This article was originally published on Restrict Content Pro. 

Have you thought about how to name your membership levels? It can be simple, but if you want your site to stand out from the competition, invest some time and creativity into your level names.

Your level names should describe your services while placing you above the crowd. But you don’t want to use names that don’t adequately reflect your brand or membership levels.

In this article, you’ll learn specific insights regarding naming membership levels that drive your users to slam that “Register Now” button faster than ever before.

Let’s take a look.

How do you come up with creative names for membership tiers?

We’ve all seen the countless cliche names applied to membership levels. The last thing you want is to become another one of these unfortunate statistics. Typical names like Gold, Silver, and Bronze don’t do anything to turn site users into paying members.

So what do you do?

To start your membership level name brainstorming session, think about how to tie the names you use into the membership topic or niche.

As an example, if your membership site is about teaching users how to improve their basketball skills, your membership tier names could be something like:

• Amateur
• Professional
• All-Star

Take some time to note different membership tier names that fit your niche. Once you start brainstorming, you’ll discover creative membership level names.

Four powerful strategies for naming membership levels 

As mentioned, boring membership level names don’t create a lot of excitement in potential members. And they definitely don’t inspire users to sign up for a membership.

It’s also important to not overthink membership level names. When membership sites try to get too cute or creative with tier names, it often has the opposite effect.

And this leads us to our first strategy for naming your membership levels:

1. Balance creativity with simplicity

The two most important components of naming your membership tiers are quite simple:

• The names match your membership site’s branding
• They clearly illustrate where each tier lands in the hierarchy of your membership options

If you can come up with unique, fun name ideas that clearly fit each of these criteria, don’t shy away from using creative membership level names. Just take special care that the names don’t cause confusion when new potential members look at them.

Let’s take a look at an example.

A membership site that focuses on teaching kayaking enthusiasts how to become more adept in enjoying the water in more challenging locations might consider naming their membership levels:

• Lake Paddler
• River Warrier
• White-Water Ready

These names appeal to the target audience of this membership site: Kayakers who love being on the water. They’ll know what each of these titles means as it relates to required kayaking knowledge.

It would help if you also used your product descriptions for each level to more fully explain what each level will provide the member. This way, there will be no confusion about what they receive after they’ve completed the signup process.

2. Highlight access to content

As you research, you’ll probably notice a specific trend: Most top membership models employ the idea that the more members pay, the more they get out of the membership.

This is an incredibly popular structure on sites like Patreon, where subscribers choose the sponsorship level that gives them a different set of rewards. And the higher the subscription price, the more content the member will receive.

This structure is often referred to as good, better, or best. When it comes to this naming approach, use powerful words such as “all-access” or “endless” to drive members to upgrade beyond the good option.

3. Naming membership levels based on payment frequency

Many membership sites base their pricing models on monthly or annual pricing. You should certainly consider those when naming your membership levels.

This approach is a popular membership site pricing model because it’s straightforward, simple, and can offer an affordable option for any potential member. It’s a good idea to offer your customers the option for either a monthly or yearly subscription because:

• The monthly pricing option lowers the barrier to entry by providing an accessible price point 
• A yearly pricing option gives you annual revenue earned immediately 

When naming membership levels based on payment frequency, try to think beyond the standard names of “Monthly” or “Yearly.” They don’t trigger emotion that will drive a user to take action. Instead, use phrases like “Dip Your Toe In” for monthly subscriptions or “In It To Win It” for a yearly subscription.

Remember that no matter what frequency you choose to charge your site members, they’re joining your community because you’ve convinced them that you can help them attain their goals. Make sure the names of your tiers accurately reflect that.

4. Show members that you understand their goals

People join membership sites because they’re convinced it will help them achieve specific goals. It’s important to choose membership level names that reaffirm members will move one step closer to reaching their goals if they join.

You saw how this was illustrated in our example of a kayaking membership site. 

Lake Paddler, River Warrier, and White-Water Ready illustrate how someone can use your membership to get in the water for the first time. Then, through your expertise, they can eventually have the skills to take on the choppiest rivers.

Brainstorm ways to name your tiers based on your members’ goals. It’s a powerful way to evoke emotion in your users and drive them toward becoming paying members.

Getting started with a membership site

If you have yet to launch your membership site and are doing research for your future endeavor, you’ve landed in the right place. Creating a membership site on WordPress with a powerful plugin like MemberDash allows you to build a community and monetize your content.  

MemberDash is a flexible plugin that transforms your site into a revenue generator–especially when you optimize your content, like membership level names. Some powerful capabilities of MemberDash include full customization of your content restriction, easy ways to get paid, and various subscription types for you to choose from. 

Ready to get started with a membership site? Explore the MemberDash demo today!