Why People Choose to Join Arts & Culture Organizations

For decades, museum membership has been marketed through a familiar formula: join today, visit for free, receive exclusive benefits, and save throughout the year.

Those benefits matter. But are they really why people choose to become members? Research into member motivations has shown that the answer is more complex. What motivates someone to join may have as much to do with who they are, who they want to be, and where they feel they belong as it does with admission discounts.

That question was at the center of Cuseum's Decoding Membership webinar, which explored findings from the Member Motivations Study. The multi-year research initiative was conceived and led by Rosie Siemer, Founder and CEO of FIVESEED, in collaboration with Cuseum, and examined whether understanding people's social identities could help museums and cultural organizations create more effective membership value propositions.

Since that research was conducted, the membership landscape has continued to evolve. Digital engagement has become more deeply embedded in the member journey, expectations for personalized communication have increased, and AI and improved analytics are giving organizations new ways to understand audience behavior. At the same time, more recent museum research continues to reinforce a central idea behind the original study: membership decisions are not driven by transactional benefits alone.

That makes the Member Motivations Study a useful foundation to revisit today. The tools available to membership teams may be changing, but the underlying challenge remains the same: understanding what people value, what connects them to an institution, and what gives them a reason to join and stay.

For membership teams, those insights can help shape how organizations attract, communicate with, and retain members.

Membership Is More Than a Transaction

The traditional membership value proposition is straightforward. Join and receive something in return: free admission, discounts, early access, exclusive events, or other benefits.

There is nothing wrong with this approach. Transactional value can be compelling at specific moments. A family standing at the admissions desk may quickly realize that becoming a member makes financial sense based on the cost of today's visit alone.

But the Member Motivations Study explored what happens when organizations communicate something deeper. The research tested four identity-based approaches to membership: belonging, facilitation, responsibility, and exploration.

Instead of focusing only on what members receive, these messages focused on what membership allows someone to become or express. An art lover can join a community of other art lovers. A parent can create meaningful educational experiences for their children. A lifelong learner can keep exploring. Someone who cares deeply about an institution can demonstrate that commitment through membership.

That shifts the value proposition from “What do I get?” to “What does being a member say about me?”

Belonging Can Be a Powerful Membership Driver

One of the clearest lessons from the research was the power of belonging.

The study included 30 participating organizations and tested identity-based membership messages against a traditional transactional message. Overall, prospective members were more likely to click “Join Now” after seeing several of the social identity messages.

Belonging was especially effective for free-admission organizations. When admission itself is not the primary benefit, organizations need another compelling reason for joining, and community can be that reason.

That insight remains relevant today. More recent American Alliance of Museums research on membership motivations found that supporting the museum's mission remains an important reason members give for joining and renewing, reinforcing the idea that membership value extends beyond admission and discounts.

Instead of telling someone only that membership provides benefits, organizations can show that becoming a member means participating in a community of people who share their curiosity, passions, or commitment to the institution.

For museums, zoos, gardens, and other cultural organizations, this is a chance to rethink how membership marketing communicates value throughout the visitor journey.

Different Members Have Different Motivations

The Member Motivations Study revealed something equally important: there is no universal membership message.

For paid-admission organizations, messages centered on being a facilitator or an explorer performed particularly well. For free-admission organizations, belonging stood out. Results also differed across types of cultural institutions.

This reinforces a core principle of modern member engagement: different people join for different reasons.

A parent visiting a children's museum may see membership as a way to enrich their family's experiences. A frequent visitor may value access and convenience. An art enthusiast may want to identify with a cultural community. Another member may mainly want to support an institution they believe matters.

Treating all of these people as one audience limits how relevant membership communications can be.

Organizations do not need one-to-one personalization overnight. Even thoughtful segmentation based on interests, visitation patterns, membership history, or engagement can create more meaningful communication than sending everyone the same message.

And as AI makes sophisticated personalization increasingly accessible, understanding those underlying motivations becomes even more useful. Technology can help determine when and how to communicate, but organizations still need to understand what actually matters to the person receiving the message.

Personalization Starts With Better Data

More personalized membership experiences require a deeper understanding of your audiences.

The webinar emphasized combining what people say with what they actually do. Surveys can uncover interests, motivations, and identities. Behavioral data can reveal visits, purchases, email engagement, program participation, and renewals. Together, these signals build a much richer picture of the member.

Today, organizations have even more tools for finding patterns within that information. AI and improved analytics can help membership teams identify audience segments, recognize changes in engagement, and deliver more relevant communications at scale.

But better technology does not change the underlying principle. Useful personalization starts with reliable data and a clear reason for using it.

It also introduces an important responsibility. As organizations use more member data to personalize experiences, privacy, transparency, and trust need to remain part of the relationship.

Organizations do not need enormous technology teams to begin. Strong museum data strategies start by identifying the information that actually helps teams make better decisions.

Acquisition Is Only the Beginning

Understanding why someone joins helps answer an even more important question: why would they stay?

A membership driven only by a discount can become vulnerable when the financial math changes. Someone who feels connected to the institution's community, mission, or identity has another reason to maintain the relationship.

Recent museum research adds useful context here. AAM's membership research found that among lapsed members and museum-goers who had never joined, not visiting enough to make membership worthwhile was a common barrier to membership.

That reinforces the importance of creating value beyond admission.

That does not mean museums should abandon transactional benefits. The original Member Motivations Study specifically cautioned against that conclusion. Instead, organizations can combine transactional value with identity-based messaging depending on where someone is in their journey.

The goal is to build on the initial reason for joining and reinforce value throughout the relationship through relevant communications, personalized experiences, accessible benefits, and timely renewal outreach.

Membership acquisition gets someone through the door. Cultivation gives them a reason to remain part of the community.

Test, Learn, and Keep Evolving

Perhaps the most useful lesson from the Member Motivations Study is that organizations do not need to reinvent their membership programs to apply these ideas.

Start small. Test a belonging-focused message in an acquisition campaign. Try language centered on exploration in another. Segment communications for families or frequent visitors. Compare how different messages affect clicks, conversions, engagement, and renewals.

The study itself was built around experimentation. As detailed in the American Alliance of Museums' report on the Member Motivations Study, more than 745,000 emails were sent across 30 participating organizations, with prospective members randomly shown different membership value propositions. The purpose was not simply to ask people what they preferred, but to observe how they actually responded.

That test-and-learn mindset may be even more valuable today.

AI, automation, and increasingly sophisticated audience data make it possible to test, learn, and adapt communications more efficiently. But technology should amplify understanding rather than substitute for it.

Digital membership experiences give organizations more opportunities to understand engagement and communicate throughout the member journey. The real opportunity lies in pairing those capabilities with a deeper understanding of what motivates people.

Membership is about affiliation, identity, experiences, and connection as much as access. When organizations understand those motivations, they can move beyond selling memberships and start building communities people genuinely want to remain part of.

Ready to Build Stronger Member Relationships?

Cuseum helps museums, cultural institutions, and mission-driven organizations create digital membership experiences that make benefits easier to access while supporting personalized communication, ongoing engagement, and stronger member relationships.

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