Today I want to talk about something I’ve been working through over the last months, and I think it’s going to be really relevant if you’ve ever thought about creating a membership, or if you already have one and you’re finding it harder to grow than you expected.
I relaunched the new version of the Blissful Biz Hive last November, and honestly, it challenged me more than I thought it would. Not because it wasn’t valuable, and not because people didn’t like the idea. But because something about the way people respond to memberships seems to have shifted.
That’s what I want to talk about here. Not just what happened in my business, but what I think is happening more broadly in how people make buying decisions right now.
The Problem With Memberships Right Now
A few years ago, memberships felt like the obvious model to build toward. My first version of the Blissful Biz Hive had over 100 members back in 2019, and it worked well.
Memberships offer recurring revenue, ongoing support, and the ability to walk with people over time instead of just inside one short container. All of that still makes sense on paper.
But what I’ve been noticing lately is that people are approaching memberships very differently than they used to.
When someone considers joining a membership now, they’re rarely just asking whether it’s worth the money. They’re also asking whether it’s another thing they have to keep up with, whether they’ll actually use it, and whether they even have the capacity for another ongoing commitment.
Even when the price is reasonable, the decision can feel heavy. Because it’s not just a financial choice. It’s a choice about attention, consistency, and energy.
Most yoga teachers, especially the ones I work with, are already stretched in at least one of those areas.
So what happens instead of a clear no is hesitation. They can see the value. They might genuinely want the support. And still, there’s a quiet voice saying, maybe later. Maybe when things calm down. Maybe when I’m more consistent.
What I’ve realized is that maybe later very rarely becomes a yes.
Not because the membership isn’t good, but because it asks for commitment before enough trust has been built.
This feels especially true in yoga and wellness spaces, where people already consume a lot of information, already carry ideas about what they should be doing, and often feel some guilt around not being as consistent as they think they should be.
A membership, even a well-designed one, can start to feel like one more thing they’re not fully showing up for. And that’s not a great foundation for a long-term relationship.
What I’m Doing Instead
Because of all this, I’ve made a fairly significant shift.
Instead of trying to grow the membership as my main front-end offer, I’m focusing my energy on small, low-ticket digital products. One-time purchases that solve one very specific problem and create a quick, meaningful result.
There’s no monthly commitment. No question about whether someone will stay engaged. Just a clear problem, a clear solution, and the ability to move forward.
What’s working about this approach right now is that it removes a lot of internal friction.
When something costs a small amount and clearly helps with a problem you’re dealing with right now, the decision becomes much simpler. You’re not negotiating with yourself about whether you’ll show up consistently or whether you’re ready for another recurring expense.
You’re just deciding whether you want help with this one thing.
It also builds trust in a very different way.
Instead of asking someone to believe that your ongoing support will be valuable, you’re letting them experience how you teach, how you think, and how you structure things. They get a result. They feel the clarity or relief. And then they’re in a much better position to decide whether they want more.
That’s a very different dynamic than asking for long-term commitment before someone really knows what it’s like to work with you.
How This Actually Works In Practice
The first step is choosing one specific problem your ideal client is facing right now.
Not something broad like building a complete yoga practice, but something much more concrete. Difficulty calming the mind in meditation. Uncertainty about which poses are safe for lower back pain. Wanting to start a home practice but not knowing where to begin. Feeling so stressed that breathing feels shallow all day.
One problem that, if solved, would create immediate relief or forward momentum.
Then you create something small that solves that one problem well. It might be a short course, a workbook, a framework, or a simple guided process. The point isn’t to teach everything. The point is to solve this one thing clearly.
Pricing usually works well in a range that feels like an easy decision, but still meaningful enough that people actually use what they buy.
And instead of launching it once or creating urgency around it, you make it available consistently. People can find it when they need it, buy it when they’re ready, and use it at their own pace.
Inside the offer, or in the follow-up after someone completes it, you can mention what’s available next if they want more support. That might be a membership, or a more premium program. But it’s an invitation, not pressure.
What I’ve noticed is that many people will buy one or two small offers first. They get comfortable with how you work. And then, when they’re ready for deeper support, joining something ongoing feels like a natural next step instead of a leap.
What This Requires From You
This approach does require letting go of something.
It means letting go of the idea that your membership has to be the center of your business. For many of us, that’s challenging, because we’ve been told that recurring revenue is the sustainable model and the ultimate goal.
I’m not saying memberships don’t work. I’m saying they tend to work much better as a continuation, not as the starting point.
Your membership can still exist. It can still be exactly what some people need. But it doesn’t have to carry the full weight of converting people who barely know you into long-term committed clients.
That’s what smaller offers can do. They lower the barrier, build trust through experience, and take pressure off both you and your audience.
They also require getting comfortable with creating focused offers instead of comprehensive ones. Not everything you know. Just one clear solution to one clear problem.
For me, that’s actually simpler. It allows me to work with more clarity and less emotional load.
Where I’ve Landed
I’m keeping the Blissful Biz Hive.
But it’s no longer the first thing people encounter.
It’s becoming a place for ongoing support and deeper training once someone already knows they want to work with me.
Instead, I’m building a collection of small, specific digital offers that solve real problems yoga teachers are facing right now, and making those easy to find, easy to buy, and easy to use.
Because I think that’s what helps people move forward.
Not another membership they feel unsure about. But a clear, focused win that helps them think, okay, I can do this.
What’s next?
Join my FREE Masterclass
If you want to understand how this comes together in a real business, I’m offering a free masterclass where I’ll walk you through how premium offers, free trainings, and low-ticket offers work together as one coherent system to create consistent sales.
In the masterclass, I’ll cover:
- what makes an offer truly irresistible
- how to design a transformational program people genuinely want to commit to
- how a simple evergreen funnel can support your business without constant pushing or burnout
