One of the best ways to improve your members’ experience is to provide them with membership cards.
Creating them may seem like a fairly straightforward process, but believe it or not, how you design and distribute your membership cards can have an impact on your members’ satisfaction and even retention rates!
In this post, let’s go over two different ways to create membership cards. We’ll also share free templates you can use or refer to for inspiration when designing your own.
What Is a Membership Card?
A membership card is a physical or digital card that proves a member’s membership with your organization.
It can be used when admitting members into events and to give them access to other member benefits. If you have partners who offer discounts to your members, membership cards can be used to access these discounts, as well.
While membership cards have traditionally been made from paper or plastic, more and more organizations are making the move to digital membership cards. They are much easier to create, distribute, and update, especially as your membership grows.
Not to mention, digital cards are preferred by members because there’s virtually zero chance that they’ll forget their card at home or lose it.
6 Elements You Should Include on Your Membership Card
What you include on your membership cards will depend on how you and your members use them. Not every item on the list below is a must-have, but this should give you a good starting place.
- Your organization’s name, logo, address, website, and contact info
- Member’s name, ID number, photo, and signature
- Their membership tier
- “Member since” date and membership expiry date
- How this card can and cannot be used (may differ depending on membership tier)
- A scannable barcode that can be used to verify membership and track the use of the card
