How to migrate from Circle without losing paying members

Members export directly. In Circle, click your community name, then Audience, then Manage audience, then More (below the filter bar), then Export CSV. Circle emails the file to you. Any filters you have active apply to the export, so clear them first if you want everyone.

Posts export only on request. Email Circle support and ask for a full community data export. You receive separate CSV files for members, spaces, posts and comments. Post text is included; uploaded media is not.

Courses do not export. Circle has no course export, so you rebuild your curriculum from the source files you already have: your videos, slides, PDFs and lesson notes. If your only copy of a lesson lives inside Circle, download or copy it now, before anything else.

List every space, every course, every pinned resource and every paid tier, with its price and member count. Note when your paying members renew; most will be spread across the month. This list becomes your migration plan and your checklist.

Then decide what not to move. A migration is the cheapest moment you will ever have to retire a dead space or an outdated course. Members rarely miss the archive; they notice if the core program is missing or broken.

In HiveLearn, the Switch to HiveLearn wizard accepts the Circle member CSV. It classifies the file, maps columns with AI (Circle's first and last name columns are merged for you), and can re-host media you point it to.

For courses, use the course CSV format (Course, Module, Lesson, Content, Video URL) to bring your outline across, then finish each lesson in the course builder. This is also the moment to add what Circle's courses could not do well: graded quizzes, assignments, and certificates with a public verification page.

Posts you want to keep from the support export go in as a posts CSV (Post, Author Email, Created At).

Rebuild your most important course first and launch the new community on it. Older material can follow over the next few weeks.

Billing does not move across on its own. Plan for every paying member to start a new subscription on HiveLearn, through Stripe Checkout, with the payout going to your own connected Stripe account.

Avoid double billing with one rule: end a member's Circle billing only after they have joined the paid tier on HiveLearn, and tell them you will do it. Members who renew on Circle mid-move should get the new community at no extra charge until their Circle period ends, or a prorated credit. Decide which before you announce.

A time-bound incentive turns re-entering a card into a reason to act. A founding-member price for anyone who moves in the first two weeks, or an extra month free, works better than a reminder.

Use your Circle export as the reconciliation sheet. Tick off each paying member as they subscribe on the new side, and follow up personally with anyone still unticked a week before the deadline.

Lead with what members gain, not with your reasons. Something like: "On [date] we are moving to a new home with real courses, quizzes, certificates and an events calendar, all under one login. Your price stays the same, and if you move before [date] you lock in [offer]. Here is your link: [link]. Your Circle billing stops once you have joined, and I will confirm it personally."

Send it three ways: a pinned post in Circle, an email, and a reminder at each milestone. Answer questions in public so one answer serves everyone. Keep the Circle community readable but quiet during the overlap so nobody is locked out mid-move.

Week 1: inventory, export members, request the posts export from Circle support, and set up your tiers and Stripe connection on the new platform.

Week 2: import members and posts, rebuild the flagship course, and invite five to ten trusted members to test it. Fix what they find.

Week 3: announce. Open the paid tier, send the message above, and start ticking members off as they subscribe. Post a short reminder midweek.

Week 4: final reminders and personal follow-ups. End Circle billing for members who have moved, post a final notice pointing to the new home, and downgrade or close Circle once the last renewal date has passed.

Announcing before the new home is ready. If the first thing members see is an empty course or a broken link, the move feels like a downgrade and the doubters stop at the door. Finish the flagship course and test it with real members before anyone else is invited.

Giving members two jobs at once. Joining a new platform and entering a card are already two steps. Do not also ask them to fill in a profile, read a guide and join a call in the same week. One link, one action, then onboarding once they are inside.

Letting the old community stay lively. If conversations keep happening on Circle, members have no reason to move. Post a clear final date, point every new thread to the new home, and stop replying on Circle once that date arrives. The wizard can also send imported members a reactivation email, so people who missed your announcements get one more clear invitation.

Concierge migration is included on HiveLearn's Pro plan and above: the team helps move your content and members so you are not doing it alone. On other plans the wizard does the heavy lifting and you finish the rest.

When to stay on Circle: if your members love the experience, you do not need graded assessments or certificates, and your fees are not a problem, a migration costs more in attention than it saves. Compare the numbers first, then decide.