Fan-led growth: how and why memberships work

The first time I collaborated with Jen Matichuk was when my agency was designing and building Molly Baz’s recipe club! Jen works at Memberful, the platform that powers paywalls for custom membership sites. From the start, she was our guide and helped us navigate everything from backend logistics to pricing strategy to what fans actually want once they’re inside a membership. I remember thinking, “Every creator needs a Jen!”

Jen has a deep understanding of what it takes to turn passion into something sustainable. She knows how to create value that feels right for the membership host and meaningful for their fans. She’s helped launch memberships for writers, podcasters, entrepreneurs, and creators with devoted fanbases across the internet.

Since that first project, we’ve collaborated on many more. I’ve watched her help teams avoid burnout, clarify their offerings, and grow something that lasts.

Jen brings a rare mix of business sense and fan-first thinking. In today’s feature, she breaks down what makes a membership work, what fans are really looking for, and what you need to know before you launch. Enjoy!

Allie: Hi Jen! I’m so excited to be chatting with you about memberships, paywalls, and more today. You’ve helped shape so many membership communities, what first drew you to this kind of work where love for a subject becomes something people gather around?? 

Jen: Thanks, Allie! I’m excited to chat as well. I think 2 things drew me into this kind of work. 1 - I have played team sports since I could walk, practically, and that engrained community and belonging into me. I function best surrounded by people who love what I love. 2 - I’ve always been deeply passionate about specific things (I wish I could show you the scrapbook I made of The OC in middle school…it’s about 80 pages long), and that has translated well into the world of memberships. I know what works because I’m a consumer, too.

Allie: The next time I’m in LA, I need to see this scrapbook. I relate a lot to the draw - I love being a fan and being around fans! Okay so you work with creators, talent teams, and entrepreneurs at all stages. What are some early signs that someone is ready to build a paid membership, not just technically but emotionally and creatively? 

Jen: It’s not a “one-size fits all” list of signs, but there are definitely a few that stand out to me:

Allie: A lot of creators launch something because they love connecting with their audience. But that doesn’t always mean they’re prepared to turn it into a business. What do you wish more people understood before launching a paid offering like this?

Jen: I wish more folks understood that a paid membership isn’t going to take away from your free work (and vice versa). They should have a specific enough line drawn between them that it doesn’t feel like a massive departure from your free work and that it feels valuable enough to pay for. Also - a paid membership isn’t just going to grow itself. You need to keep feeding it through your top of funnel (social media, email list, etc). And you need to be willing to post about it consistently. You have to be willing to post like the TikTok-ers that use the same sound in 10 different videos, hoping that at least 1 will hit. That’s how social works these days.

Allie: One thing I love about Memberful is how flexible it is, especially when creators want something that reflects their brand. But just so readers understand, it does take effort. What makes a custom membership site different from something on Substack or Patreon?

Jen: It does take effort! It’s why we have a smaller base than Substack and Patreon. It also means that folks are far more intentional when they launch a membership with Memberful, which usually means more thought has been put into it, and the chances of success are far higher. Some folks launch a Patreon or Substack in one day, with limited benefits, and hope that people will find it. And when people don’t join, they give up and say membership doesn’t work for them. 

To build a custom membership site, you have to be willing to put in some extra effort up front to get things going (website is the main thing!), but in the long run, you now own your space! How cool is that, in a world where space is most often rented?? You can use whatever tools you want to use, you can change how it looks any time you want, you can interact with your audience however you want. 

Allie: When someone builds a community around their work, there’s often a turning point where they realize their audience and fans want more than just content. What kinds of features or formats have you seen make the biggest difference inside a thriving membership?

Jen: This answer depends on the vertical (video, podcast, writing, news, etc). However, a lot of the time, the audience is trying to get closer to the creator themselves. They want to either develop a deeper (parasocial) relationship with the creator, or they want to be heard by the creator/other members of this community. So, the creator launching with deeper looks into their world, being slightly more open or vulnerable with this group can fulfill one side of this (AMAs, Q&As, Zoom sessions, “group hangs”, meet-ups, unedited vlogs, deep dives into processes, etc). The other side is building an actual community (Discord, Discourse, Slack) and hanging out in that space with the audience. The fans will feel heard, and will feel a deeper connection. This is the side that probably comes most naturally to creators, but can also take the most time to develop into something that thrives. 

