Membership Design Intensive
The Membership Design Intensive (MDI) is a focused, done-with-you engagement where we design or redesign your entire member journey, from first discovery to retention.
How the Membership Design Intensive works
Using The Member Journey Framework, we take a holistic view of how people experience your membership as a whole, not just at isolated touchpoints. The goal is to create a membership that feels valuable and easy to stay engaged with, both for your members and for you as the owner.
At the end, you will have a cohesive membership experience that keeps members coming back, not more content or tactics.
The goals of the Membership Design Intensive
A clearly defined member journey from entry to exit
A redesigned experience that supports long-term engagement and retention
Fewer friction points that cause confusion, drop-off, disengagement or cancelling
A practical blueprint you can implement immediately and refine over time
The ultimate goal is simple: members who feel confident joining, supported and making progress while inside and valued even if they leave, making it more likely for members to stay longer or return later.
The Member Journey Framework
Membership Design Intensive (MDI) is guided by The Member Journey Framework, which organizes the membership experience into three phases, each with two stages.
(For a larger image, open this up on FigJam)
Attract
Designing how the right people discover your membership and decide it is for them.
Stages: Awareness & Activation
Engage
Designing how members get value quickly when they join and feel motivated to participate.
Stages: Onboarding & Engagement
Retain
Designing how members continue to see value over time and leave on good terms if they choose to exit.
Stages: Retention & Offboarding
The six stages of the member journey framework
Here are the six stages of the member journey framework and their roles.
Intent: Help the right people understand what your membership is and why it matters to them.
This stage focuses on clarity. Members should quickly grasp who the membership is for, what problem it helps with and what makes it different, without feeling overwhelmed or confused.
Intent: Support the decision to join with confidence.
This stage bridges interest and commitment. It addresses questions, hesitations, expectations, and perceived risk so that joining feels like a thoughtful right choice.
Intent: Help new members feel oriented, welcomed and successful early on.
Onboarding is about momentum. Members should know what to do first, where to start and how to get value quickly, without needing to figure everything out on their own.
Intent: Support meaningful participation and ongoing value.
This stage focuses on how members interact with content, community and each other. Engagement is designed, not assumed. The goal is to make participation feel natural, rewarding and aligned with members' goals.
Intent: Reinforce long-term value and belonging.
Retention is about helping members recognize continued value over time. This includes rhythm, reflection points, renewal moments and signals that staying is worthwhile and aligned with their goals.
Intent: Ensure members leave feeling respected and valued.
Offboarding is designed as a transition. A thoughtful exit experience preserves trust, opens the door for return, and strengthens long-term brand goodwill.
Do you want to see how the framework works in practice?
If you'd like to use the membership journey framework to self audit your membership, then I have something for you!
Download the membership framework workbook for FREE.
What makes this approach different
Most people focus on isolated tactics like adding more content or features. The Membership Design Intensive focuses on designing the membership experience.
By mapping the full member journey, we design each touchpoint for momentum and long-term value, not constant activity.
This creates memberships that are easier to run, easier to join, easier to participate in and easier to stay in, which naturally improves retention over time.
Ready to transform your membership?
Together, we can create a membership experience that keeps members engaged and coming back.