Helping Rabbi Patrick Simplify and Manage Complex Online Learning Programs

Managing memberships can be a complex task, especially for organizations offering a diverse range of programs and services. In this interview, Jason spends some time talking with Rabbi Patrick, Director of Programs and Strategy for Darshan Yeshiva, an Online Learning program focused on Conversion to Judaism and Ongoing Judaism Education.

Watch or listen to understand their journey with Paid Memberships Pro, plus get several important takeaways from Rabbi Patrick that he learned in launching and growing their online membership platform.

Whether you’re dealing with multiple membership levels or aiming to improve user experience, this case study offers valuable lessons on how the right technology makes all the difference when it comes to efficiency and simplicity.

Video Interview With Rabbi Patrick

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Audio-only Version

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Key Takeaways From Rabbi Patrick For Membership Site Creators

Adapt to Market Demand

Initially, Darshan Yeshiva was focused on creating a school for lay Jewish spiritual leaders. However, they quickly realized a higher demand for their conversion programs. This shift in focus required adapting their website and membership structure to better serve their audience.

Figure Out How to Handle Complex Membership Level Structures

One significant challenge faced by Darshan Yeshiva was managing multiple membership levels for different programs and rabbis. With over 120 levels, it became difficult to manage and led to technical limitations. PMPro support helped organize this unwieldy setup with strategies, such as:

• Consolidate Membership Levels: Consider using the Payment Plans Add On to offer custom options at checkout, instead of separate levels. This strategy significantly reduced the number of membership levels, while still offering the same payment flexibility.
• Create Custom Post Types for Rabbis: By creating a CPT for organizing their instructors, they could then leverage WordPress taxonomies to categorize rabbis by region, student level, and denomination. This step made it easier for students to browse and filter the available instructors.

Consider the User Experience

Be mindful of ways to make the user experience more intuitive. For Darshan Yeshiva, this meant a focus on the process of how students select rabbis and programs. Some ways they improved this process included:

• Faceted Search: Implementing a faceted search to allow users to filter rabbis by multiple criteria simultaneously.
• Auto-Selecting Rabbis in Forms: Using JavaScript to auto-select rabbis in application forms based on user choices simplified the application process.

Deliver High Quality Customer Service

Darshan Yeshiva prides itself on exceptional customer service, but there were some challenges with supporting a large number of free users. They decided to remove the free content channels, after realizing that free content did not lead to significant conversions. Instead, the team shifted focus to providing high-quality paid programs and delivering better service for committed students.

Concluding Thoughts on Darshan Yeshiva

Rabbi Patrick’s journey with Darshan Yeshiva highlights the importance of flexibility and adaptability in launching and growing a membership-based organization.

With the right tools and strategies, you can simplify complex systems for members and admins alike. At Paid Memberships Pro, we are committed to supporting organizations like Darshan Yeshiva in achieving their goals through our deeply customizable, fully open source membership platform.