[00:00:00] If you're looking to grow your business as a registered dietitian, you've come to the right place. If you're not sure what to do or what steps to take next so that you can create flexibility and freedom in your life, then you're going to learn a lot from tuning into our podcast here at Dietitian Boss.
[00:00:17] I'm Libby Rothschild, the founder of Dietitian Boss, a fellow [00:00:20] registered dietitian and business owner. And in our podcast, I share. The highs and the lows. And I talk all about how to grow your business, get it started. And I interview our clients to date. We've had over 200 interviews from clients who share their journey on our podcast, dietitian boss.
[00:00:37] All right, Krista, she's back again. She's a registered [00:00:40] dietitian and founder of dietitian success center and online learning platform designed to help dietitians and dietetic interns build confidence and expertise in both nutrition and entrepreneurship. Krista believes in challenging the status quo and leads a team of are these dedicated to creating evidence based content and ready to use resources designed by dietitians for dietitians [00:01:00] with an NBA and sustainable commerce and an M.
[00:01:02] H. A. and community nutrition. Krista has leveraged her skills to build a multi 6 figure dietitian focused business. She also teaches nutrition communications strategies at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she mentors and inspire students as a lecture and preceptor. Outside of her professional achievements, Krista is [00:01:20] an avid Baker reader and triathlete.
[00:01:22] She completed her first 2021 and finished a 60 kilometer ultra marathon in 2020.
[00:01:29] Krista: Libby, I'm so excited to talk to you today.
[00:01:32] Libby: Oh, I'm happy to have this conversation with you.
[00:01:34] Krista: Yeah, this is going to be so fun. I love we were just talking before I press record here. I love this [00:01:40] style of conversation where we both come to the table with sort of with experience in this area. So today we're talking about membership sites.
[00:01:49] Krista: So we both come to the table with this, like, lived experience in membership sites and can have a conversation around some of the pros, some of the cons. [00:02:00] just like that insider's perspective on what it actually looks like to run a membership site. And then some of those learnings that dietitians can then take into their practice if they're thinking about membership sites, because I don't know about you, but I feel like membership sites aren't really talked about that much when it comes to [00:02:20] business and entrepreneurship.
[00:02:21] Krista: And so, yeah, I think there's just so much to cover. I agree, and I think it's a good starting point would be to explain like, what is a membership? I think people are often confused about what it is. Yeah. Oh my gosh, totally. I can start with my definition and then you let me know if you have anything to add on.
[00:02:39] Krista: [00:02:40] So think of it more as a business model, right? It's a way of running your business where people get access to your content or time with you or whatever those resources look like, and they get access to it for as long as they're paying for access to it.
[00:02:58] Krista: So that might be where [00:03:00] they're paying monthly or where they're paying annually. I've even seen membership models where. You know, people will pay quarterly but essentially, as long as they're paying for it, and as long as they don't cancel their membership, they get access to this content, these resources, whatever you want to include within your membership.
[00:03:18] Krista: Yeah, anything you want to add to that? [00:03:20] that's absolutely how I've seen it too. Emphasis on what makes a membership and my experience is that it's reoccurring and focus on the content of the business model. Exactly. The business model is either community. Some type of forum, perhaps coaching, whether it's group or or individual or [00:03:40] combination and content.
[00:03:41] Libby: So, some memberships might focus on 1 of those deliverables more than others. Like, you might have a membership. Like, our membership is heavily content focused and we're constantly dripping new content or other memberships might focus heavily on community bringing people together. Having people get to know 1 another and making bonds and [00:04:00] connections and networking that they wouldn't otherwise have access to.
[00:04:02] Libby: And then again, we've got the coaching, which could mean there's like, a specific coaching on a specific topics, or it could be quarterly coaching for goals or monthly coaching to review something like, let's say, and our membership, it's really like, you can ask any question, but it could be like, content reviews, or maybe it's a clinical case study, [00:04:20] something of that nature.
[00:04:21] Libby: So that's how I see memberships is like 1 of the 3 focus. Points, but usually combination, what would you say is the highlight of yours?
[00:04:29] Krista: Yeah, absolutely. So ours is definitely content focused too, for sure. So with dietitian success center. Basically how it works and I'll talk about sort of the old way that [00:04:40] it worked and then I'll talk about how we've actually switched things up for January 2025 moving forward and we can talk about some of the reasons why that is and that kind of plays into some of the pros and cons.
[00:04:52] Krista: So Dietitian Success Centre is basically a resource library for dietitians and we have, really focused around nutrition [00:05:00] and clinical tools for dietitians to use with their patients and clients. So when they get access to our library, they get to hundreds of nutrition, client handouts, evidence summaries, so they can, read up on the latest evidence based practice for various nutrition related conditions, video courses, and then also community [00:05:20] as well.
[00:05:20] Krista: So we do have a community component too. So, I feel like the membership definitely weighs more heavily content, but also really trying to bring that community piece into, because I want to create a space for dietitians all around the world to be able to come together and talk about nutrition and talk about, practice issues for dietitians, [00:05:40] because it's been really interesting.
[00:05:41] Krista: This is like kind of a detour, but it's interesting to see how like I'm a Canadian dietitian and I feel like Dietetics has always been quite segmented by country, and it's been siloed a little bit by country, but at the end of the day, when you start hearing from dietitians all over the place, you realize we all have the same problems and so, you know, creating [00:06:00] that community is really important for me.
[00:06:01] Krista: And that's, that's really how the membership works. Previously, we're on a monthly or an annual model, so you could purchase monthly or you could purchase annually. Now, in the new year, we're actually switching to just annual, which, yeah, yeah, so for a [00:06:20] number of reasons one of the reasons being that we want to create a space, where people have the intention to stay for the long haul.
[00:06:31] Krista: You know what I mean? And I think sometimes when we're talking about a monthly membership I don't necessarily know if there's enough time for people to [00:06:40] like fully leverage and utilize everything that they have available to them. And I think sometimes that ends up leading to overwhelm where people are like, ah, there's just so much stuff.
