Million Dollar Memberships Podcast

62. Open vs Closed Membership Model: Why Staying Open Is Killing Your Growth

JOIN THE JULY MEMBERSHIP CHALLENGE:  Get Your Next 100 Members Challenge (July 14–16). Register here: https://milliondollarmembershipspodcast.paigevandy.com/offers/Rmx3Z24o/checkout
 
Ready to build a predictable, profitable membership?
Join Million Dollar Memberships Club: https://paigevandy.com/million-dollar-memberships-club
 
In this episode, Paige breaks down why the open close membership model beats staying open year-round, and why keeping your doors open might be the exact thing killing your growth.
Every membership guru tells you to keep your doors open all year and let your membership feed your higher ticket programs.
Paige believes that advice is hurting 90% of memberships.
Because the truth is... the founders following it are dealing with inconsistent sign-ups, brutal churn, and total burnout from promoting their membership every single day.
And most of those problems are 80% solved the moment you switch to open close.
Inside this episode, Paige walks through the three biggest problems membership founders face and exactly how the open close model fixes each one.
You'll discover:
Why inconsistent sign-ups aren't a content problem, they're a model problemHow random discounts and flash sales are quietly lowering the perceived value of your membershipWhy churn actually DECREASES when members know the doors close behind themThe surprising way open close helps your members commit and get better resultsHow focused sales periods replace the constant promo grind (and save your sanity)
And that's just the beginning.
If you're tired of hard selling your membership every day just to keep it alive, this episode will show you a better way.
 
More From Million Dollar Memberships:
Paid 3-Day Challenge: Get Your Next 100 Members (July 14–16) htthttps://milliondollarmembershipspodcast.paigevandy.com/offers/Rmx3Z24o/checkout
 
Ready to start or grow your membership? Join Million Dollar Memberships Club and get step-by-step strategies to start and scale your online membership site https://paigevandy.com/million-dollar-memberships-club
Want higher touch support growing your membership this year?? Work with Paige 1:1 to scale to 7 or multi-7 figures 📩 Book a 1:1 Membership Consulting Package Here: https://milliondollarmembershipspodcast.paigevandy.com/offers/uqyW9Mrn/checkout
 
Have questions you want answered on the show?? Submit your questions to our email at support@paigevandy.com for our end-of-month Q&A episode.
Connect With Paige:
Instagram: @themembershipmuse Youtube: @themembershipmuse
This podcast is for coaches, service providers, and online entrepreneurs who want to build profitable memberships and escape the 1:1 hustle.
You'll learn proven strategies to:
Launch and grow your membership fasterKeep members engaged and paying month after monthTurn your membership into a reliable, recurring revenue machine
If you love shows like Online Marketing Made Easy by Amy Porterfield, Membership Geeks, Earn Your Happy by Lori Harder, and The Art of Online Business by Rick Mulready... you'll feel right at home here. 💸🪩

61. Membership Q&A: 3 Leaks Destroying Your Growth, Why More Content Isn't Helping Members, Fixing Member Retention and More!

GET YOUR NEXT 100 MEMBERS CHALLENGE: https://paigevandy.com/100-members-challenge
(doors open June 30)
 
⬛ Join Million Dollar Memberships Club → https://paigevandy.com/million-dollar-memberships-club⬜ Free Membership Training → https://paigevandy.com/masterclass-opt-in⬛ Work with Paige privately → https://paige749061.typeform.com/to/EL04fjb3⬜ Leave an Apple Podcasts review, screenshot it BEFORE submitting, and email it to support@paigevandy.com for a free course on me
Your membership isn't growing because of ONE of three leaks — and most founders never figure out which one until it's too late. In this Q&A episode, I'm answering real questions from inside MDMC: why communities go quiet, why more content isn't the answer to results, why churn is eating your launches alive, and how to know when it's finally time to hire your first team member.
You'll discover:
Why your community feels "dead" — and what actually makes members log in daily
The 3 leaks that keep memberships stuck (and which one is probably yours)
Why piling on more content is hurting your members' results, not helping
The real math behind why 70% of revenue comes from retention, not new sales
What to do when churn means your launches can't even keep up
How to know it's time for your first hire — and why it should be a community role first
If this episode helped you see your membership differently, the best thing you can do is leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Screenshot it before you hit submit and email it to support@paigevandy.com — I'll send you a free course as a thank-you.
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60. Your Membership Used to Grow Fast — Here's Why It Stopped (3 Fixes)

