Tour of the New Members Area

On April 1st the Simple Scrapper members moved into a brand new online home. If I’ve ever seemed quieter than usual recently, it’s because this transition captured the bulk of my attention during the first quarter.

With this big project mostly complete, I wanted to offer a behind-the-scenes tour of the membership.

No matter what I write on the membership sales page, I know (as a customer of other brands myself) that you always wonder “but what do I really get?”

While this post can’t re-create the value of community, it can demystify the resources members receive and the environment in which they are delivered.

Shall we begin? (You can click any image to enlarge it.)

A Peek Inside the Membership

The new membership site exactly matches the blog, sharing the same minimal design with lots of white space and crisp typography.

Logging In

The login screen let’s you know that you’re in the right place and also provides easy access to customer service should you need anything.

Upon login you’re greeted by name and presented with menus tailored to your access level. This site not only serves our members but is the home of our classrooms. Currently the only non-member classroom is for The Finishing Project.

Navigating the Site

The content on the homepage exactly mirrors the navigation menu you’ll find across the site, making it easy to see what is available and difficult to get lost.

Member Interaction

Community is the heart of the membership program. Members are invited to twice-monthly private chats inside of a full-width chat room. Transcripts are provided for those who are unable to attend.

The new site also boasts a simple forum that is used for focused (and organized) interaction during workshops, events, and small group sessions. This week our members are kicking off two new Focus Circles, small self-directed groups that last for a short duration. This session’s topics are creative challenges and photo organization.

This area of the site also provides instructions for accessing the closed Facebook group for members, which is the primary hub for day-to-day conversation.

Tracking Your Progress

Members, event participants, and workshop students have access to lessons in our customized classroom area. It was important to me to create a learning environment and not just download pages.

Each classroom includes a welcome message with instructions, followed by a course outline. Most lessons have comments open, helping to facilitate engagement on the topics.

Every member is encouraged to begin by completing the Membership Orientation class, which introduces the entire member program in 12 lessons. The highlight of this class is a special self-assessment that’s exclusive to the orientation.

Students can easily track and see their progress for each class as well as contact me directly for one-on-one support.

Members get exclusive and immediate access to Focus, my scrapbooking productivity class. In 12 video lessons with companion worksheets, you’ll learn fundamentals of simple, focused memory keeping.

Members also receive access to Start Fresh Anytime, a DIY planning e-course, inside of the classroom area.

Accessing Resources

The Resource Library is key feature of membership, providing anytime access to a depth and breadth of tools for scrapbooking.

I love planning and believe that making lists is crucial for making things happen. Members have access to our current workbook and planner as well as a library of other planning worksheets.

Each month members receive a new issue of Spark, our 60-page member magazine with exclusive articles and layout examples from the creative team. Inside of the member area, you can access the entire back catalog of issues.

A big feature of membership is the Sketch & Template Library. Each month members receive five new page designs, both sketch and layered template versions, to use as layout starting points. The entire library of nearly 250 sketches is indexed and filterable by various parameters, such as number and size of photos.

Plus, there are annual PDF sketch indexes that are perfect for loading to a tablet and cropping away from your computer!

Sketches and templates are not only provided for 12×12 page sizes, but also 8.5×11 and double-page versions of each.

Each month members also receive a new set of storytelling prompts, coupled with a gallery of examples from our creative team. Previous prompts are indexed on the site and there’s also PDF compilations to use on-the-go.

This year we’re also building a library of Jumpstart challenges. A new challenge that couples design and story directions is posted every Friday. Though these aren’t technically a class, they are built into our learning management system to make tracking your progress easy!

The Jumpstarts help members utilize the Resource Library in creative ways, using creative team layouts as the inspiration from each set of directions.

Members also have access to a suite of bonus resources, including eBooks such as Story-First Scrapbooking, Simple Scrapbook Organizing, Everyday Storyteller Volume 1, and Everyday Storyteller Volume 2.

Plus, I’ve also included instructions for 27 diverse papercrafting projects!

 

Though the membership launched in 2011, this is really just the beginning of the 2.0 era. I’m excited to have a great platform on which to continue delivering high-value content and experiences!

I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention mobile devices in this post. There were many great reasons for this re-do, but improving the experience for members visiting from their tablets and phones was one of the biggest.

Both the blog and the member site are fully responsive and will continue to be optimized with various devices in mind!

Do you have any questions? I’d be happy to answer anything at all in the comments on this post.

And if you’re now sold on the benefits, I’d also be happy to have you become a member today.