Watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-lshhvG-GM
Today I am going to talk about my favorite stage of the member journey: onboarding.
It’s easy for membership builders to treat onboarding like administrative work.
A welcome email sent. Check. A login link is shared. Check. Sometimes there is a short “start here” post and then the focus moves on to the rest of the community programming.
However, onboarding is one of the most decisive stages of the entire member journey and it deserves more care and attention. The first week inside a membership determines whether someone becomes an engaged long term member or someone who drifts toward leaving.
If you want stronger retention in your membership, the first place to look is what happens in the first few days after someone joins.
When someone joins your membership, they are usually asking themselves several questions.
- Did I make the right decision?
- Where do I start?
- Do I belong here?
- How do I engage with other members in this community?
- Is this membership worth it?
The role of onboarding is to answer these questions.
Strong onboarding does three important things: it orients people, creates an early sense of progress and reassures them that they belong.
Orientation removes confusion
The first job of onboarding is to orient new members so that they know exactly where to begin and what matters most in the moment.
Without orientation, people enter a membership platform and see dozens of channels, resources, calls and conversations that have been happening long before they arrived and this can become overwhelming very quickly.
In virtual memberships, orientation often looks like a clearly structured “start here” pathway that guides people through their first steps.
In in person communities, orientation might look like signage at the venue, someone welcoming you at the door, clear directions to your seat when you arrive or an usher leading you along the venue.
All of these signals help people understand where they are and what to do next.
Orientation lowers cognitive load and when people are not overwhelmed by too many options, they are far more likely to participate. (I talked about this in the Hick’s Law article)
Actionable takeaway: Design a clear first step for new members. Make it obvious where they should begin and limit how much information they need to process when they land on your membership platform.
Early wins create momentum
The second role of onboarding is to give new members a quick first win. (Here is a short Youtube video where I talk about this in depth)
A quick first win is basically something small that new members can do that will lead them towards the goal that your membership promises. That first win does not need to be complex. In fact, it should be small and easy to achieve.
Examples of early wins might include:
- Completing a short onboarding checklist
- Posting an introduction with a simple prompt
- Attending a welcome session
- Downloading a resource and using it right away
The goal is to create momentum within the community membership.
When someone experiences progress early, they start to see themselves as an active member of the community and that is the identity shift that we want them to have.
On the other hand, when someone feels lost or unsure where to begin, they tend to delay participation which can lead to disengagement over time.
Actionable takeaway: Identify one small action that helps new members feel like they are already participating and making progress towards the goals that they had when they joined the membership. Build your onboarding around that first meaningful step.
Reassurance builds psychological safety
The third role of onboarding is an emotional layer that is often overlooked in membership design: reassurance.
I recently has a chat with a community builder who said that a member came to their community event, got anxious and left before entering the venue.
Now the emotions are not that heavy for virtual memberships and maybe your members will not delete the membership platform if they feel anxious. However, they might feel intimidated to show up in the community if they don’t feel psychologically safe and avoid joining community events.
Reassurance helps new members know that they belong, they are welcomed and that you and your team are there to guide and support them.
There are many small ways to create this feeling like:
- A personal welcome message.
- Veteran members engaging with introductions.
- Clear guidance on what to focus on now and what can wait until later.
- Supportive community leaders within the membership that they can reach out to.
When people feel safe in a community, they are far more likely to speak up, participate, ask questions and connect with others.
Actionable takeaway: Look at your onboarding through an emotional lens. Ask whether new members feel welcomed and supported when they join and what more you can do to create psychological safety in your membership
Onboarding is the foundation of retention and spending a bit more time desingin it to orient, reassure and create momentum will build early trust among your new members.
Ask yourself these three simple questions:
Does my first week clearly guide people?
Does it help members experience a quick and meaningful win?
Does it actively reduce anxiety and uncertainty?
If the answer is no or unclear, that is often where the most important retention work begins.
Onboarding is one stage within the broader member journey that stretches from awareness all the way to offboarding.
I use a Member Journey Framework with my clients to map the full lifecycle of a membership from a member’s point of view. This helps identify friction points and design experiences that keep members engaged at every stage.
You can explore the Member Journey Framework at jolleenopula.com/journey and use the free workbook to design or evaluate your membership experience.
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