How to create a membership site Step by Step

The ideal online business includes both passive and recurring (continuing on a regular basis) income, and one of the best ways to get this is through a membership site.



What is a Membership Site?
Like a gym membership where you pay a monthly fee to use gym resources, a membership site is a place where people can join in to get what you have to offer. Many membership sites offer articles or reports, video tutorials, webinars, checklists, templates, apps or software, and more.

Typically, people join a membership site because it will make their life easier, speed up the learning curve, and / or give them more details on how to do something than the general content offered online. For example, there are many online marketing membership sites that touch on specific topics like how to write a successful Facebook ad, maximize Instagram, and / or repurpose content across all marketing platforms.


Pros of Building a Membership Site

Many companies, including Microsoft and Adobe, have started using the membership or subscription model in their businesses because of its many benefits, including:

Generate stable income. If you have a monthly membership site and can keep a good percentage of your members, you can look forward to a recurring (recurring) income rather than an initial $ 0 each month. For example, if you have 100 members paying $ 30 per month, you can, for the most part, expect to earn $ 3,000 per month if you keep your member numbers.

It can be automated. Depending on what you decide to do, you can turn your membership site into a passive income stream that automatically delivers your content.


Build a loyal community. If you provide quality content, many of your regular members will refer new members (you can even offer an affiliate program) and they will buy new products or services that you offer.

Offers great flexibility. You can run a membership site anytime, anywhere, as long as you have Internet access.

Builds your credibility as an expert. By being seen as an authority in your niche, you not only increase your income on the membership site, but you can also create other income opportunities such as coaching or consulting or speaking.

There are a few downsides to creating a membership site that you will want to consider before getting started.



You need to stay on top of news and trends in your niche to ensure your members get the top of the line content.

You need to provide quality information that keeps the membership and work to replace everyone who has left.

While some members can run via email, most of the top quality members are run online, which requires some technical know-how or money for the tools and services to get it up and running.

Depending on what you offer, you may need to regularly suggest new content. For example, if a monthly webinar is part of a membership agreement, you need to plan and host a monthly webinar.

Membership models to consider



Content Membership
The content Membership model consists of the periodic subscription to a website to obtain content in different digital formats.

Some examples?

Subscriptions to digital versions of paper newspapers, subscriptions to series and movie portals such as HBO, Amazon Prime Video, Filmin, Wuaki, subscriptions to streaming music such as Spotify, etc.

As long as you continue paying for your subscription, you can access a huge catalog of content that also grows over time.

If we assume that there is no extra support and customer service is more technical than content, in this model you dedicate yourself to creating the content that you know how to do AND uploading them non-stop. Remember, quality content. Because if you do not upload new and quality content, it is possible that the member ends up unsubscribing due to loss of interest or lack of news.



Community membership or private forum
Communities, private forums and "social network" style websites are becoming more popular by the day.

Now they are much easier to create thanks to the fact that the membership plugins, forums and social networks for WordPress have multiplied over the years.

The concept of Community and forum membership is quite simple: you are going to charge a monthly fee to access a private space, with groups of people online and they only have access for as long as they are paying.

They can be vertical - thematic - or horizontal - general -. I could tell you that you almost forgot about the generals because of these there are many, open and free.


The more specific you are on the topic of your community membership, the more long-term chances you have of succeeding.

Another fundamental aspect to take into account is the revitalization of the community . You must be alive, always alert to new related topics, generating conversation - or controversy - and content; answering questions, moderating offensive language and disputes between members, etc.



Basically it is about building a good community where everyone feels supported, accompanied and above all, related to the theme of your website. Who likes to be alone?

The ultimate purpose of these forums is often even de-virtualization, meeting in the real world or even networking.


Product membership
In this case, we can distinguish between two variants depending on whether the delivered product is physical or is (info) digital products to download or access in a private area.



Physical Products Membership

With the name of Membership of physical products it may not sound like you at all; Maybe if you come from the world of advertising, discovery marketing sounds more like you . Neither? I get it. What if I tell you about the surprise boxes ? Now it sounds a bit more familiar to you, right?

Well, effectively, it is a sales technique whereby through a monthly subscription, they will send you a set of physical products in the form of a surprise box or basket. This allows the customer to discover perhaps new products that they love and might never have discovered otherwise. Then you can buy it separately on the same website or by another means.

It is usually made with cosmetic products, gourmet food and beverages, toys, orchard and garden (seeds), collecting and a long etcetera.

If you come from the world of sales or are in contact with quality suppliers and competitive prices as well as a good assembly and distribution line, this could be an ideal solution for you.



Membership of digital info-products

In the case of sale of memberships of digital infoproducts when the client pays, a link to the document or access to the private area is provided so that they can download the product. For example, software or SaaS, pdfs, videos, audios, spreadsheets, 3D models, icon or photo packages, templates for design or video programs and a long etcetera.