[00:06:50] Krista: I'm not taking advantage of this. Okay. I'm just going to leave. Whereas I think annual really creates the space for people to be able to fully [00:07:00] leverage and utilize the tools that are available to them. So I don't know, that's where we're at now. I don't know if it'll be that way forever, but we're testing it out.
[00:07:09] Libby: I mean, obviously annual is great so that your members can use those tools and and really dive into them and you can get feedback and whatnot. Like, you've [00:07:20] said, I think that there's a difference between people having the benefit and luxury of paying month to month, which is why that in a membership versus people standing that they're not paying month to month to get everything they need in 1 month.
[00:07:33] Libby: They're paying month to month because that's the feature of event of the membership. But the benefit is really spending the time [00:07:40] and energy diving in. And so at any point, if you do the month to month model, which is what we're we're doing the opposite. We're actually interesting. Cool. Yeah. And it's a lot for annual, but we're considering marketing monthly.
[00:07:51] Libby: We have some other things changing as well. And there is, we do struggle with people feeling like the overwhelm as well, but it's really the [00:08:00] messaging that has to communicate to our members that, Hey, listen, you're paying for access month to month, but really like you're going at your own pace to learn the materials and dive in because I think what's important to share with our community, at least dietitians. It's important to learn. How do you process information and learn and realize [00:08:20] that if this information for us, Dietitian Boss Library helps you grow a business. So if you have your own business, this is a tool that you will need to use to grow your business, whether you're tapping into the coaching feature, which we offer, and or the content feature, which we have segmented for different stages of business.
[00:08:37] Libby: So we have SOP templates and examples of [00:08:40] how you can create a process and the roadblocks to come across. With that, we also have a lot on content marketing and how can business online and learn not only system and process, but the messaging behind your content strategy. not going to learn everything in a month.
[00:08:54] Libby: The idea that you're paying monthly, and that's a feature for a lot of us that we enjoy, but it will take longer [00:09:00] for you to really dive in and process the materials. But I think that's a hard thing that people who aren't familiar with membership models. To grasp, so I do think that's one of the challenges of memberships for everybody.
[00:09:10] Libby: That the pricing and the benefits are kind of like 2 separate things. It's wonderful to pay month to month, but it depends on what the membership is. Most memberships like [00:09:20] both of ours are designed for long term use.
[00:09:22] Krista: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:09:23] Libby: And for us, what we've done is we survey our members and ask them.
[00:09:26] Libby: You know, we get a lot of feedback, so we can't force you to leave us feedback, but we do have a survey. So when, if you leave, let's say you're doing month to month and you decide you cancel or annual and you don't renew, we'll send a survey and ask you, you know, what could we do to improve? And how can we be [00:09:40] better?
[00:09:40] Libby: And we send out surveys randomly. We also offer calls. We'll actually hop on. All with a number of various times our staff has done that and then document and then we look at that feedback and during metrics review and ask ourselves, go back to the strategy. What can we do to improve to make this more valuable and [00:10:00] ongoing process in terms of matching up?
[00:10:01] Libby: Who's your ideal client? What is it that I'm offering? What gap am I filling? Is this filling the gap they need now? And there's a lot of variables between pricing, structuring, et cetera. For our membership will say that they don't have enough time. So we try to make different ways that you can use our membership without having to do, you don't have to save time. [00:10:20] Yeah. Yeah. Totally. And that's again in the messaging and the marketing. So if we see themes and back, then we try to find ways to improve 1st, improve the product and then make sure the messaging is aligned with what people want and need. And it's a process.
[00:10:32] Libby: It's definitely takes a while to meet the demands of the market and make sure we're constantly serving and [00:10:40] we do this, too, with our coaching program, constantly getting feedback. I mean, it's almost nauseating how much feedback will give it every time we ask, but doesn't mean we don't do it because we want to be open.
[00:10:49] Libby: And so every time I have a relationship with someone to say, you cannot over communicate know if something's unclear because we want to fix it.
[00:10:55] Krista: Yeah, totally. I love what you said around just the mentality of [00:11:00] responding to feedback and then also testing and learning. And I think that's so key in a membership site because membership sites are long game strategies.
[00:11:09] Krista: Like if you decide to start a membership site, Like you are committing and you are in that membership site. Of course, you can always pivot. You can always change. You can shut it down if you want to, but you know, this is [00:11:20] something that you are going to be contributing to regularly. And so I think having that test and learn mentality is so important.
[00:11:26] Krista: And like, to your point, I feel like we've changed strategies. I mean, I've been running a membership site for about four years and it's pivoted so many times because of the testing and learning and because of the [00:11:40] feedback and because I think those are such key elements. If you're going to run a membership site, you have to be open to that for sure.
[00:11:46] Krista: And incorporate that into your strategy.
[00:11:49] Libby: I think given this model, first of all, you hit the nail on the head. It's a long term game, just like creating content. You know, a lot of our clients, Oh, well, you know, how do I get podcasting, YouTube, Instagram to work?[00:12:00]
[00:12:00] Libby: And the reality is it's like, can take some time to get traction as well. And it will. It can pay off really well, but if you want the fastest results, then you're going to want to focus on networking outreach versus content. Marketing is not always an immediate result that you can get, but it's an excellent long term strategy.
[00:12:18] Libby: Just like a membership. [00:12:20] So I think to be clear about that, because I want people to know that like flexing your patients muscles is important. I think that misconception is that a membership is a great way to earn. It's not passive. It's leveraged income because you're still.
[00:12:33] Libby: Being in the business various hours, depending on your strategy and what you offer, like you mentioned, you're always tweaking and going back to [00:12:40] improve it. So I think that dietitians often think a membership is a great way to work less and prevent burnout. Where that can be true. And if we do the math for conversion, what standard conversion rates are for email marketing for a campaign, whether depending on how you're launching, if you're depending on what your launch strategy is and [00:13:00] how you're launching and what your churn rate is, are you above or below industry standard for churn rate, meaning how many people are retaining in your membership.
