Happy Tuesday fellow operator.

Last week I had a call with a Memberful client who told me they’ve spent the last year reducing their benefits, slashing their ad spend and closing their membership for months at a time.

All with the aim of growing the business.

And guess what? They’re not only growing - they’re thriving.

If achieving a 126% increase in revenue and 32% reduction in churn over six months sounds interesting, then read below and I’ll explain why such results are not only within reach, but a true reflection of what the membership market is telling us.

Why more access is working against you. PLUS: The playbook (linked below) for implementing scarcity into your membership program.

As a membership operator, there’s a target you must hit: Making your members feel like they’re part of something special.

Often, I speak to operators who become entangled with the task of injecting more into their product as they look to grow and scale .

More content. More benefits. More access.

However, access to more comes with a major cost: Exclusivity.

Across the digital membership and subscription industry, there are few products that are actually scarce. And as an operator, that gives you an edge.

You see, people place higher value on things that are difficult to obtain. But when something is always available to everyone it feels less special.

For example:

If your membership is always available for purchase, it’s not difficult to obtain.

If you’re running promotions every Tuesday, those promotions aren’t difficult to obtain.

If an unlimited number of people can purchase a given membership plan on your website, it’s not difficult to obtain.

See where I’m going with this?

Now, am I asking you to close your virtual doors for months at a time? Of course not. (But you should consider it. More on that at the link below.)

But I am asking you to take a moment and consider just how available your membership product might be today. Consider what element(s), if any, make your product (or the access to it) difficult to obtain.

I can guarantee you there’s room to introduce at least one element of scarcity into your offering right now.

The playbook below is the same one I’m using with some of the most exclusive (and successful) memberships programs that harness the power of scarcity to unlock significant value. You can use it right now to help create a membership product that feels so exclusive that it cannot be ignored.

📎 Resource: The Scarcity Playbook→

You don’t have to rework your entire membership program to create exclusivity.

There’s an interesting statistic that I’d like to share with you: Members who pay at least $300 per year for a membership have an annual retention rate of 86%.

But these aren’t just average members. Instead, they’re the VIPs that are provided with highly exclusive access to the star of the show.

As an operator, you’re the star of the show.

And believe it or not, it’s likely that you have paying members who would happily pay even more for VIP access to highly exclusive content that comes directly from you.

Establishing an Inner Circle tier for your membership is a highly strategic move that can build deep connection while driving significant amounts of revenue. It’s a tier that commands a higher-than-average price for highly exclusive benefits.

Some of my favorite examples of VIP benefits include:

A carefully crafted Inner Circle membership tier can work for just about any existing membership program - it just needs to go deeper on what’s already working for current members and then build upon those experiences in a highly personalized way.

📌 Resource: Use Step 4 in this guidance for successfully executing the creation of an Inner Circle within your membership.

Inspiration for operating with purpose and clarity.

We live in a subscription economy. And with that territory comes fierce competition that drives prices down. It’s not uncommon to see subscription companies compete on prices that are as low as 1-$2/month.

It’s a game of numbers and scale.

It’s also a race to the bottom.

As a membership operator, that is not the game you’re playing.

You see, at the heart of membership is a promise. It’s a promise to serve members from the standpoint of authenticity and meaningful connection: Two things that are increasingly absent in the majority of subscription-based products.

The future of membership is simply rooted in purpose.

As an operator, your product has a direct impact on the lives of the members it serves. It’s on you to define and execute the vision and purpose on which you’ll operate your membership for years to come.

Remember, a membership business with purpose is a membership business with staying power.

My goal is for Operator 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