According to an excellent NiemanLab story last year, when The Wall Street Journal put together a cross-functional group "to identify retention-driving actions and reinvent the way [they] promote those habits to [their] member base"—calling it  Project Habit—they started by making an "an exhaustive list of all the things a member could do on our site."

SIIA member Piano came up in the SIPA Discussion Forum today. Coincidentally, their director of research, Patrick Appel, just put out some interesting information on subscriptions and renewals at a Readers First Meetup sponsored by the International News Media Association.

"The first 30 days of our relationship with a subscriber is crucial as this is when churn is at its highest. Subscribers are figuring out how they want to use our products and how the different platforms fit their lifestyle and add value to their day. Therefore, we must make quick and tactical work of the time we have to lay out the best welcome mat and create a Globe habit in the daily routines of new subscribers."

Successful onboarding can take on many looks. For Elizabeth Petersen of Simplify Compliance, onboarding for events is important. For their critical documentation improvement specialists audience, they created a conference app that helps to start conversations between customers before the event.

Wow, a year can go fast! You work hard to get a new member or subscriber. Onboard them, check after 3-6 months how involved they are, and then poof, they're up for renewal. According to a report from the IEEE Sections Congress, over 70% of attrition was made up of members with two years of membership or less. Once settled in, that percentage significantly dwindles.

"We ran a 'Cyber Week' deal the last week in November and secured 4% of our total new membership for the year in that week alone. The deal was 15 months of membership for the price of 12. The campaign was sent to all non-members in our database and increased awareness of our organization and the benefits and resources that we offer."

After I finally decided to try Netflix last week, a welcome letter quickly emerged, simple but direct, "Watch as many TV shows & movies as you want." That was followed by covers of popular Netflix shows and a red box that said in big letters, START WATCHING. I was officially engaged.

In a clever article titled How to Lose a Member in 10 Days on the MemberSuite site, marketing manager Kelli Eidson wrote, "Day Two: Have a lackluster welcome strategy. It is critical to personalizing the member's experience right off the bat and making them aware of their benefits. A good welcome packet will have everything a member needs to engage with [you]... Without it, they're likely to churn."