[00:13:08] Libby: It's not for many of us that don't have it. Higher than average conversion rates or an audience size of a certain amount. If we do the math, how many people you need for, depending on your goals, if it's a 10, 000 dollar a month goal [00:13:20] for the membership, et cetera, it might end up being that your membership is 1 of a few products that you offer your business or really just depends on what your goals are.
[00:13:27] Libby: So we can do some math scenarios. If you're looking to make 2 grand a month or 10 grand a month, the question would be, what is the size of your community? That you could possibly convert, whether that's email list or followers and what that looks like on [00:13:40] certain platforms in terms of conversion. And then is that the only you know, business models that the only product or that you have in the mix to sell.
[00:13:48] Libby: So I think that those are conversations that can get a little higher level that a lot of dietitians don't quite understand. So many of them want to burn down their coaching business and offer membership. And I think, Hey let me just explain like how this works at simple [00:14:00] and I don't want to. Be surprised that you might have less revenues from a membership than say from like whether it's a coaching program or high ticket or even, or have coaches under you, it's just like, there's a difference between a service based model and a product model.
[00:14:13] Libby: Do you have any thoughts on that?
[00:14:14] Krista: Oh my gosh, totally. And I think it's like a pro and a con I love that a [00:14:20] membership site. Operates on that monthly recurring revenue. So it becomes a bit more of a predictable business model to an extent.
[00:14:28] Krista: So, that can be really helpful from a planning perspective. So thinking about, okay, you know, if I'm going to be outsourcing, if I'm going to be hiring, okay, well, I can anticipate that I'll have X revenue coming in next month [00:14:40] and the next month and the next month. But then at the same time, you're always up against churn.
[00:14:46] Krista: Like what you talked about before, right? Churn, which is people coming in to people leaving, right? Because people will always be leaving. And so it is very much a constant. It's not passive. It's very active in terms of your sales and marketing [00:15:00] strategy, right? We're always trying to bring. New people in to hopefully offset the losses and then build, but it is a constant kind of give and take.
[00:15:10] Krista: So there's the pro of that monthly or that annual recurring revenue, but then there's the con of like, okay, but we're always trying to bring new [00:15:20] people in. Like that is very much an active process as is with any type of offering. But but I think that's an important thing to know because I feel like I remember when I first started.
[00:15:30] Krista: My membership, and I don't think I fully grasped the churn concept, right? And the sort of idea that, oh, okay, people leave. Yeah, people leave. Of course they leave. But [00:15:40] then, and there's that feeling of like, you can't take it personally. People are going to leave. Like, that's just part of the process but to be prepared for that and know that, You know, people will leave for any number of reasons and that's okay.
[00:15:51] Krista: And that's a very normal part of a membership site. But and that's why it becomes so important to focus on retention and then also to focus on growth strategies [00:16:00] too.
[00:16:00] Libby: Yeah, and for us another metric in addition to the ones you mentioned would be the customer lifetime values. So how long. Do average or stay in the membership because that can help you when it comes to looking at what to focus on.
[00:16:12] Libby: So, knowing churn rate, like, what percentage of them overall stay and industry standard is ideally below 10 percent that means 90 percent [00:16:20] of your members stay, which can be tricky. But something to work towards and then customer lifetime value. How long do they stay on average? How many months is the average value of a customer?
[00:16:30] Libby: And that can help with the predictability that you're talking about in terms of it's pretty much predictable. Like having these numbers in place can help you have a better sense of that predictability, customer lifetime [00:16:40] value. Those are good numbers to know. And then, you know, new members.
[00:16:43] Libby: So like what is your average member? Like how many new members per month do you get? Average members, let's say per year or per month. And then again, what are they annual or monthly? And even if you're doing a quarterly model that could be figured out pretty simply on an Excel sheet. And just kind of reviewing that on a regular basis, the same [00:17:00] way in a business, you would review your revenue, your sales, your gross profit margins, et cetera.
[00:17:04] Libby: You're also going to be looking at these numbers to get a sense of making decisions. A lot of dietitians will come to us and their business and say, well, when can I hire a virtual assistant? Or if they're in a private practice, when can I hire a dietitian under me? And the answer is like, well, Let's look at your numbers and then when membership [00:17:20] another question you might ask is when can I have someone help me with some of the load and so like looking at these numbers can help you make those decisions and they can help you know what to focus on your business.
[00:17:28] Libby: So one thing we focused on heavily this last year was retention and we got it down. We're doing really well. We're still a little bit above standard. Or we are above 10 percent retention, but we're doing better. So we're actually below 20%, [00:17:40] which is good, but we're above 10. So we're trying to constantly get that downs or churn rate so that we can get above 80 percent of the members to stay, which shows that our membership is very valuable.
[00:17:51] Libby: So constantly working on, and I do attribute that to getting a lot of feedback about. Yeah. And I improve this. Another thing we've done to get feedback is actually accept interns, dietetic interns, and go through the [00:18:00] membership and ask them their feedback. Go through the modules, show up to the live calls and ask them, what's your feedback?
[00:18:05] Libby: Like a standardized questionnaire, what could be improved? I've had some technical like feedback, like, oh, you know what? You had a sound issue and I'm like, oh, thank you so much. Like, you know, sometimes we have some technical snafus, so it's just helpful to have an open mind about what you can do to improve the product.
[00:18:19] Libby: Like, I'm [00:18:20] pretty obsessed about improving the product through feedback from the members, not from what I think and I think that's what we do is we don't put on, our rose colored glasses and think because I can go to membership all day and be like, this is amazing. Right? But it's not for me.
[00:18:34] Libby: It's just for our ideal client. And so it's just constantly finding out that they're getting value. And what can we do to [00:18:40] improve that?
[00:18:40] Krista: Yeah. Well, and I'd love to hear too from you, how do you approach the whole idea of content within the membership and I don't wanna say need, but I guess the needing to have something that keeps people around.
[00:18:53] Krista: Right. So I guess tying to the retention piece, so how do you guys approach that in terms of content delivery? So, I
[00:18:59] Libby: will say I [00:19:00] might be unique in this one. I love content. I do too. I totally hear you on that. . So it was hundreds of interviews, hundreds of guest interviews. Like I'm a content business, like I grew up in content marketing.
