option: clients pay a monthly amount, and if they don't need you that month, credits roll over toward a future project. They stay connected and financially invested even between projects.
Identify a Gap and Ask for the Next Sale
This one is my favorite because YOU get to further position yourself as an expert.
After a strong project, look at what else they might need and mention it. If you’re worried about being ‘salesy’, think of this as a thought partner observation. "I LOVE your new website and your clients will, too! I did notice, though, that they don’t match your [main product] sales page. Do you want to add a VIP Day before your fall launch?"
If they're not ready, they'll say so. But now they know you're available, you're paying attention, and you're already thinking ahead for them. That's the super-attentive behavior that gets you bragged on and referred.
Share Their Success Publicly
Case studies and success story content do double duty. They give your client additional visibility and drive traffic to their site, and they give you credibility and content at the same time. When you make your clients look good publicly, they remember it.
The Math Is Simple
If you run a $100K business and retain just 10% of your existing clients for a second project, that's $10,000 you didn't have to market for.
And if you are retaining just 10% of your business in addition to your typical work, that's a trip, a car payoff, a month off, or a team member that feels like they’re already paid for. The ceiling goes up fast when you stop treating past buyers as closed files.
Next Steps
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Nomad Copy Agency writes copy that CONVERTS for service-based businesses. Inquire about done-for-you services here.
