March 1, 2021
Prepping for Launch
The unknown can be scary, and clients consistently ask us, “what are we missing?” “What should we do before sending out the welcome email to our members?” This article outlines the tasks and steps you should take to complete your onboarding and welcome your members to the member portal.
Complete Required Task List
All software has a minimum amount of required tasks to be completed to run correctly for you. Such as setting up your payment gateway to receive payments or determining the membership categories for the different member segments. Make sure the team understands each task and completes them before sending out your pre-launch email. For a list of required tasks to complete within Member365,?click here.
Pre-Launch Email
When you are getting ready to welcome your members to your new member portal, it is important to give them a heads up of what is to come. Within your pre-launch email, you will want to tell members the welcome email is coming, including instructions for items you want them to complete before or after the welcome email is sent. You will also want to tell them about anything new they should expect.?
Member Portal
The biggest thing to be aware of when it comes to your member portal is that it is never finished or perfect. The member portal is always growing, and content is consistently being added to the portal. So do not get hung up on the portal if it is not be perfect. It is vital to keep it simple for your members for the first time in the member portal by updating their contact information, subscription, and notification settings.?
One great idea for your member portal is to create a welcome video to welcome your members to the member portal. In the video, take your members through a tour of the platform and show them where they can access their profile or other information they need.
The video can be helpful in multiple locations for reinforcing the changes. You can put it in the pre-launch email and the member portal welcome message.
Welcome Email
The welcome is your first impression of the new platform so make sure you provide clear instructions. For example, instructions on how to login for the first time, any instructions on how to access the information they will need to review and update, and finally, what they can expect next from you. Is there an event coming up? Or a new newsletter???
Once you have completed all your tasks and sent your welcome email, the most common issue is with members logging in to the new portal because they do not copy or paste the password correctly. Most of the time, they will add a space at the beginning or at the end of the password, which is considered an extra character. So make sure you are experienced with resetting passwords before the welcome email goes out.