[00:19:14] Libby: I teach content marketing. So because I do love it, not everybody loves it. I have a content membership. Because I have a [00:19:20] content business. We do offer its content and coaching. Okay. So for live monthly coaching calls in the membership, in addition to the content that we offer. So I have a trademark method and I dietitian boss has been around for seven years.
[00:19:32] Libby: So when this membership started, I want to say, I don't know, I can't remember its birthday. I want to say it's two and a half years old. So it's [00:19:40] newer than yours. My three years old is when we first premiered the membership. We'll have to double check, but it's been a couple of years. Yeah, it is. I have because I've ran group programs, coaching and masterminds throughout the years.
[00:19:53] Libby: I have not only my IP, like, my intellectual property, this trademarked, but I have a. Ton [00:20:00] of trainings that I've done throughout the years. So for me to package that content together was just a complete joy. And it's something that I already had. What I did just continue to expand because when I started, I created a lot more beginner content.
[00:20:13] Libby: And as I evolved in the business, and as dietitian boss evolved and matured, we were able to offer content that's more focused [00:20:20] on more advanced stages of business. So, for me, when we started the membership, and I don't I think that I'm unique in the way that I have these teachings and trainings.
[00:20:30] Libby: I have a trademark process where I have everything codified and written out and documented. I'm a total geek. I already have a lot of that stuff and it's really intricate [00:20:40] because we've been running masterminds and groups for so long. I was able to pull it together. So in that I spent a little bit of time from the beginning serving.
[00:20:47] Libby: And then I knew from the data we had that our clients liked the content and that it worked like hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of success stories of the content working for the dietitians who apply it and at different stages. So, at first it was a beginner, and then [00:21:00] we saw intermediate and even advanced practitioners implement some of the trainings, and it worked.
[00:21:03] Libby: So I knew that it was tried and tested. So I did spend time surveying with experience. I also hired a coach that helps with like intellectual property to review all of my training. Content to make sure, and it wasn't clear that I have it written and in video [00:21:20] format. I spent a lot of time figuring out not only how to organize it, but how to make sure that I was appealing to different learning styles.
[00:21:25] Libby: And I had gotten feedback throughout the years from our clients and masterminds and whatnot about the content. So I had quite a bit of content to launch the membership from the beginning. And then from there, I put myself on a content calendar where I have our team continue to [00:21:40] create content now.
[00:21:40] Libby: So we have an operations manager who creates monthly tech tutorials on operational things in the business. Like, canva now has an AI bolt creator. So she makes. Tech tutorials and how to do that.
[00:21:51] Libby: Have another VA in the business that does editing and she makes content on how to edit. So everybody in the business has a responsibility to [00:22:00] contribute to content regularly that helps with dietitians requests.
[00:22:02] Libby: We take requests all the time, but we know that we hear what they say and then we make it based on the request. So how to use AI for meal planning, how to learn how to create better prompts for AI. And then when we have something that one on the team can handle, that's when we'll bring in a guest.
[00:22:18] Libby: We have someone come in and talk about [00:22:20] reimbursement for insurance, which is not my expertise. Someone come in and talk about very difficult clients, motivational interviewing. And that is definitely something I can speak on, but she was excellent. So I've been able to have a content calendar of guests and of our team plan it out a quarter ahead and stay on top of it.
[00:22:36] Libby: In addition we probably have over 20 hours [00:22:40] of content in the library right now.
[00:22:42] Krista: Cool.
[00:22:42] Libby: What about you?
[00:22:43] Krista: Yeah, that's amazing. And I think, you know, what you've touched on there is the importance of that continuous content delivery, no matter what format that looks like. It's like, we do want to keep serving up our audience.
[00:22:56] Krista: sort of new and timely stuff or else [00:23:00] you could just offer it as an online course. I think that's sort of an important component of a membership is just sort of that continuous piece. So for us, we focus on clinical nutrition resources. And so what's important to us is delivery of new content, but then also update of old content.
[00:23:16] Krista: So we sort of have this concurrent new content [00:23:20] and old content update. System we're basically every month. Same with you. We're listening to our audience and we're constantly gathering feedback on what do you want to see? And our client handouts are the number 1 utilized resource within our platform for sure.
[00:23:37] Krista: And so we get handout requests. Constantly, right? [00:23:40] It'll be like little things like, Hey, I'd love to have something on this specific aspect of protein or whatever. And so we will basically tally those requests up and then we'll triage based on those. Results. Right. So
[00:23:54] Libby: what's to do it.
[00:23:56] Libby: Yeah. Yeah. That's how you should do it. Yeah. Yeah. And [00:24:00] that what's in the most feedback start from there. And depending on your capacity, like that's awesome. So for those of you that are like, well, what if I don't have feedback? I think it's not, and that's okay too. Right. For various reasons, it's an opportunity for you to get hands on.
[00:24:13] Libby: Like, I can't stress enough how important it is. To if you don't get feedback naturally and organically are starting out with a smaller [00:24:20] audience because we all start from zero. That's where you get your hands dirty. And you go in there, yeah, I mean, like, you get in. And you go talk to people and you say, well, you know, what do you wish if you could wave a magic wand? What do you wish we had? Or what would be more helpful today? And another thing you can do if you have the capacity is just offering, you can [00:24:40] offer bonus calls and that way you can build rapport with your members and ask them on those.
[00:24:44] Libby: Calls what they would like. 'cause they might not necessarily tell you the way that they've told you Krista. That's really, really great that you're able to tally up what you hear them say and then produce that. So with your content calendar, how far out do you guys plan?
[00:24:57] Krista: We actually only plan out [00:25:00] a few months in advance now for and that's really for us to be able to stay responsive because as you can imagine, I mean, in the nutrition world, things are coming up all the time, new and emerging things are coming up all the time, right?
