Thousands of hours spent building and brainstorming with other membership operators has taught me something:

So many operators hide their points of view.

Now, the quick explanation for this could have been that most operators simply worry that holding strong points of view is bad for business.

But when I began to dig deeper, I discovered something even more intriguing:

Most operators treat and attempt to sell their membership as a widget with specific and often mechanical features that will hopefully appeal to an audience with some universal need.

And the moment this occurs, the operator’s point of view - the very foundation from which their idea was born - gets buried and hidden away for no one to see.

Why?

Because selling widgets doesn’t necessarily require a strong point of view.

But what about membership?

Could it be that memberships aren’t products at all?

Could it be that memberships themselves are points of view - opinions and bold perspectives that drive differentiation and trust?

And if there’s a chance that either of the two points above is true, then wouldn’t your point of view be the one thing you’d want on full display for all to see?

That’s precisely the question I’m asking you to consider for today’s issue where I’m giving you a point of view on…points of view.

Let’s dive in.

It’s a fact that most of us as operators spend significant time creating deliverables.

Access to content, courses, communities, perks, etc.

And all of these things certainly matter.

But I can tell you that the memberships that people stick with over the long term, the ones they feel proud to be part of, are built around a worldview that’s consistently and elegantly weaved into those deliverables.

These memberships don’t just answer, “What do we offer?”

They make statements like this:

“This is what we believe. This is who we’re here for. And this is what we’re building to make your life better.”

And when that belief is clear, the membership becomes more than a transaction - to both you and your members.

The weekly events. The members-only email. The course catalog.

Most of those things can be replicated, or even ignored.

But the part that sticks? The part people remember and return for?

Your point of view.

It’s what you believe about the people you serve. It’s what you see in them that maybe they don’t see in themselves yet. It’s what you think is broken in your market - and what you’re building to fix it.

I’ve never met an operator that didn’t have a strong, memorable point of view on the thing they’re actively building and why it should matter in the world.

But too often, that point of view doesn’t translate into the product. It doesn’t appear in the sales copy. It doesn’t show up in the marketing. It doesn’t come through in the deliverables.

Here’s a point of view I’m asking you to consider:

Running a membership requires a strong point of view that’s out in the open.

The magic that can unfold when your point of view is what fuels your deliverables cannot be overstated.

Because when your point of view is what fuels your deliverables, people are no longer just joining for what you offer.

They’re joining for the conviction they detect from you, the operator.

I find these four points to be reliable and worth leaning into as a membership operator:

Your membership is communicating something with every touchpoint it generates.

Even if you’ve never written a manifesto. Even if your landing page is “clean” and “conversion-optimized.”

Even if your focus is on value that’s unrivaled.

The structure you choose. The tone of your onboarding. The way you speak to your audience.

It all adds up. And it all says something.

So is your membership saying what you actually mean?

Because if you’re not leading with a point of view, the market will fill in the blanks for you.

And those blanks usually sound something like this:

“It’s just another platform with similar content.”

“It seems useful, but I don’t really know who it’s for.”

“It looks well-designed. Maybe I’ll come back later.”

That’s the danger of neutrality. It’s forgettable.

But when your membership has a real point of view - when it takes a stance, or solves something specific, or reflects the actual worldview of the person behind it - everything shifts.

It becomes more than a product.

It becomes a mirror for your members.

They see themselves in it. They see their values reflected. They see their struggles named. And most importantly, they see a different future that they want to step into.

That’s the real power of a belief-led product that makes no apologies about its points of view.

It invites people into something that feels aligned. Something that doesn’t just solve a problem, but understands the problem.

And that distinction is everything when it comes to membership.

Your tools will change. Your format will evolve. Even your pricing may shift over time.

But the one thing that should never be in question is your point of view.

The memberships that last aren’t just useful.

They’re emotionally specific.

They make people feel seen, understood and give them something to stand in.

So as you look at what you’re building next - whether it’s new features, new positioning, new growth strategies - come back to this:

What do you want your membership to mean to the people who join it?

Because if your membership is just a product, someone else will build a better one.

But if it’s a point of view that’s clear, steady and unmistakable, then what you’re building can’t be replaced.

So I’ll leave you with this question today:

Is your membership a reflection of what you believe or just what you think will sell?

Think about it.

As always, I want 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 Tuesday.

-Michael