Creating Professional Course Completion Certificates at Zero Cost

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Daniel Nic

Updated on
Sep 27, 2023

Considering launching a membership site? Memberships stand out as one of the most effective methods to establish a steady income stream for your business.

However, embarking on your membership site journey represents a significant commitment, making it crucial to understand current industry trends and statistics. These insights can help determine whether the investment is worthwhile and if this model aligns with your business goals.

Similarly, if you’ve already established a membership website, staying informed about trends allows you to anticipate industry shifts that could substantially benefit your operation.

We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of essential membership site statistics and organized them into five distinct categories for your convenience.

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General Subscription Economy Statistics

The expanding appetite for subscription-based services has transformed the subscription industry into one of the most rapidly expanding sectors within the global economic landscape.

In this section, I’ve gathered various statistics and growth indicators to provide you with a concise snapshot of the subscription economy’s current state.

Research indicates that the worldwide subscription economy market value is expected to reach 1.5 trillion USD in 2025, representing substantial growth from 650 billion USD in 2020 (18% CAGR).

Between 2012 and 2020, the subscription economy expanded by nearly 6x (more than 435%). During this same timeframe, subscription-based businesses grew five to eight times faster than their non-subscription counterparts.

Digital subscription revenue predominantly drives the subscription market, encompassing SAAS, music, video, and gaming services, with an estimated value of 425 billion USD in 2020.

While the eCommerce subscription segment remains relatively modest in size, experts forecast it to expand at a CAGR of 25% through 2025.

Netflix maintains its position as the world’s largest subscription-based service, boasting 222 million subscribers by the conclusion of Q3 2021.

An impressive 98% of Americans maintain at least one streaming media service subscription, while 75% subscribe to two or more distinct services.

The typical US consumer allocated $273/month to subscription services in 2021, representing an increase from $237/month in 2018.

A 2021 survey revealed that 89% of US respondents underestimated their subscription spending, with 66% of individuals miscalculating by more than $200.

British consumers waste £25 billion annually on unwanted subscriptions. These unused subscriptions represent a significant industry trend, generating additional revenue at zero incremental cost for subscription-based businesses.

A substantial majority of businesses (70%) view membership and subscription models as fundamental to their future growth strategies.

Membership Growth and Challenges Statistics

Membership websites, including professional associations, constitute a significant portion of the broader subscription economy. Generally, memberships focus primarily on skill development and facilitating professional advancement.

This section explores the diverse segments, development patterns, and obstacles within the membership sites and associations landscape.

Membership platforms operated by digital content creators remain in their early developmental stages, with 37.85% having been established for less than twelve months.

A modest 22.03% of membership websites have been operational for 1-2 years, while only 14.12% have surpassed the five-year milestone.

Content creators launch membership sites for various motivations. The predominant reason involves attaining financial objectives. While 58.1% of individuals aim to increase their income, a comparable percentage (58.6%) seek to establish a consistent revenue stream.

Source: Online Membership Industry Report

Despite experiencing steady expansion in previous years, association memberships encountered numerous obstacles due to COVID-19. During 2021, merely 26% of associations witnessed membership growth.

Throughout 2021, nearly half of all associations (47%) documented membership declines. Among those experiencing reductions, the median membership decrease measured 9%.

In 2019, 45% of associations enjoyed increased membership numbers, while only 28% experienced membership contractions.

Examining outcomes from earlier economic downturns such as the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009 reveals that memberships achieved impressive recovery in subsequent periods. Associations reported climbing membership growth rates from 36% in 2010 to 50% and beyond in following years.

The primary obstacle for 59% of membership platforms involves attracting new members, while 37.6% struggle with finding sufficient time to manage all operational aspects.

Regarding professional associations specifically, the most significant hurdle for 37% of memberships involves effectively communicating their value proposition to their member base.

Furthermore, 30% of associations encounter difficulties managing their membership operations due to insufficient staffing resources, while 23% struggle to address the diverse requirements of their membership community.

The consequences of declining membership figures throughout 2020 and 2021 have substantially affected associations’ financial resources and workforce. Two out of every ten associations report experiencing substantial employee terminations and compensation reductions.

Membership Site Marketing Statistics

Now, let’s examine the various marketing channels and strategies thriving membership websites employ to expand their membership community.

If you’re considering launching a membership site, this section will provide essential insights to help formulate your comprehensive marketing strategy.

Content creation and email marketing serve as the fundamental marketing channels for over 50% of businesses, while 12.99% primarily leverage social media platforms as their main marketing resource.

Source: Online Membership Industry Report

A majority 53.37% of businesses utilize paid advertising campaigns to promote their membership offerings.

Among these advertisers, an overwhelming 93.96% of membership sites employ Facebook Ads as their preferred advertising medium, followed by Instagram Ads (22.89%) and Google Ads (19.28%).

A substantial 73.8% of membership site proprietors begin cultivating an audience before officially launching their platform.

Membership websites frequently implement marketing approaches such as money-back guarantees (44.8%) and introductory trial periods (29.3%).

Association memberships particularly depend on personal recommendations (57%) and targeted email campaigns (50%) as their most effective promotional channels.

In terms of social media marketing efforts, 90% of associations maintain a Facebook presence, while 82% utilize Twitter and 79% engage on LinkedIn.