[00:25:13] Krista: Like we're, we're seeing all of this information right now on social media about Seed oils, right? Like that is a very timely [00:25:20] topic. And so one of the things that we found is that if we plan too far in advance, because of the type of content we create, we end up sort of losing that, like timely in the moment stuff.
[00:25:31] Krista: And so we're sort of a couple months in advance now. I would say we have a plan for the year, but in terms of actual the content generation. So [00:25:40] Olivia, who's my content manager, she's really in charge of that. Clinical content resource development, and so she has , we sort of map out.
[00:25:47] Krista: Okay. Here's the high level plan for the year, but we stay very adaptable just depending on what's coming up and what happens. And so that's sort of how we manage it. And then from an updates perspective, that's [00:26:00] definitely more concrete because we try and really stick to a 12 to 24 month update schedule.
[00:26:05] Krista: So anything that was created, you can expect that it's going to be updated every 12 to 24 months, because that's obviously really important in the nutrition world too. Right? And that's definitely more concrete. So we follow a very specific timeline for that because it'll be like, okay, here's the date it was published.
[00:26:19] Krista: [00:26:20] Here's how it's updated.
[00:26:20] Libby: And so I can imagine there's a lot of project management going on in your business. Oh yeah. All the content. Find a date, a review, a second review, and then feedback from your members. That's pretty structured. So I think that's fantastic. And I would say for most memberships, for those of you listening that want to [00:26:40] offer nutrition membership, maybe for body positivity, maybe chronic disease, whatever your specialty is, or your idea, I think it's a good place to start thinking 3 months ahead, thinking like, Let's say the 1st, 3 months of the year, 2nd, 3 months of the year mostly planning further out than that might almost be a little bit too abstract
[00:26:59] Krista: because if
[00:26:59] Libby: in the [00:27:00] nutrition world that you're providing nutrition resources, I am providing some, but mainly business resources to nutrition, which also changed quite a bit.
[00:27:06] Libby: Right? Especially tech and AI.
[00:27:09] Krista: Yeah, totally.
[00:27:10] Libby: So let's say you're in the diabetes space, for example, and You're similarly going to want to be not creating content too far ahead because you [00:27:20] want top of what people want and need. So I think that's a good place to start is thinking about, well, if it's too hard to do 3 months ahead, then start with like a month ahead and then build your way.
[00:27:29] Libby: But I don't necessarily think it's important to plan further than that. Unless if you're in extenuating circumstances, like delivering a baby or something like that, it just needs to be released. I also wanted [00:27:40] to add that. There's a lot of talk and not to overwhelm about content because it's also about being use the word responsive.
[00:27:46] Libby: So I'm going to use that word to respond to your audience's needs. And if they're feeling overwhelmed, it's not that you need more content. And you feel like be aware of what people want, so they might not want. More content they might want [00:28:00] something different and it's important that you're able to find that out whatever that might be.
[00:28:03] Libby: Or it might be that you're assuming they want really complex content when they actually just want a simple tip or they want something that you wouldn't have known if you didn't like really dig and ask them. So what are your thoughts on that? Instead of thinking more.
[00:28:16] Krista: Well, yeah, totally. It's like more, or is it [00:28:20] just different delivery, right? Making it more accessible for people, making it easier for them to consume. And I think, you know, as we're talking about content you know, obviously you and I talk a lot about content in the format of like video modules, you know, I'm talking about client handouts and tools and all of that stuff, you know, content can also be A [00:28:40] live call, like you're saying, you know, live Q and a call.
[00:28:43] Krista: It can be you showing up and doing a live call. Content is also the community and what you do with the community. So we don't necessarily mean that you need to like, just pump out more and more video courses every month. It can be just helping people utilize the stuff you [00:29:00] already have available, helping them utilize it in different ways.
[00:29:03] Krista: One of the things that we got feedback on recently, which I think is such a brilliant idea is somebody was like, she was like, what if you had a sort of an open house every month where you could walk through different tools that people can use in different scenarios. And we're like, that's a great idea.
[00:29:19] Krista: Like just a [00:29:20] way for people to see different ways to leverage what they already have access to. And so. Doesn't need to be as complicated or complex or overwhelming as like, I got to pump out more video content every month. It can be content takes on many forms, right? And there's a very wide definition of what content really is.
[00:29:38] Krista: And so I think, you know, if anybody's listening. So [00:29:40] I mean, I don't know if people are listening and they're feeling intimidated by that. I mean, you and I love content. So we're like, yeah, like, we love talking about it. But I know that that can feel intimidating for some people. And so it doesn't necessarily need to be like that.
[00:29:50] Krista: It can be you have your library of content. So what I mean by that, like, you have your library of like, video content or tools, resources, etc. And then your continuity is like [00:30:00] the live calls cooking demos, bringing in a new meal plan from that clean life, like you can leverage so many different tools to make it more.
[00:30:08] Krista: Accessible for you to be consistent and to be able to keep showing up. Yeah,
[00:30:14] Libby: I think that's really helpful how content can take on many different forms. And I've also seen some of our [00:30:20] clients and community. They offer things like a member only podcast. So if you're going to yes, love that. Yeah. Or just the members, it's like, you're having this conversation that's intimate with your members where, or maybe you have an episode that's released like this for the public and then you have it.
[00:30:38] Libby: Portion of that just remember [00:30:40] only that's like, kind of like the inside. So there's a lot of creative ways that you can think about making it work. But I think it's important to note if you're overwhelmed, you know, think about how your audience feels as well. And that's why onboarding. onboarding process for members is so important.
[00:30:58] Libby: Like, what is their experience when they [00:31:00] join? How have you set up your email sequence to welcome them? How is it for them to identify who to reach out to for help? And I'm not talking about sending you a DM on social media. Where to contact the support who to reach if they have any issues, whether it's billing or confusion.
[00:31:16] Libby: So those are like, some of the logistics that I think are really important for [00:31:20] membership owners to grasp to make the experience really great and to not torture the members when they want to leave. Right? Because I think that when you hold them hostage, that's also uncomfortable. And I've seen some memberships that really kind of penalize the members for leaving and I also don't agree with that because there are various reasons that people come in and out, which is why you offer an annual or monthly [00:31:40] option. So they, they, they can leave. But that doesn't mean that they necessarily can't come back.
