Whether you run an art gallery in New York, a zoo in Florida, or a museum in California, getting (and retaining) dedicated patrons can mean more revenue, more visits, and help you build a loyal, local community.
Read on as we walk you through how to implement membership marketing.
What is membership marketing?
Membership marketing is the strategy of encouraging people to sign up for a membership to your museum, zoo, art gallery, or cultural attraction, and retaining them as members.
Offering memberships provides a steady revenue stream for your attraction, plus funds for special projects and educational outreach.
Membership offers perks to your visitors too. They get unlimited free admission, access to special events, and the knowledge that they’re helping develop the arts and education.
7 ways to attract customers with quality membership marketing
Let’s explore how you can bring people to your museum, zoo, or cultural attraction with membership marketing.
#1: Understand what your target audience wants
Knowing who your target audience is and learning what they want helps you plan the right campaign and offer the right benefits.
Don’t be afraid to think outside the box to attract younger audiences and those who wouldn’t typically explore your memberships.
#2: Implement a referral program
Your existing members are your strongest advocates. A referral program rewards members for sharing your membership program with others and encourages them to bring in new members.
Focus on offering clear incentives to both new and existing customers, and provide unique referral links to make tracking easy.
#3: Use personalization
Personalizing your marketing around people’s needs not only makes their next visit more engaging but can encourage them to complete a membership form.
Use details like their name and city in the marketing you send them, and use segmentation to send content that’s of interest.
#4: Win back lapsed members
An easy win is to reengage lapsed members, those who used to be members of your museum or attraction but no longer are.
Understand why they left in the first place and send an email sequence that encourages them to return. For example, if they halted their membership because your museum installations stayed the same, let them know about new and exciting exhibitions they should visit.
#5: Partner with local businesses
Joining forces with other businesses in your town or city not only expands your reach but makes your membership plan more tempting.
For example, you could partner with a local restaurant and offer members 10% off their food bill.
#6: Offer member-only experiences
Many museums and arts venues offer exclusive member-only perks to make prospective customers more interested in signing up.
These can vary depending on your target audience and the venue you run. For example, if you specialize in history, offer guided walks or specialist talks from visiting experts.
#7: Make it easy to sign up
The membership page on your website should:
- Be fast loading and fully accessible
- Contain all the information visitors need (offer a download if they need time to decide)
- Be full of trust signals like customer reviews
- Make it easy to check out
View your page on both desktop and mobile once you set it up to identify any potential issues visitors may have with completing it.
Also consider automatic email renewals to take the hassle out of resubscribing.
See why so many museums use Mailchimp for their marketing
Membership marketing doesn’t have to be hard. It’s all about taking the time to learn about your customers and developing campaigns that resonate with them.
Mailchimp has the tools you need to explore selling memberships online. Share the benefits of subscribing, build engaging membership pages, and view metrics that show how your campaigns are doing.
Walk through how you can transform your membership marketing with us today.