I can’t stand lifetime memberships. The thought that I would have a member hanging around for years who I got paid once and spent the money on is pretty devastating. You have to be good with your financial management.
You know, these people who are selling $2,000 courses are pretty much doing the same thing. I think the real danger is, what happens when you get bored, which you will, and you want to sell it or move on or close it? What happens to those lifetime members? Do they get pissed off? Do they come hunting you down with a crossbow? Do they slag you on social media? I just think there’s a big risk of detonation. And if you’re not good with your money, it’s just bad getting all that money up front and then having a service debt, which is what you’re doing. So instead of a financial debt, you’re having a service debt. You have to serve these people, maybe a year, 2, 3, 4? Is it five? Is it seven? What would be the lifetime? So I’m not into it.
Now, fact, I told John Lee Dumas to stop selling lifetime memberships and start selling annual memberships recurring. And he told me that recurring is overrated. He tweeted it, I screenshotted it. Later, he did change. And then I podcast that with him on our most recent episode on SuperFastBusiness, and I asked him about it. And he said it was the right thing to do. It was a good move.
I would say work on your lifetime customer value. Do you know with SuperFastBusiness now being more profitable than at any time since I opened it in 2009 in its first version of SuperFastResults, with the same or less members, it’s because I constantly refine and innovate? My customer lifetime value is increasing. If I do a better job, and I get the product working even better, and customers get great results, they could stay for a lot longer than my current run rate. Kind of like humans, right? Humans are now in an era where we can live to 120. But 10 years ago, it was like 70 or 80. So we’re about to cross over into this sort of longevity phase.
I’m worried that you’re short-selling yourself with a lifetime membership. I’d be worried about the service debt or the expectation. I just don’t recommend you sell it at all. Just have an annual recurring. I challenge you – make your annual recurring the same as your lifetime membership rate today. Change your annual membership to your current lifetime membership rates. And if the numbers hold true, which is about 50 percent of your annual members will stick the next year, then you will make a lot more. And it also will lift your game because you have to be sharp and continue to deliver value.
The other risk of course is a creator just gets very marketing-focused on that one time sale and they get stale for their customers. So yeah, I hate, hate, hate lifetime memberships.
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