[00:31:45] Libby: It's just a time. So those are just some things I've learned over the years.
[00:31:49] Krista: Yeah. Oh, my gosh. Totally. I think we could go part two with this conversation because there's just so much to cover in terms of this topic. What would be your, let's say top two tips [00:32:00] for a dietitian who is thinking about starting a membership site?
[00:32:04] Krista: What would you recommend?
[00:32:05] Libby: Yeah, so for a dietitian thinking about a membership site, the first question I would ask is, how does this fit in with your other products or services? So, the best way to identify that would be, what is it you're hoping to achieve from this membership? And [00:32:20] then how is that going to support your audience?
[00:32:22] Libby: So that's kind of like a 2 parter. So for most of us that run a business. We want to think about revenue. So is this going to be a major source of income? A minor source? How does this fit along your other products or services? So are you offering coaching and a membership? And is the membership specifically for people?
[00:32:39] Libby: What is the [00:32:40] criteria for someone who would join the membership versus somebody who would coach with you privately if that is how you Are positioning your products and services. So it's important to think about where does this fit in to your products and services to your business right now is a good question.
[00:32:55] Libby: And the 2nd question would be, what is the biggest problem that your membership is solving? Oftentimes [00:33:00] dietitians will try to solve really small problems in a membership and in order to find out if this problem you're solving is something people will pay for. That's where we have conversations with them and you do surveys and you make sure that you're not solving for something that you think is a problem, but you're solving for something that people will actually pay for and instead of thinking about, we all get ahead of ourselves.
[00:33:19] Libby: We want to create the [00:33:20] content. Everybody. So many dietitians I work with in a private coaching capacity. They'll come to me and be like, I already have completed all my programs for, this person throughout their life stage of pregnancy. And I'm like, Oh, great. Like, how many people have you talked to that are pregnant?
[00:33:32] Libby: And they're like, none. And I'm like, okay, so super common. And I get it. I totally get it. Petitions are so amazing with their resource duration. [00:33:40] And we're really great at helping people. But we can't forget that we have to survey the audience. And we have to ask them and we have to validate that what we think is a viable option is what they will pay for.
[00:33:50] Libby: And that's why I said back to like, you are not the person like you have to talk to the person you're selling to to validate that they'll pay for it. We all think that our products and services are [00:34:00] precious.
[00:34:00] Krista: Mm
[00:34:01] Libby: hmm. She's saying we've ever seen. And that's what they get personally like, Oh, my gosh, it was amazing.
[00:34:08] Libby: It offers a BNC. It's incredible. And it's good to feel confident about what you've produced. But what's more important than that is to validate that somebody will take their hard earned dollar. And not only pay for it, but also [00:34:20] stay there because it's not a viable business model. If you have people constantly coming and going, you're going to need to reach towards that 80 percent retention or that 10 percent churn.
[00:34:29] Libby: You're going to need to know the customer lifetime value. Is it 5 months? Is it 10 months? Is it 2 years? Like, whatever it is, once you know that, then you can make better decisions about how to structure your membership and how to fit it in with your other [00:34:40] products and services. So I think memberships are a much bigger endeavor than people make them out to be.
[00:34:44] Libby: People think the membership is quick fix and it's soon. Transcribed by https:
[00:34:47] Krista: otter. ai
[00:34:47] Libby: The opposite. It's going to require for it to be profitable and sustainable. It's going to require a decent amount of business skills that you as a dietitian need to grasp and figure out how does this fit within your other products and services.
[00:34:58] Libby: What about you? What would be your two tips?
[00:34:59] Krista: [00:35:00] I would say my first one would be sort of building off of what you just said around assessing whether this is the right business model for you in terms of having that long game mindset. Right? Being like, Hey, and I had heard this quote once when I first started that it was, it was something along the lines of like, memberships are built one member at a time.[00:35:20]
[00:35:20] Krista: And that is how it goes. Right? It is a, yeah. You know, it is, it's one member at a time and it is really being in it for the long game and having that long game mindset and that long game strategy. And I think you can absolutely be rewarded if you, you know, decide to do a membership and go into it with that mentality [00:35:40] and that ideology.
[00:35:40] Krista: I love a membership site now, right? Like I wouldn't stray from this business model because it's been so fruitful for me. But that's also come at from a lot of testing and learning right and having that long game mentality. So I think that's my number one. I think my number 2 is making sure that [00:36:00] you're weighing new customer acquisition and retention in the same way, right?
[00:36:06] Krista: So you're thinking about bringing new people in, but also retaining them. I think sometimes we forget about the retention. So it's like, let's just bring new people in and we, de prioritize or people tend to de prioritize the [00:36:20] retention piece when really retention is just as important, and I just want to say one thing too, if anybody's listening and they're like, but how do I you know, how do I get this feedback? How do I learn from people what they want and what they need? I still do this to this day where I will book. Just a 15 minute informational interview with a [00:36:40] dietitian that I want to learn more about their day to day and the things that they're struggling with.
[00:36:45] Krista: I just did this a few weeks ago. I booked like five informational interviews just for me to be able to sharpen. Refresh my memory, understand what dietitians are struggling with in [00:37:00] various practice settings, because that's something that's important for us, understanding the clinical, you know, the community, the public health dietitian, the private practice dietitian.
[00:37:08] Krista: And so it can be as simple as like going back to a client that you feel like you have a good relationship with and asking for just 15 minutes of their time to hop on a zoom call or a phone call just to do a bit of an [00:37:20] informational interview. So it doesn't have to be anything complicated or, you get the best answers when you just sit with someone and you just talk to them and you ask them questions about their lives.
[00:37:29] Krista: And you can't be afraid to do that. I think that's the biggest part of those. Yeah,
[00:37:32] Krista: That's great. Krista are those members
[00:37:34] Libby: that you're interviewing or where you get
[00:37:36] Krista: members? Yeah. Members. Yeah.