🖤 Join Million Dollar Memberships Club membership: https://paigevandy.com/million-dollar-memberships-club🤍 Free Membership Training: https://paigevandy.com/masterclass-opt-in🩶 Work with Paige privately: https://paige749061.typeform.com/to/EL04fjb3
◻ Leave a review, get our Starter Kit: Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, screenshot it before you hit submit, then email that screenshot to support@paigevandy.com to get instant access to our Starter Kit.
Your membership used to grow fast. Members were coming in left and right, your content was taking off, and it felt like you'd cracked the code. But somewhere along the way, that momentum died down — and now you're treading water, struggling to keep members engaged, repeat those early sales wins, or build the kind of community that actually sticks. In this episode, Paige breaks down why this happens to membership founders at every level (even those with 800+ members) and walks through the exact framework she teaches inside Million Dollar Memberships Club to fix it for good.
In this episode, you'll discover:
Why a membership that grew fast in the beginning is often built on shaky foundations that eventually give out
The 5 pillars every strong, compounding membership needs to actually sustain growth
The real difference between a membership members "use" and one they treat as a non-negotiable daily habit
Why your onboarding might be quietly costing you members (and what real onboarding should look like)
How to build a repeatable, FOMO-driven sales system that doesn't rely on you reinventing a promotion every month
Why visibility is the silent killer behind stalled growth — even if it's never felt like "your" problem before
How to diagnose which of the 3 leaks (community/retention, sales, or visibility) is actually behind your own stall
If this episode hit home for you, Paige has something coming next month that's going to change the way you approach sales in your membership — details drop on next Monday's episode, so make sure you're subscribed. And in the meantime, block off July 14–16 on your calendar.
 
🖤 Follow along:Instagram: @themembershipmuseYouTube: @themembershipmuse
🤍 Million Dollar Memberships is for membership site owners, online coaches, and community builders who want real, sustainable growth — not just another podcast about passive income. This is where we talk about what it actually takes to build, retain, and scale a membership business past the plateau everyone hits.

59. New Member Onboarding: 3 Steps to Prevent Cancellations

Join our community of other membership founders growing to multiple 6 & 7 figures:
https://paigevandy.com/million-dollar-memberships-club
✔️ 24/7 access to an established community of membership founders✔️ Monthly live coaching calls with Paige & community✔️ Step-by-step training on launching & scaling your membership✔️ Real-time MRR accountability & goal tracking✔️ Done-for-you templates, scripts & swipe files✔️ Behind-the-scenes access to Paige's $100K/month journey✔️ A no-gatekeeping space to ask anything about memberships
 
Join Now Before Doors Close 
In this episode, Paige breaks down the 3 must-do onboarding steps every membership founder needs to stop losing members and start snowballing recurring income.
If your new members are slipping through the cracks or leaving after the first month, it’s not your offer—it’s your onboarding. A leaky bucket will kill your membership faster than anything else, and in this episode I’m walking you through exactly how to fix it.
You’ll discover:
The 3 onboarding must-do’s every membership needs to set members up for success
What to include in your “Start Here” section (and what to avoid so it’s not overwhelming)
The simple first-win pathway that gets members engaged and connected from day one
The #1 onboarding secret that determines if members will stay long term or leave feeling unattached
If you want your membership to feel seamless for new members—and keep them engaged for the long run—this episode is your blueprint. Hit play and get these onboarding systems in place today.
 
