Is Membership.io (Formerly Searchie) the Right Platform for You?
Video content creators are drowning in hours of footage with no easy way for audiences to find specific information.
I’ve given advice to countless people running membership sites and online courses, and the same problem keeps coming up. People create amazing content, but then their audience can’t find what they need when they need it.
Traditional video hosting treats every video like a separate file. Your audience has to remember which video covered pricing, which one talked about advanced strategies, and which one answered their specific question.
Meanwhile, you’re getting the same questions over and over because people can’t find the answers you’ve already recorded.
Membership.io (formerly called Searchie) promises to solve this by making your video libraries searchable and organized. Let’s go through this platform in more depth so you can decide if it’s a good choice for your project.
Understanding What Membership.io Actually Does
Most people think Membership.io is just another video hosting platform, but that’s missing the point entirely. The platform was built to solve a specific problem: making large amounts of video content easy to search and navigate.
Here’s how the problem usually works. You create a course with 50 video lessons, or you record weekly coaching calls for six months, or you build up a library of training materials over time. Your content is valuable, but finding specific information becomes harder as your library grows. People abandon videos when they can’t quickly jump to the part they need.
Membership.io approaches this differently. Instead of just storing videos, it turns your entire content library into a searchable database. Someone can type “email marketing” and instantly see every moment across all your videos where that topic comes up, with clickable timestamps that jump directly to those sections.
The platform originally launched as Searchie before rebranding to Membership.io to reflect its focus on membership and community features. The core technology remains the same, but the positioning has shifted toward serving content creators who want to build membership experiences around their video libraries.
Membership.io works best for:
- Online course creators with extensive video libraries
- Coaches and consultants with recorded sessions and training materials
- Membership site owners needing organized content delivery
- Anyone with hours of content that people need to search through regularly
Step 1: Set Up Your Content Hubs
The first thing you’ll do in Membership.io is create what they call “hubs.”
These function like mini-websites where you organize and display your content collections. Each hub can focus on a different topic, course, or membership level while maintaining your branding across everything.
Setting up a hub is straightforward, no tech kills required:
- You upload your content, organize it into categories
- Customize the appearance to match your brand
- Share access with the people who need it
I tested this with the assumption of someone who had three different coaching programs, each with its own video library.
I created separate hubs for each program, customized them with different colors and branding elements, and set up different access levels. The finished hubs looked professional and organized, giving the business a more polished presentation than their previous scattered video links.
The customization options include basic branding like colors, logos, and fonts. You can also organize content into folders and categories that make sense for your specific use case. While you can’t completely redesign the layout, there’s enough flexibility to make hubs feel consistent with your existing brand.
Step 2: Upload Content and Let the Magic Happen
Once your hubs are set up, you start uploading content. This is where Membership.io begins to show its real value. As soon as you upload a video or audio file, the platform automatically creates a searchable transcript using AI technology.
The transcription accuracy impressed me during testing. For clear speech recorded in quiet environments, the platform gets most words right without manual editing. Accents, technical terms, and poor audio quality can create some errors, but the editing interface makes corrections quick and easy.
Here’s what happens automatically when you upload content:
- Full transcription of all spoken words in the video or audio
- Searchable timestamps that link specific words to exact moments
- Content indexing that makes everything findable across your entire library
- Mobile optimization so people can search and watch on any device
The search functionality goes beyond just finding which video mentions a topic. You can search for specific phrases and jump directly to the moment when those exact words were spoken.
Real-world test result: Finding specific information in my content went from taking 10-15 minutes of scrubbing through videos to finding exactly what I needed in under 30 seconds.
Step 3: Connect Your Existing Tools and Workflow
Membership.io integrates with platforms you probably already use, which saves time and eliminates the need to change your entire workflow. The Zoom integration stands out as particularly valuable for coaches and educators who record regular sessions.
When you connect Zoom, your recordings automatically appear in your Membership.io library with searchable transcripts already created. No manual uploading, no waiting for transcription, no extra steps. Your content becomes searchable as soon as the Zoom recording finishes processing.
Other useful integrations include YouTube and Vimeo for syncing existing content, and email marketing tools like ConvertKit and Mailchimp for managing your audience. You can also embed search widgets directly on your existing website, so visitors can search your video content without leaving your site.
The integration setup is simple enough that you can handle it without technical help. Most connections require just entering API keys or authorizing access through OAuth, which takes a few minutes per platform.
What Works Really Well in Practice
The Search Feature Lives Up to the Hype
The inside-video search functionality genuinely transforms how people interact with long-form content. During my testing, I could find specific topics within hours of content in seconds rather than trying to remember which video covered what topic.
This feature alone justifies the platform for many use cases. If you have clients, students, or members who regularly need to reference specific information from your content library, being able to search and instantly find relevant moments creates significant value.
Content Organization Finally Makes Sense
The hub system provides a clean, professional way to present large amounts of content without overwhelming your audience. Instead of long lists of video titles, people can browse by category, search for specific topics, or follow suggested learning paths you create.
For membership sites and online courses, this organization dramatically improves the user experience. People can find what they need without getting lost in your content library, which typically leads to better engagement and fewer support questions.
Time Savings Add Up Quickly
The automatic transcription feature saves substantial time if you regularly produce video content. Professional transcription services cost money and take time, while manual transcription is tedious and time-consuming.
Having accurate transcripts available immediately after uploading content streamlines content creation workflows significantly.
The Downsides You Need to Consider
Pricing Creates Real Barriers
Membership.io isn’t cheap.
Plans start at $29 monthly for basic features and go up to $199 monthly for full functionality. For established businesses with significant content libraries and revenue, this pricing makes sense.
For individual creators just starting out or small businesses testing content creation, the cost can feel prohibitive.
| Plan | Price | Key Features | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $29/month | Video upload, transcription, basic integrations | Individual creators |
| Growth | $99/month | Unlimited hubs, advanced analytics, more storage | Growing businesses |
| Pro | $199/month | All features, maximum storage, priority support | Established organizations |
Customization Feels Limited
While you can brand your hubs with colors, logos, and basic layout choices, the customization options feel restricted compared to building custom solutions. If your brand requires specific design elements or unique functionality, you might feel constrained by the platform’s templates and structure.
Content Focus Limits Broader Use
Membership.io assumes your primary content is video and audio. If your business relies mainly on text content, images, or other media types, most features won’t provide value. The platform works best when video content comprises the majority of what you offer your audience.
Making the Right Decision for Your Business
Membership.io excels at solving specific problems for content creators who work primarily with video and audio. The search functionality genuinely changes how audiences interact with long-form content, and the organizational tools create professional presentation without requiring custom development.
Choose Membership.io when you have:
- Large libraries of video or audio content that people need to search through
- Established revenue that can justify the monthly subscription cost
- Audience members who regularly reference specific information from your content
- Limited technical resources for building custom content management solutions
Look elsewhere when:
- Your content is primarily text-based or doesn’t require advanced search
- Budget constraints make the monthly cost prohibitive for your current revenue
- You need extensive customization that goes beyond the platform’s templates
- Your content library is small enough that basic video hosting works
The best approach is starting with a free trial and testing the platform with your actual content and real audience members.
Upload representative samples of your content library and see how well the search functionality works for your specific use case. Calculate the time savings from automated transcription and improved content organization to determine whether the subscription cost makes sense for your business model.
