> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.podplay.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.podplay.app/memberships/running-a-membership-presale.md).

# Running a Membership Presale

### Overview

Selling your Memberships before the Club's doors open is a great way to secure Members and generate revenue as soon as possible. During a Membership Presale, court Reservation bookings I turned off, Events/programming are visible at a future date or not yet populated, and the only action a Customer can perform is creating a Profile and buying a Membership.

Three things are required to start presales:

* **Defined Membership types and their perks**
* **A start date**, meaning how far ahead of the Club's opening the presale begins
* **An end date**, meaning the day when the Club's doors open

### Step 1: Create the Memberships

Coordinating the Membership types and perks suitable for the system with your Onboarding Lead, your Club will work with the Customer Success team to create the Memberships in the environment. A Membership can be public-facing or [hidden](https://docs.podplay.app/memberships/types-of-memberships/hidden-memberships) from Customers.

{% hint style="success" %}
**Inviting a specific group?** See [Hidden Memberships](https://docs.podplay.app/memberships/types-of-memberships/hidden-memberships) for offers that stay out of the App's Membership list and are reached by a direct link.
{% endhint %}

### Step 2: Decide the [Presale strategy](https://docs.podplay.app/memberships/promotions-and-presales#staged-pricing-during-a-presale)

Settle the shape of the offer before any marketing goes out. Answer each of these:

* Is the Club contacting a preset list of people who previously expressed interest?
* Does the offer open to friends and family first?
* Is there a cap on new signups before the price rises?
* If there is a cap, what is the price-raising cadence and structure?

A cap marks the Membership **Sold Out** once the limit is reached, so decide the number before the offer goes live.

### Step 3: Send marketing blasts to Customers

Decide whether the blast goes to a preselected group, and decide what the content covers. Include a link to the Membership page in the **More** tab of the App so Customers can create a Profile and buy a Membership. Such a link would be `/account/membership` . See more [links to your App here](https://docs.podplay.app/marketing/link-from-the-app).

Tell Customers upfront what they pay today and when the next charge lands:

* On a standard presale, the Customer pays the full Membership rate at purchase.
  * The second charge lands one month after the Club opens for a Monthly Membership, or one year after for an Annual Membership.
* On a [presale with a deposit](https://docs.podplay.app/memberships/presale-deposits-for-memberships/charging-presale-deposits), the Customer pays the deposit at purchase and the balance of the first period when the presale ends (Club's open date).

{% hint style="warning" %}
**State the charge schedule in the marketing itself.** A Customer who expects nothing until opening day and sees a full charge at signup treats it as a billing error.
{% endhint %}

### Step 4: Open your Club!

Stay in close communication with your Onboarding Lead about when the Club will open, so the presale end date reflects reality. The next charge date on Memberships sold during the presale lands one month or one year after the doors open, depending on the Charge Type the Customer purchased.

{% hint style="danger" %}
**If the opening date moves, the presale end date needs to move with it.** Existing subscribers can be realigned in one action.
{% endhint %}


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.podplay.app/memberships/running-a-membership-presale.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.