More From Million Dollar Memberships Podcast:
Free Training: The 4-Part System to Launch & Scale a 6 & 7 Figure Membershiphttps://paigevandy.com/masterclass-opt-in
Ready to start or grow your membership? Join Million Dollar Memberships Club and get step-by-step strategies to start and scale your online membership sitehttps://paigevandy.com/million-dollar-memberships-club
Already have a successful membership?? Work with Paige 1:1 to scale to 7 or multi 7 figures : Email paige@paigevandy.com
Connect With Paige:
Instagram: @themembershipmuseYouTube: @themembershipmuseTikTok: @membershipmuseofficial
This podcast is for coaches, service providers, and online entrepreneurs who want to build profitable memberships and escape the 1:1 hustle.
You’ll learn proven strategies to:
Launch and grow your membership faster
Keep members engaged and paying month after month
Turn your membership into a reliable, recurring revenue machine
If you love shows like Online Marketing Made Easy by Amy Porterfield, Membership Geeks, Earn Your Happy by Lori Harder, The Art of Online Business by Rick Mulready…you’ll feel right at home here. 🤍
 

58. I Wasn't Supposed to Be Successful (Wilderness Program, Drug Dealers & a Lake House?!)

 
◽ Join Million Dollar Memberships Club → https://paigevandy.com/million-dollar-memberships-club
 ◽ Work with Paige privately → https://paige749061.typeform.com/to/EL04fjb3
 
⬛ Starter Kit: Leave a review on Apple Podcasts → screenshot before hitting submit → email to support@paigevandy.com and we'll send you a free course.
This episode is different. It's not a strategy episode. It's not a framework. It's the story I don't lead with often — the one that started long before the memberships, the income, and the lake house I journal-manifested in 2018.
I'm talking about being sent to a wilderness program at 15, getting kicked out of boarding school at 18 with nowhere to go, living with people I had no business living with, carrying bear spray just to get from my car to my apartment, and sneaking cheese and bread into my purse because I couldn't afford groceries after rent. I was in survival mode for most of my teenage and young adult years. By most measures, I was not supposed to be successful.
But I built something anyway. And then I rebuilt it. And then I walked away from a 7-figure membership business to start over — alone, pregnant, living in a temp home, drowning in legal bills — because I knew I needed to go all in on one thing if I was ever going to build the life I actually wanted for myself and my daughter Grey.
This episode is the full story. The hard parts, the pivots, the vision I kept coming back to — and what finally happened when I stopped doing everything and committed to one niche, one offer, one model.
If you've ever doubted whether your membership can be the thing that changes your life — this one's for you.
 
You'll discover:
Why people with hard pasts often make the best entrepreneurs — and what that actually means for how you build
How 1:1 coaching nearly suffocated Paige's business before she made the switch to memberships
What it looked like to walk away from a 7-figure business and start completely over
Why being too broadly niched was quietly sabotaging Paige's growth — even when revenue looked good
How Paige kept her income running through pregnancy as a single mom — without being on calls
The journaling and visualization practice from 2018 that led directly to signing papers on her dream lake house
Why most people quit memberships too early — and what to do instead when growth feels slow or messy
If this episode lit something up for you — share it with someone who needs to hear it. Sometimes the story is the strategy.
◽ Instagram → @themembershipmuse
◽ YouTube → @themembershipmuse
Million Dollar Memberships Podcast is the go-to show for membership site owners and online community builders who are serious about scaling recurring revenue. Hosted by Paige Vandy, founder of Million Dollar Memberships Club, each episode delivers real strategy, behind-the-scenes insights, and the honest truth about what it actually takes to build a membership business that lasts — from launch through 7 figures and beyond.

57. How to Hire for Your Membership: Your First Role, Where to Find Them & How to Scale Through Member Roles

▸ Join Million Dollar Memberships Club → https://paigevandy.com/million-dollar-memberships-club
▸ Free Membership Training → https://paigevandy.com/masterclass-opt-in
▸ Work with Paige privately → https://paige749061.typeform.com/to/EL04fjb3
 
⭐ Starter Kit: Leave a review on Apple Podcasts → screenshot it before you hit submit → email it to support@paigevandy.com
 
Most business coaches will tell you your first hire should be a virtual assistant. Paige disagrees — and she's been building and scaling memberships since 2019. In this episode, she breaks down exactly who your first hire should be, why hiring from inside your community almost always wins, and how to create a legacy membership by giving members real roles, real growth, and real reasons to stay.
 