[00:37:37] Libby: Cool. Yeah, I was totally like, [00:37:40] how you went about that. Just listening or they want to know the how a lot. So yeah, 100%.
[00:37:44] Libby: Yeah, absolutely. Those of you that have a community. I mean, you could do that easily by just reaching out to like Krista said, let's say you're newer and you're trying to get more clients or maybe you're in clinical and you haven't quite tipped your toes into private practice yet. You can always have conversations with people that struggle [00:38:00] with general nutrition or the struggle with perhaps a chronic disease if you're specializing in IBS or something like that, and just kind of have those conversations with them.
[00:38:06] Libby: So you have to work and find people and talk to them yet have that community. But that is something throughout your business, you will be doing or someone from your team, because if you don't, then you're not going to be really aware of what their needs are. So I think that was that was really [00:38:20] great.
[00:38:20] Libby: Kristen in terms of what your reflections are. I noticed in this conversation, though, we kind of kept it high level, right?
[00:38:27] Krista: We did
[00:38:27] Libby: not get into tech. At all, I know, yeah, today was a little bit more big picture high level, but the tech probably a big piece of it because it's
[00:38:38] Krista: so [00:38:40] true. Should we get into
[00:38:41] Libby: it?
[00:38:41] Libby: Should we get into it? If you want to keep this episode longer, or if you want to do a part 2 in the future, you're we can even hit on it quickly. Let's get into
[00:38:49] Krista: it. There's going to be lingering questions and it is important. You're so right. And it is kind of like this whole other beast, but I think it's important to talk to talk about in the context.
[00:38:58] Krista: Cause I know if I was listening to this and [00:39:00] I was like, I was like, no, talk about the tech, talk about the tech. Right. Okay. So let's talk about the tech. Why don't you tell me about your tech first? And then I'll kind of walk through ours.
[00:39:09] Libby: Sure. So we keep it pretty simple use Kajabi. So we've used Kajabi from the beginning and with Kajabi we have a product and then we also have a [00:39:20] community inside Kajabi. So folks that want to engage in a forum. Use the community through Kajabi and there's an app and you can go on the desktop web browser and access it.
[00:39:31] Libby: And then we've built a custom interface where we have sectioned off. So if people want to ask us in the community, we have our live calls are in the community. [00:39:40] So you can watch the replays. That's where we host the live calls every month. And then we have a section of like, introduce yourself. So a thread where dietitians Can connect with others.
[00:39:48] Libby: We have like a cute little coffee chat where you can just share things going on if you want to network. And then we also have some threads that are specific to where you at in the road map. So identifying what you're working on at the moment [00:40:00] with other members and again, we monitor and review it.
[00:40:02] Libby: So we answer questions for me and my team tech challenges. And then we also have another thread for content. So if you want to submit content or have a question about your content, we can do content reviews in the forum inside Kajabi itself for the product. That's where we house when you walk in, we did buy a custom theme and we also [00:40:20] gamify it.
[00:40:20] Libby: So we have badges. So that means that depending on how far you've. Progressed it shows you what stage you're in. So when you log in, I've sectioned it into different stages. So we have an introduction and then through that you go through like roadmap and make sure you have all the information you need for onboarding.
[00:40:36] Libby: Although we send that to as well. If you need to, if you decide you want to cancel it. [00:40:40] All of that's available at the top when you log in and there's like a, a module that section to explain that. And then underneath we have four different stages. So the first would be beginner and then slightly intermediate, more intermediate and advanced for the roadmap.
[00:40:55] Libby: And then there's dropdowns for each section and then there's associated exercises. Then [00:41:00] there's like a resource center that you can drop down and there's a five minute, like quick wins under five minutes section. So we have different sections and then you can also use a search bar to identify and locate.
[00:41:11] Libby: So that's kind of the interface of how it looks to make it easier to navigate. I really think the search bar is helpful if somebody wants to type in Instagram, they'll be directed to not only. [00:41:20] Calls that have discussed Instagram, but any of the content that I've created in the team's created about what to do and how to best use Instagram, including templates we've created.
[00:41:29] Libby: I can talk more, but I'm going to take a pause because I know you're going to explain face, which is not good job. So that'll be a nice parallel.
[00:41:34] Krista: Well, this is going to be interesting action. I don't think I've even given you this update last time we [00:41:40] talked. So I started the membership on Kajabi as well.
[00:41:42] Krista: I love Kajabi. I think Kajabi is such an amazing platform and I tend to recommend Kajabi for most people because it's just like their member management is just, I think it's kind of unparalleled in terms of what they do and how they invest in just that side of [00:42:00] their interface. And I feel like it just makes your life really easy.
[00:42:02] Krista: Honestly, when you're on Kajabi. So we were on Kajabi. And then At the time, one of the biggest challenges that we had was a lot of our content is PDF and stand alone PDF documents. Kajabi was not necessarily set [00:42:20] up to be able to easily sort and find PDF content.
[00:42:26] Libby: I didn't realize that yet.
[00:42:28] Libby: This is
[00:42:28] Krista: why we moved over to a custom WordPress site at the time. So we had a custom WordPress site developed for us, which we've been on for the last couple of [00:42:40] years. We are actually moving back to Kajabi, which is wild, I've had a lot of really great learnings in the WordPress side of things.
[00:42:49] Krista: And I think ultimately one of the biggest learnings for me has been that suddenly you take on the responsibility of [00:43:00] being, the content deliverer, but then also the web developer to whereas when you're working on a platform like Kajabi. That's their job. They work on the web development piece, the member management piece, like they're constantly innovating in those areas.
[00:43:19] Krista: They're [00:43:20] making their community better. They're making the user experience better. You know, that is their job. And so we've just run into some challenges with using WordPress, where I constantly feel like we're using too many resources than we need to be using for what's available out there. And so now.
[00:43:38] Krista: We actually found a [00:43:40] company that offers. Basically like a custom Kajabi solution where you can use Kajabi and then they kind of have their own, content database, like thing that plugs into your Kajabi. So it's essentially you're using Kajabi and you're using their content database because that's been a really important thing for us is making sure that [00:44:00] our PDF content is searchable.
