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I’ve said before that most membership owners are over-nurturing and underselling, and I stand by that. But I want to make sure that doesn’t come across as a “membership nurture sequence is bad,” because that’s not the case!
Nurture sequences aren’t bad. Pointless nurture sequences are.
Nurture sequences can be a legitimate part of a well-built membership email funnel, but sometimes people use “nurturing” as a reason to keep emailing people without ever actually selling to them.
This is how to tell the difference, and when a nurture sequence is actually the right tool for the job.
What is a Membership Nurture Sequence?
A membership nurture sequence is a series of automated emails designed to build familiarity, establish relevance, and move subscribers toward a specific next step (typically a sales sequence or a relevant offer). In a well-built evergreen email funnel, it connects the dots between getting someone on your email list and actually converting them into a paying member. It’s not a weekly newsletter or a drip of helpful content for its own sake. It’s a sequence with a destination built in from the start.
A nurture sequence that doesn’t have a clear destination isn’t really a nurture sequence. It’s just a series of emails keeping people warm without ever giving them a reason to do anything.
Think of it this way. Last year I went on a cruise for the first time. Before we even booked, the first thing I wanted to know was where the boat was actually going. Which ports were we stopping at? Not because I needed every detail, but because I needed to know there was a plan. I wanted to get excited about the destination!
I would not have been excited to see a cruise website that said “we’re hopping around islands in Europe and it’s going to be great. Just get on board.” Ok, but where are we actually going???
That’s exactly what a pointless nurture sequence feels like to your subscribers. They opted in, they’re on your list, they’re on the boat. But it’s not going anywhere in particular.
A strategic membership nurture sequence tells people where they’re headed. There’s still value along the way. But the destination is decided before you write the first email.
Does Every Membership Owner Need a Nurture Sequence?
Honestly, no. And this is where I’ll push back on the idea that a nurture sequence is always the right starting point.
If you don’t have a primary sales sequence built yet, create that first. A nurture sequence is only useful if it has somewhere to flow into. Build the main thing, then add the on-ramp.
With that said, there are specific situations where a membership nurture sequence genuinely makes sense in your email funnel. Here are three examples…
When You Have Cold Traffic Coming In
If you’re getting new subscribers from a bundle, a summit, a collaboration, or any other source where people don’t really know you yet, a short nurture sequence before your sales sequence makes sense. Those subscribers need a bit more context before they’re ready to receive a sales pitch. Who you are, why you’re relevant to them, why they should care about your membership specifically.
The key word here is short. Three to four emails. Just enough to establish credibility and relevance, then hand them off to your primary sales sequence. The mistake most membership owners make is running a nurture sequence that’s too long, covers too much ground, and delays the actual selling for weeks when it doesn’t need to.
Cold traffic nurture sequences aren’t about building a deep relationship. They’re about narrowing the gap between “I don’t know this person” and “okay, I’m ready to hear how they can help me.”
When Someone Has Already Been Through Your Sales Sequence
This is a situation that most membership owners completely overlook. If your sales sequence is converting at even 3-5%, that’s genuinely good. It also means 95-97% of the people who went through it didn’t join. And most of them are probably still on your email list.
Those people are not lost leads. They’re subscribers who weren’t ready when they first joined your list, or they got busy, or they needed more time. Rolling them straight into your weekly newsletter and hoping they eventually come around does not have to be the default.
A nurture sequence built specifically for non-buyers gives you a structured way to re-engage them. Different angle, different framing, different entry-point… not just the same sales sequence on repeat. This version can be a little longer, say four to seven emails, because they need additional context to be able to trust and buy from you.
This is something I use regularly in my own membership email funnel. After subscribers go through my main sales sequence, I have topic-specific nurture sequences that run for specific audiences. One of them is focused on branding: a few emails on why branding matters, what you can do to improve it, how the membership helps with that specifically, and then it leads directly into a sales sequence with a branding-related bonus offer.
When You’re Priming Subscribers for a Specific Offer or Event
If your email funnel includes a pre-recorded training, a challenge, a webinar, or any other event that leads to an offer, a short nurture sequence before the invitation can significantly improve conversion. Instead of sending an invitation cold, you run a few emails that help subscribers understand why the topic matters, what problem it addresses, why now is actually a relevant time to think about it.
By the time the invitation arrives, they’re already warm. The training or event feels like the logical next step, not something that came out of nowhere.
The Most Important Question to Ask Before Building a Nurture Sequence
Before you build a membership nurture sequence, or if you already have one and you’re not sure it’s working, ask yourself one question: what is this sequence actually building toward?
Is it moving people into a specific sales sequence? Toward a specific offer? A decision you want them to make?
If you can’t answer that clearly, you probably don’t have a nurture sequence. You have a series of emails keeping people warm without ever giving them a reason to act.
The destination isn’t something you figure out after you’ve written the emails. It’s the first decision you make. Because once you know where you’re taking your subscribers, every email in the sequence has a job.
Where Nurture Sequences Fit in a Membership Email Funnel
A membership email funnel that’s working well doesn’t rely on a single sequence. It’s a system where different sequences handle different jobs, and nurture sequences are one piece of that, not the whole thing.
Your primary sales sequence converts new subscribers. Your nurture sequences bridge gaps: between cold and warm, between “not yet” and “ready now,” between one offer and the next. Your onboarding sequence handles retention after someone joins. Your campaign sequences cover promos. And your win-back sequence handles cancellations.
When your nurture emails are just content running on a schedule with no clear direction, they keep people on your list without actually building your membership.
Build Your Membership Nurture Sequence
If you’ve been thinking about your own sequences while reading this post, you’re going to want to hear about Always Selling. Always Selling is a 12-week group program, specifically designed to help membership owners build the essential sequences that sell. We’re covering sales sequences, nurture sequences, onboarding sequences, campaign sequences, upgrade and/or upsell sequences, and cancellation + win-back sequences.
If that sounds like something your membership needs, learn more about Always Selling here.