You'll discover:
Why the fear of hiring is usually about missing processes — not the actual hiring
Why a community manager (not a VA) should be your very first membership hire
The two ways to find a community manager and why hiring from within your community wins every time
How hiring from within actually builds culture and signals internal growth opportunity to your members
Why retention is 70%+ of your membership revenue — and how your first hire directly protects it
How to create volunteer roles inside your community to deepen engagement and keep your best members motivated to stay
The exact progression from first hire → community manager → volunteer roles → paid roles → legacy membership
If this episode landed for you, Paige wants to hear from you — leave a review on Apple Podcasts and let her know where you are in your membership journey (just starting out, or actively scaling?). She's checking reviews all week and using them to shape future episodes.
▸ Instagram: @themembershipmuse
▸ YouTube: @themembershipmuse
Million Dollar Memberships is the go-to podcast for online membership and community builders who want to go beyond the basics. While most business podcasts give generalist advice, this show goes deep on the strategies that actually move the needle for membership-specific businesses — from retention to team-building to scaling past $100K/month MRR.

56. Membership Q&A: My Community Is Dead, How to Validate Your Idea Before You Build, Getting Stuck at 100 Members & Making Sales Without a Launch

◻︎ Join MDMC → https://paigevandy.com/million-dollar-memberships-club
◻︎ Free Membership Training → https://paigevandy.com/masterclass-opt-in
◻︎ Work with Paige privately → https://paige749061.typeform.com/to/EL04fjb3
◻︎ Starter Kit: Leave a review on Apple Podcasts → screenshot it BEFORE submitting → email support@paigevandy.com to claim your free course
 
 
This month's Q&A covers five of the most common problems membership founders run into — and the ones nobody talks about honestly. If your community feels like a ghost town, if you've been sitting on a membership idea afraid to build the wrong thing, if you hit 100 members and suddenly everything stopped... this episode is going to tell you exactly what's going on and what to do about it.
⚠️ Founding member pricing ends May 31. After that, MDMC goes to $247/month. If you've been on the fence, this is your week → https://paigevandy.com/million-dollar-memberships-club
 
You'll discover:
The real reason your community feels dead — and why it's almost never about your content
The three things members need to feel connected enough to actually show up and post
Paige's personal approach to launching a membership: why she never builds until someone pays her to
How to use a waitlist and pre-sell strategy to get your best members in before you've built a single thing
What a "leaky bucket" membership is, how to identify yours, and where to look first
Why twice-a-year enrollment isn't broken — it's just missing the other two-thirds of the system
How to know if your members aren't getting results because of your program or because of your data gaps
 
If you're tired of guessing and ready for a clear roadmap — from community and retention, to sales, to member onboarding — that's exactly what MDMC was built to give you.
Join us before May 31 → https://paigevandy.com/million-dollar-memberships-club
Let's connect:
◻︎ Instagram: @themembershipmuse
◻︎ YouTube: @themembershipmuse
Million Dollar Memberships is the only podcast built specifically for membership founders who are done guessing and ready to build something that actually scales. If you love Online Marketing Made Easy, The Membership Experience, or Earn Your Happy — you'll feel right at home here.

55. How I'm Growing My Membership to $100K/Month (3 Real Strategies)

REGISTER FOR THE FREE MASTERCLASS: https://paigevandy.com/live-masterclass-sticky-community#/
 
🔗 Join MDMC → https://paigevandy.com/million-dollar-memberships-club
 
Free Membership Training → https://paigevandy.com/masterclass-opt-in
 
Work with Paige privately → https://paige749061.typeform.com/to/EL04fjb3
 
Want a FREE Membership Starter Kit?? Leave an Apple Podcasts review → screenshot before hitting submit → email to support@paigevandy.com
 
Everyone wants to know what it actually takes to scale a membership to $100K/month — and in this episode, Paige is pulling back the curtain on exactly what she's prioritizing right now inside Million Dollar Memberships Club.
 
