The 3 Workflows Every Membership Must Have (Or You’ll Drown in Admin)

This is the part most people skip.
And it’s the part that makes or breaks your sanity.
If you do not automate your membership properly…
You will become the admin department.

So here are the three non-negotiable workflows every membership needs.

No matter what platform you use.

1️⃣ Order Confirmation Workflow (The Big One)

This is the engine.
This fires when someone buys.

Trigger:
Payment successful for your membership product.

Then it automatically:

• Removes unsubscribe status (so they actually receive emails)
• Moves them in your customer journey from Lead → Member
• Adds points based on how much they paid
• Applies a tag (e.g. “Joined Business Academy”)
• Grants access to your full bundle
• Sends login email
• Starts monthly reminder loop

And here’s the magic:

Every 30 days it:

• Sends a reminder email
• Adds more points
• Loops forever

Until they cancel.
That’s it.
Your recurring admin?

Automated.

2️⃣ Abandoned Cart Workflow (Recover Lost Money)

This catches people who:

Started checkout
Didn’t complete payment

Trigger:
Form submission on checkout step (but no payment)

Then it:

• Waits 20 minutes
• Checks if they have the “Purchased” tag
• If YES → do nothing
• If NO → send reminder email

That’s how the system knows whether they bought.
The tag from Workflow #1 becomes your filter.
This one recovers revenue you would otherwise lose.

3️⃣ Cancellation Workflow (Protect Your Time)

Memberships require a clean exit process.

Trigger:
Cancellation form submitted
OR subscription canceled in Stripe
OR payment failed

Then it:

• Applies “Canceled” tag
• Moves them in customer journey to Canceled
• Sends confirmation email
• Removes access to bundled courses
• Removes them from monthly reminder workflow

No chasing.
No manual removal.
No awkward emails.

Done.

And That’s It.
Three workflows.
That’s your entire automated membership backbone.

Without them:

You manually send logins.
You manually remove access.
You manually track churn.
You manually follow up.

With them:

You drink a pina colada.
Now yes, it looks complex the first time.
That’s normal.
It’s a new language.
But once it’s built?
It runs forever.
The membership business isn’t just about content.
It’s about systems.
Build the systems once.
Let them work for you.

More coming. I’m not done yet.

Come and join the Legends Lab for more: Sarahcordiner.com/legends

Sarah x