[00:44:02] Krista: Easy to find, quick, categorized properly. Like, we have hundreds of PDF documents. It has to be fast. It has to be easy. Sure. So that is what we are working on right now. And so we're going to be releasing that new version in January, which I'm so excited about. I'm so excited about
[00:44:18] Libby: it. This person [00:44:20] I've talked to that has switched back and forth, like, that's actually a real listener.
[00:44:24] Libby: And it might sound like a lot, but. Yeah. But there's tech moves so fast because job is the process. Yes, it did, which was just totally cool. Yeah, totally. They've gone and they also offered a new tier, like a lower level tier and have that before this past year, but job didn't make it more [00:44:40] accessible as a product.
[00:44:41] Libby: I think that. The reason that we like Kajabi, and I think that it's attractive to many people is that it is an all in one solution and I don't like having to be the web developer and the business owner and the dietitian expert. It's kind of a lot. It's a lot of the many jobs off of our plate when we already have.
[00:44:58] Libby: A lot of hats [00:45:00] is helpful, but it does, you know, nothing's perfect. So there might be some customization that's lacking, even though we have this amazing plugin for Kajabi, this custom plugin and gamification. Sometimes I think that the way that WordPress or other, like platforms are designed can be somewhat a little bit more intuitive.
[00:45:17] Libby: So it's never going to be perfectly choosing any mark. [00:45:20] It's never going to be like, there's going to be one that might be helpful that another doesn't have, but you just learn to work with it. I know a lot of dietitians have switched, you
[00:45:28] Krista: know, from
[00:45:29] Libby: practice to practice better and then maybe even back and forth.
[00:45:32] Libby: And it's the same when it comes to choosing a tech platform. We also this past year switched from. HubSpot to using [00:45:40] Kajabi for our email marketing, because the same thing, it was just cumbersome and quite expensive and a little, it just HubSpot had more features than our business needed. Totally. For ease of our staff.
[00:45:53] Libby: Things in one platform. So we switched, even though the email marketing is not necessarily perfect, the ability isn't [00:46:00] perfect. And Kajabi, we weighed out the pros and cons and made a strategic decision to use Kajabi for our membership and for email marketing and hosting our website, just because it's easier to have it all in one.
[00:46:10] Libby: It's not perfect, but it, I can tell you back four or five years ago, even six. When memberships were around, although they're still new. Like there weren't even this many tech options. So [00:46:20] memberships more and more accessible for dietitians like us to offer for, our clients and community and they've ever been, so I'm not saying it's a breeze or a walk in the park, but a job is constantly updating and making things more accessible.
[00:46:33] Libby: And I think it's a good time now to use tech. It's a lot easier than it was five, 10 years ago, [00:46:40] especially pre pandemic. It was a lot challenging with like. Web plugins and integrations and you totally have quite good deal of technical acumen or delegation skills to hire somebody, which most dietitians, we might not have that.
[00:46:53] Libby: That's a lot to ask.
[00:46:55] Krista: Totally. And I think to your point too, there's so much value in having [00:47:00] everything under one roof when it comes to a tech platform, maybe not everything, but I think that's something that I've really missed. from Kajabi going to something else. And now coming back as being like, oh, I missed having, my email marketing, my website, my podcast, all in one place.
[00:47:16] Krista: And you're going to pay for that. But I mean, if I [00:47:20] look at what I'm like, same with you, we use active campaign for email marketing and. Way too many features for what we need, like, I'm way overpaying for that platform, right? Like, it's just too much for what we need. And so, yeah, there's never going to be a perfect option.
[00:47:34] Krista: But I think, continuously being in the pursuit of the best option we're always testing [00:47:40] and learning again, right? It's like, it's always looking for there's new stuff coming out all the time. There's developments coming out all the time. So you know, having to switch it up is okay.
[00:47:50] Krista: It's part of the process part of having a business. And so sometimes you spend money to go through that process of learning what works and what doesn't work, but that's just the cost of doing [00:48:00] business. So,
[00:48:00] Libby: yeah, and I'm impressed that tech bit that we share long as as it could have been because I know we could go on and on about totally in the high level overview.
[00:48:10] Libby: Platforms and choices and decisions and and why we make them to support these models.
[00:48:16] Krista: Yeah. Oh, that was a fun episode. That was so fun to talk about with you. [00:48:20] I loved hearing your perspective on things. Where can the audience find out more about you and the work that you do?
[00:48:27] Libby: Absolutely. So I am Libby Rothschild from Dietitian Boss.
[00:48:30] Libby: You can find us at dietitianboss. com on Instagram at Dietitian Boss, YouTube Dietitian Boss and our podcast Dietitian Boss.
[00:48:38] Krista: Amazing. Thank you
[00:48:38] Libby: so much.
[00:48:39] Krista: [00:48:40] Awesome. Amazing. And for us we are dietitiansuccesscenter. com at dietitiansuccesscenter on Instagram, the dietitiansuccess podcast dietitiansuccesscenter on YouTube, just dietitiansuccesscenter everywhere.
[00:48:53] Krista: Just keeping it easy. All right. Thanks, Libby. It was so good to talk to you.
[00:48:56] Libby: Pleasure.
[00:48:56] Looking for support to grow your dietitian business or [00:49:00] even get started. I invite you to join the library, our monthly affordable membership that shows you exactly what to do every step of the way so that you can create the business of your dreams. Not sure if it's the right time. The membership gives you an option to.
[00:49:15] Go at your own pace. We have modules, a roadmap to show you exactly [00:49:20] what to do, and monthly live calls, as well as new content that we release every single month based on requests. Inside of the library, we have four stages of business. So whether you come in getting started or you want to enter the membership and grow or scale your business, we have the appropriate resources for you and our team, including myself, available to answer your questions.[00:49:40]
[00:49:40] Head on over to dietitianboss. com and check out the library today. We'd love to see you there.