 
In this episode, you'll discover:
Why Paige skipped a sales push month entirely — and why protecting member experience always wins
The "community first, revenue second" mindset that separates memberships that last from ones that churn
What a podcast tour is and how Paige is using visibility to fuel MDMC's growth this season
Why she's not treating MDMC as her primary income source yet — and the strategic reason behind that
What investing back into your community actually looks like (hint: it involves hiring)
Why building on a solid foundation now sets you up for the $100K/month milestone later
The real behind-the-scenes of scaling a membership in public — messy, intentional, and worth it
Want to come on Paige's podcast or have her on yours? DM her on Instagram ◻️
 
This podcast is for membership site owners, online community builders, and entrepreneurs ready to build recurring revenue businesses that actually last. If you're building a membership, launching a community, or trying to figure out how to scale what you've already started — you're in the right place.
 
📲 Instagram: @themembershipmuse
▶️ YouTube: @themembershipmuse

54. She Grew Her Membership MRR by $3,600 in 45 Days Using Social Media

Links + Resources:
◻ Join the Million Dollar Memberships Club → https://paigevandy.com/million-dollar-memberships-club
◻ Free Membership Training → https://paigevandy.com/masterclass-opt-in
◻ Work with Paige privately  → https://paige749061.typeform.com/to/EL04fjb3
◻ Want a FREE Membership Starter Kit?
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts — but before you hit submit, screenshot it. Then send that screenshot to support@paigevandy.com and we'll send you the Membership Starter Kit course completely free. ✦
In this episode, you'll discover:
Why a massive social following doesn't automatically turn into membership revenue — and what actually does
The four red flags we found that were quietly blocking her conversions
How unclear offer positioning confuses potential members even when your content is great
Why low confidence in your own membership is a hidden sales blocker — and how to move past it
The opt-in funnel we built from scratch to capture and convert her warm social audience
How a 14-day automated email sequence sells for her around the clock without lifting a finger
The simple content shift that turned "look at my work" posts into membership sign-ups
Have a membership question you want answered on the podcast? Send it to support@paigevandy.com ◆
Follow Paige on Instagram → @themembershipmuse
Subscribe on YouTube → @themembershipmuse
 
If you love bingeable content about recurring revenue, community building, and scaling memberships without burning out — you'll also love The Membership Experience Podcast, Online Marketing Made Easy, and Entrepreneurs on Fire.

53. How I Use AI in My Membership Business [Specific Breakdown]

🖤 Want to build or scale your own membership business? Join the Million Dollar Memberships Club: https://paigevandy.com/million-dollar-memberships-club
 
🎙️ Submit a question for the podcast: support@paigevandy.com
 
📲 Follow along on Instagram: @themembershipmuse
 
If you've been wondering how to actually use AI inside your membership — not just for content, but for support, onboarding, and thinking — this episode is it. Paige is pulling back the curtain on the exact AI system she's built inside MDMC, from training her AI with every framework she knows to deploying it as a real tool for her members.
 
You'll discover:
The exact method Paige uses to "interview" her AI and download everything she knows into it — frameworks, pricing, ideal client details, and more
Why dumping your brain into AI once isn't enough and how to build a true membership-specific AI brain
The three places MDMC is actively using AI right now: onboarding quizzes, community support agents, and content creation
How Paige's new onboarding quiz (live inside MDMC's Challenges section) is already changing the member experience
The Friday self-study ritual that keeps Paige sharp — and how AI helps her identify exactly what she needs to learn next
Why training your AI on your own frameworks makes generating workshops, content, and programs dramatically faster
A sneak peek at the upcoming AI + memberships challenge dropping inside MDMC in the next couple months
 
Ready to build a membership that turns into your 7+ figure legacy?
Join MDMC → https://paigevandy.com/million-dollar-memberships-club
Have a question you want Paige to answer on the pod? Send it to:
 
📲 Instagram ✦ YouTube: @themembershipmuse
📲 TikTok: @membershipmuseofficial
 
Million Dollar Memberships is the podcast for online coaches and service providers who are done trading time for money. Think of it as your weekly strategy session for building, launching, and scaling a membership — hosted by someone who's also doing it live and sharing every step. If you loved The Goal Digger Podcast, Online Marketing Made Easy, or The Membership Guys Podcast, you'll feel right at home here.