How to Grow Your Membership with Pinterest Ads
The membership industry is BOOMING! The subscription business model, with its predictable recurring income, is being adopted by service and product-based businesses alike. The space can sometimes seem to be a little crowded and it can feel like it’s hard to stand out from the crowd.
Where are membership owners turning for a fresh audience? Pinterest and Pinterest ads!
First things first
People rarely join a membership straight after seeing an ad. It can take a while for people to understand what solutions the membership offers, to build trust with the founders and to establish the value they will gain.
The way to get future members to sign up is with a ‘sales funnel’.
What is a sales funnel?
A sales funnel is a term used by marketers to describe the process of someone going from never hearing about you and your business, to getting to know you, like you, trust you and then finally buy from you.
Getting people to sign up to a mailing list is often one of the first steps a membership owner will take in their sales funnel. Other tactics could include growing a free Facebook group of your ideal members, social media marketing and running Facebook ads to drive brand awareness.
With all the changes happening in the online world, it can be a slow process to build that community of potential members.
Why Pinterest ads?
One tactic to grow an email list quickly is to promote a free resource such as a free workshop or download, with ads, in return for someone’s email address.
With the effects of the iOS14 privacy update still ongoing, some advertisers have seen their costs rising and their results becoming less predictable as audience targeting changes.
These changes have led membership owners to diversify their marketing efforts and look to new channels for audience growth.
One channel I have personally witnessed delivering incredible results for membership owners is Pinterest ads.
Client case study: US Based Painting Membership
Problem?
A large US painting membership had over 1000 new members join during their last launch. Facebook ads were their main source of leads and with cost per lead prices rising, the membership owner was looking for a new channel to promote her membership and diversify their audience
Solution?
Create a Pinterest Ad strategy using a new free painting workshop as the lead magnet. Video pins showing a stop motion video of the painting from start to finish, showed subscribers what they would be taught to paint. This was launched alongside static pins showing images of the finished painting. The email sequence following sign up then upsold a low cost paid workshop. This paid workshop was when the membership would be upsold. The conversion rate of this paid workshop to the membership was close to 90%.
Outcome?
On a $20 a day ad budget, the campaign was able to achieve 2,000 new subscribers over 8 weeks at an average cost of $0.50. The membership diversity increased as younger members signed up and the mailing list grew, ready to continue nurturing and selling to.
Pinterest ads aren’t right for every membership, however.
Ask yourself, ‘are my audience using Pinterest?’
Is your membership:
- Mostly for female members?
- An online membership or subscription rather than a local subscription (eg pay £15 a month for limitless car washes)?
- Does it solve a particular problem? (eg improve your painting techniques, improve your social media engagement etc)
Do Pinterest ads work?
In order to be successful using Pinterest Ads to grow your membership, you will need:
- A great freebie/ lead magnet which is worth someone sharing their contact details with you for. It has to be so specific that only your ideal member would be interested in downloading it.
- A great Pin, both video and static, to grab people’s attention on Pinterest. Video pins are favoured by the Pinterest algorithm but are not always shown on all devices. For this reason, always ensure you have static and video pins running, in the right campaign structure, to ensure maximum exposure for your budget.
- Correct targeting and audience size. Make sure the Pinterest Conversion Tag is also correctly installed and tracking correctly.
- A strong email nurture sequence to upsell them the next offer. You will not be directly selling your membership.
- Budget to invest for 3 months minimum on Pinterest (Pinterest is a long term strategy).
If you’re interested in hearing more on how Pinterest can help you grow your membership, learn more about my Pinterest Ads Management services here and sign up to my mailing list where I regularly share tips and updates on workshops I am running.