Allie: People often get stuck wondering what they should give away for free and what they should reserve for their members. I often see people try to do “the most” in order to prove to their audience that it’s worth the monthly or annual investment. How do you help creators navigate that decision? (And for those unfamiliar with launching a self-hosted membership, what kinds of revenue ranges are you seeing annually?)

Jen: I always tell creators to start small and build up from there. On a scale of “low value, low effort” to “high value, high effort”, you want to be in between to start: “high value, low effort”. The hard part is…what is that for you??? And for that, talking to your audience (and/or listening to your audience) is the first step to figuring it out. You don’t want to launch with benefits that stress you out or take up too much of your time. For example - don’t launch with a benefit that says each person will get a handwritten post card personally addressed to them in their first month of membership. That’s hard! It’s high value, yes, but also extremely high effort. Maybe that’s a good benefit for a high priced tier down the line – keep it in your back pocket. The bottom line is: people follow you for a reason. You deserve to be paid for your art or expertise or whatever you want to call your work. Don’t give too much away for free.

In terms of revenue ranges, this really depends on the benefits offered (and the cadence of the benefits). Pricing is typical 6-8 bucks monthly, 60-80 annually for low tiers. And you can expect to convert about 1-5% of your most engaged audience (follower count isn’t most engaged, to be clear). 

Allie: There’s so much pressure to show up on social media every day. But inside a membership, the energy feels more intentional. What changes when people stop chasing the algorithm and start focusing on their true fans?

Jen: I wish I could say that folks completely stop chasing the algorithm. The truth is, you never will, because that is (likely) your top of funnel, and how you get more folks over to your paid membership. What you will do is feel okay when certain content isn’t hitting on social, because your whole livelihood no longer depends solely on social. You now have another revenue stream. And, alongside that, you’re likely creating work that you enjoy within the walls of the membership - which nurtures your creative side. The opposite of constantly bowing down to the algorithm. You’ll have more balance, which will likely lead you away from burnout.

Allie: What do you think talent managers or business teams should keep in mind when helping a creator shape a membership? Are there ways they can better support the person behind the scenes?

Jen: This is a good question! I think the biggest thing is remembering that membership most often won’t be bringing in as much as several brand deals bring in - but it will offer proof of engagement. A lot of managers and business teams get bogged down in the financial part of it. If you’re starting a membership only to make more money, it may not go as well as you hope. The managers and business teams should make sure that the creator is choosing the right platform for their long-term growth, not short-term success. Don’t go with the easy, shiny object. Help the creator find the best spot for them to live long-term, give them the tools to create, and help navigate the financial side alongside them, while keeping what I said above in mind.

Allie: What’s one mistake you often see people make when trying to scale something that was originally built out of love?

Jen: They forget where they started. They forget about the fans that were there from the beginning, supporting them in this first iteration, and morph it into something that feels less personal or interactive. This isn’t saying that it’s wrong to grow and adapt. However, you should talk to the audience before doing so. Be open. Communicate. More often than not, they’ll accept this new iteration. But if you just drop it on them with no warning, they’ll be the loudest voices, and many may be negative. 

Allie: You’ve had a front-row seat to so many amazing stories. Are there any lessons that have stuck with you about what fans truly value?

Jen: Fans truly value a specific point of view. A person with something to say or stand on or know about. Because then, they can feel like they can either connect with that point of view, or learn from it. And if you feel like you’re being too broad or too vague, you probably are. Get specific. Specificity makes everything funnier, easier to understand, more visual, and better.

Allie: And finally, who are you a huge fan of right now?

Jen: Man, this is tough. I have two and they are on different ends of the spectrum in terms of what they do/talk about.

1 - Caleb Hearon. He is so naturally funny, I can’t even believe it. I recently listened to his podcast with Lizzy McAlpine (I’m also a HUGE fan of her), but the way he is able to make his guests feel comfortable, and transition from big, scary topics to cracking jokes, it’s mindblowing. He’s so funny - I am laughing out loud every time I consume what he puts out.

2 - Nick Bare. He is a fitness creator and also runs a super successful supplement company, Bare Performance Nutrition. He has built an amazing team around himself with his company and his content, and I admire his ability to train, crank out amazing video series around his training, and empower other athletes to do the same. I would do anything to be a BPN Supps athlete!!!!

Actually, I lied… I have one more. Iga Swiatek - former world no.1 tennis player from Poland and she is mesmerizing to watch play tennis. I try not to miss a single match! Seeing people perform at the tippity-top level is my favorite thing in the world.