Moving inactive members to the prospect member type is the quickest way to keep your database within your billing plan profile limit. All member profiles (pending, active, graced, and lapsed) count toward the member profile total in your billing plan.
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When to move profiles to the Prospect member type
Beyond staying under your billing limit, move profiles to the prospect member type when:
- Some members decided not to renew
- Some members cancelled their membership
- You want to clean up your lapsed members
Viewing your member and prospect profile limits
- Go to Settings > Account Settings. Your current number of custom member and prospect profiles appears under Account Information.
- Or, go to Membership Dashboard.
Profiles in this category are member profiles regardless of status (pending, active, graced, and lapsed). A Prospect profile is a non-member profile and doesn't count toward your member profile limit. Prospect profiles don't pay dues and can't participate in member benefits. Keep a database of Prospect profiles to communicate with, and send out a membership drive in the future.
Moving profiles to the Prospect member type
The steps depend on the structure of your member type: individual or organization.
Moving members in individual member types
Move individual member type profiles one by one or in bulk.
To move one profile: go to the member's profile and select Edit next to their member type. Select Prospect in the dropdown menu, then select Save.
To move profiles in bulk, go to your Profile List and use the Advanced Search By dropdown menu to filter your database. For more about advanced searches and tagging, see Profile List.
If you're cleaning up lapsed members, filter by expiration date. The example below shows how to set up the search.
After you run your search, tag the targeted profiles.
Lapsed members must be changed to active status before you move them to the prospect member type. Clear the Untag Profiles After An Action checkbox first, so you can run another action on the same tagged profiles. Select the checkbox again when you're finished so these profiles don't stay tagged in your Profile List. Tag your lapsed members, then select Actions > Change Status > Active.
Once your lapsed members are active, select Actions > Change Member Type > Prospect.
Tagged profiles remain tagged until you select Untag All or use the Untag Profiles After An Action option.
Moving members in organization member types
First, unlink the linked user you want to move: go to the organization's profile, select the Linked Profiles tab, find the linked profile, then select unlink.
After the profile is unlinked, search for the member again using the quick search bar. In the member's profile, select Edit next to their member type and select Prospect in the dropdown menu.
Unlink multiple members at the same time from the Profile List page: search for, then tag, the linked members in your list, then select Actions > Unlink Profiles.
What if the whole organization is cancelling or did not renew?
You can't move an organization profile to the Prospect member type, so you may want to delete it instead. Unlink each linked user following the steps above. For step-by-step instructions, see Deleting member profiles.
Deleted profiles are removed from the member type but stay in your database, and don't count toward your database limit. To restore them, see Recovering deleted profiles.
What if my prospect members want to rejoin?
Prospect members who want to rejoin need to use the existing username and password associated with their Prospect account to take your application form. They can't renew, because they're no longer considered a member.
For more about cleaning up your database, see the MemberClicks blog post on association databases.