I love eating at Chipotle…

I’ve been a regular customer for fifteen years. And there’s an interesting fact that I’ve been thinking about lately…

Their menu has remained largely the same over that fifteen years.

And yet I keep going back.

Keep this idea in your back pocket as your read today’s issue.

Let’s dive in.

When I see members disengage, it rarely looks like frustration or anger. Rather, it looks like silence.

There’s no dramatic exit. No heated email. Instead, there’s a gradual quieting—like a conversation that slowly trails off. One missed login turns into two. One unopened email becomes dozens. It’s a voluntary checking out process that’s painfully slow and essentially undetectable to most operators.

This is the "slow fade," and it’s one of the most dangerous patterns inside most memberships.

You see, It’s not that your members are unhappy with your product. Chances are, it’s quite the opposite.

But the truth is that most memberships aren’t designed to maintain member momentum: the frequency and ease by which members are guided toward consuming the content you want them to consume.

Members need extreme guidance on how to navigate and progress through the product you’ve worked so hard to build. As operators, we often assume that our members will automatically know how to interact with our product upon signing up - because we’re the ones who are in it, building it, tweaking it and refining it.

The operator needs no user manual - but members do.

I can tell you that when members aren’t continuously provided with the next step to take, they will spend no time looking for it.

And they begin drift.

The longer they drift, the harder it becomes harder to re-engage them. Without timely intervention, this disconnection leads to the great fading event.

This fade is often the result of silent friction: too many options, unclear pathways, or lack of reinforcement.

None of these things will trigger a complaint, but all of them create a drag on your program.

This is precisely why I love Chipotle. There aren’t too many options, the server guides me down the line and it takes less than 60 seconds to build my bowl. It’s a low-friction experience that hasn’t had to evolve much - because it’s simple and effective at leaving no opportunity to drift.

(And the food is good too.)

The best memberships fight the fade and prevent member drift by designing for this type of momentum. They keep the line moving, serving up options that are few, but high in quality. And they deliver an experience that’s so stubbornly predictable that it can be counted on - day after day, year after year.

That means clear progress cues, frictionless navigation, and signals that remind members that they’re on track and headed to the intended destination.

The most dangerous phase of disengagement isn’t the cancellation. It’s the silence that occurs before it.

📌 Resource: Use this proven guide to address member drift and to design your membership to prevent the slow fade.

Let’s unpack the three most common ways members slowly fade—and what they actually look like in the wild:

1. Decision Paralysis

Ever walked into a restaurant with a 12-page menu? It’s overwhelming—and it’s the same in your product. When members log in and see a dozen modules, four calls to action, and three different paths to take, they freeze (and often leave).

→ Signal: Members logging in regularly but not doing much once inside

→ Solution: Simplify the landscape. Highlight one clear action at a time, especially for new or re-engaging users.

2. Progress Blindness

Humans are wired for progress. If members can’t tell whether they’re advancing, it drains their motivation. It’s like reading a book with no chapter breaks—you lose track and lose interest.

→ Signal: Engagement drop-off after initial excitement wears off

→ Solution: Create a visible sense of progress. Milestone badges, module completion bars, and "you're here" indicators help reinforce momentum.

3. The Empty Room Effect

You join a community and... crickets. Even if there are thousands of members, silence makes people feel like they’re the only one there. Community is a mirror—if no one’s reflecting back, people stop showing up.

→ Signal: One-way engagement (e.g. lurking, no posts or replies)

→ Solution: Seed interaction. Highlight real member stories, use simple engagement tools like polls, and showcase a few vibrant conversations right up front.

Members rarely hit a wall. They slowly drift. But if you know what signs to watch for, you can step in early and help them reconnect before they disappear.

📌 Resource: Use this implementation guide to ensure members aren’t drifting out of your membership.

Engagement isn’t about louder messages or more frequent nudges.

It’s about resonance. When members feel seen, supported, and in motion—they stick around. But when the experience becomes generic or burdensome, even your best content won’t save them.

We’re entering a new era of membership design - one that rewards clarity, responsiveness, and emotional connection.

Winning operators will:

So the real question shouldn’t be: “How do I increase engagement?”

It’s: “How do we make members feel more invested every time they show up?”

So I’ll leave you with this question to reflect on:

What would happen if every member felt like the product was built just for them - like it grew with them, not around them?

Because that’s where real loyalty lives. Not in the volume of interaction, but in the meaning behind it.

Think about it.

My goal is for this email to be the most valuable thing that comes across your inbox each Tuesday. If I’m hitting that mark, share this newsletter with your staff, a team member or friend (just copy and share this URL).

See you next week.

-Michael