When focusing on reactivating former members, email communications, telephone outreach, and traditional direct mail were identified as the three most productive channels by 78%, 50%, and 28% of associations respectively.

An impressive 88% of association memberships gather member feedback through digital surveys, while 34% conduct individual interviews and 23% implement social media polling mechanisms.

Membership Site Strategies Statistics

In this section, we examine diverse membership site strategy metrics, including elements related to business frameworks, value offerings, fee structures, and technological implementations.

A significant 81.46% of membership platforms operate on an evergreen model, enabling prospective members to register at any time.

Just 18.54% of platforms implement a closed-door membership approach, where enrollment is only available during designated timeframes.

Membership sites provide an array of primary deliverables to generate value for their community members. Approximately 57.87% utilize online courses, 50% offer interactive workshops, and 38.76% provide practical templates.

Beyond membership fees alone, most businesses implement multiple revenue channels to enhance their overall income. Nearly half of all membership sites (49.44%) provide coaching or consulting services as an additional offering.

Additionally, 37.6% of these sites offer individual courses, 38.2% market digital products, and 36% organize in-person events to supplement their core membership revenue.

The $25 to $49 monthly price range dominates the membership market at 41.81%, establishing itself as the most common pricing tier. Following this, the $15 to $24 monthly bracket represents the second most prevalent option at 19.21%.

Creating multiple membership levels serves as another effective strategy for revenue growth. Specifically, 56.9% of membership sites deliver various pricing structures, such as yearly and monthly subscription options, while just 43.1% maintain a single pricing plan.

Regarding technological infrastructure for membership site hosting, 65.52% utilize WordPress membership plugins, whereas 22.98% rely on hosted membership platforms.

For community management purposes, Facebook Groups emerges as the leading community platform, implemented by 53.8% of membership sites, while on-site community features are employed by 38.96% of sites.

By contrast, 25% of associations leverage Higher Logic for community hosting, and a substantial 46% choose not to offer community features at all.

Membership Engagement and Retention Statistics

Cultivating and maintaining existing customer relationships stands as one of the most crucial elements in developing successful membership sites.

To provide you with valuable perspectives on engagement and retention, I have compiled a collection of essential, pertinent metrics from the membership site industry and business landscape overall.

Customer retention represents a fundamental metric for any membership site or online business venture. Research shows 70% of companies believe retaining existing customers costs less than acquiring new ones.

The financial impact becomes even clearer when considering that attracting a new customer typically costs five times more than keeping an existing one.

Furthermore, the sales conversion probability with current customers ranges from 60 to 70%, while new customer conversion rates typically fall between just 5 to 20%.

As these figures demonstrate, customer attrition presents a significantly expensive challenge for businesses, with the average financial impact of a lost customer estimated at approximately $243.

On a positive note, the consumer subscription economy has witnessed an encouraging trend with average churn rates declining from 6.3% in 2020 to 5.4% in 2021.

Source: Subscription Economy Index™ (SEI) report

Beyond exclusive content, membership sites implement various methods to maintain member engagement. Creating an online community stands as the most widespread engagement strategy, utilized by 65.5% of sites.

Interestingly, nearly 60% of membership owners reported that fewer than 25% of their members actively participated in their community spaces.

Regarding association membership engagement specifically, 25% indicated that personalized communication yielded positive results, while structured engagement initiatives proved effective for 16% of association memberships.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, approximately 80% of association membership teams experienced cancellations or postponements of their planned in-person gatherings.

Despite these challenges, 80% of these associations successfully transitioned to hosting virtual events for their membership base.

Furthermore, implementing a defined strategy to enhance engagement demonstrates a significant positive correlation with membership renewal rates. A 2019 research study revealed that 78% of associations experiencing improved renewals had developed a specific action plan for increasing engagement.

There you have it, the top 51 membership site statistics. Understanding these key metrics can empower you to make informed decisions as a membership site owner.

As the data clearly demonstrates, now represents an optimal moment to enter the membership website market. With the encouraging growth in both customers and businesses embracing this model, this upward trajectory is accelerating faster than ever before. If you’ve been contemplating this business approach previously, we trust this comprehensive analysis has provided the confidence to move forward.

Should you have additional statistics you’d like to see included in this collection or any questions about implementing these insights, please share them in the comments section below.

Frequently Asked Questions

How big is the subscription market?

The global subscription market was worth 650 billion USD in 2020 and is expected to reach 1.5 trillion USD by 2025.

How much has the subscription industry grown?

The subscription industry has grown by 435% over the past nine years and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 18% from 2020 to 2025.

How many subscriptions does the average consumer have?

98% of American consumers have at least one streaming media service subscription, while 75% of Americans subscribe to two or more services.

What is the average churn rate for a membership site?

The average churn rate for subscription businesses was 6.3% in 2020 and it came down to 5.4% in 2021.

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About The Author

Daniel Nic

Daniel NicFounder, SellingOnliceCoursesGuide.comis an entrepreneur and digital education specialist who founded sellingonlinecoursesguide.com, a platform dedicated to helping creators and educators successfully navigate the online course marketplace. Through his website, he shares insights and strategies for developing, marketing, and monetizing online educational content. His work focuses on empowering course creators to build sustainable online businesses while effectively sharing their knowledge with students worldwide.