These types of products usually have a single associated cost and you can have more than one product on offer.

What's more, you can make alliances with info producers to sell their digital items on your own platform; or even the other way around, so you would not have to set up the membership website yourself, but rather locate places where your product could fit.



Service membership
A service membership consists, unlike a product-based one, in the delivery of a service. Simple as that.

An example of this model are those professionals who offer services in psychology, coaching, dietetics and nutrition, consulting, counseling and training, medicine, advocacy, etc.

Your clients receive a set amount of services within a period of time, which are usually based on time frames set by you. It is basically a 100% prepaid delivery of services. And that once delivered in the agreed time, if the client is satisfied, they will hire again.

Do you really need to create a web page to offer these types of services? Well, it will depend on your business area where you are an expert and the field of service you want to sell.

They tend to work great when the service itself is also accompanied by a private area: here you can download worksheets, a glossary of concepts and ideas, or videos and audios that add extra value.




Mixed Memberships
There is nothing like - within the few limitations that you find in a membership plugin - than selecting the best of each membership model that suits you and the members of your website.

For example , you can combine a course with a community . To which you could add new content every month and some info-products to distribute and test among the members of your website.

Planning is important and knowing how you are going to scale your membership site.

That is why you should not close yourself to a single model. But think in the medium and long term so that your community never reaches the ceiling.

Note that there are no predefined rules. This article on membership models is only a practical guide so that you know what is possible to build.

I understand that you know the field or subject that the membership you are going to create will be about, right? Well, why don't you investigate that other websites are doing the same thing that you are considering? I remind you that it is difficult - although not impossible - to be the first to do something new.

Therefore, analyze your future competition that offer membership sites and try to improve it by merging and / or combining different models.

Make yours an eye-catching offer.





How to create a website for membership
Membership (or subscription) businesses have a lot of moving parts during setup, but essentially, here's what you need to do:

Brain membership business ideas ;

List your talents, skills, interests, and experience. Review the type of membership sites above for help in determining how what you know, love, or do can fit into the membership model. For example, what can you teach? Have you created a great online tool that you can sell as a subscription?



Researching your favorite idea to determine if there is demand and if the market is willing and able to pay for it;

There are many ideas that the market will say they love, but they may not like enough to pay for it, or what they are willing to pay may not be beneficial to you.



Plan your membership program; Decide what you are going to offer, how and when you will offer it, and the term of the membership. For example, what content will you offer and will it be delivered in PDF, video, or some other method? Many membership sites offer a variety of content delivery methods to ensure they hit all learning styles. Also, will you be delivering your content weekly via email or will you have an online membership? If it's online, will new content be added monthly or will all content be available at the time of joining? Finally, how long does the membership last? Depending on what you are offering, there may be an obvious end date, such as a course. Other membership sites can last indefinitely until your member decides to leave. Just remember that indefinite monthly memberships will be required. so that you suggest new content on a regular basis to keep existing members. This means you need to have a theme that you can add content indefinitely and be prepared for long term content creation.



Examine your tools;

If you are going to launch your membership via email, you will need a website through which members can join and an email service that can deliver content. You want to start an online course, there are several services like Udemy and Teachable that the platforms offer. If you want complete control, you can create a membership site. There are several scripts and WordPress plugins that will handle the membership aspect of your site. Other tools you may need include creating and posting audio or video, and webinar services.



Rate your membership program;

Once you have your tools, you will know how much you will be spending one-time and ongoing to manage your membership (e.g. email, web hosting, domain, platforms, etc.). You will also want to consider the cost or your time and other expenses (like hiring writers, editors, editors, etc.). Finally, what is your content? Part of the cost depends on the quality of information and on the quality of information delivery. In the last step, you decide whether you will be performing your membership monthly, for a longer term (for example, the 6 or 12 month option), or indefinitely. You can offer many options. For example, the price of a month per month might be $ 49, but a 6 month subscription is $ 235, which is 20 percent less. than paying $ 49 for six months. This gives you more money and more time to build trust and loyalty to the member.



Create your content;

Once you've identified your membership site, it's time to create the content and tools that you will be delivering. This will probably be the most time consuming part of your startup. However, if you plan on delivering your content over time (e.g. weekly weekly), you can create your content as you go. Just remember that people will pay for that content, so there is an expectation that the content will not only go deeper than in the free online mode, but also that the appearance of the content will be of good quality as well.



Build your membership site;

With building your membership site, there's virtually no restrictions to where you can do this, you can start out on facebook, discord or even a closed youtube channel, The main issue is value, as long as you bring value to the table, you're good to go.



Advertise your membership site;

This is where you will spend most of your time and money (if you are not creating content yet). A membership site can be extremely profitable, but only if people join. There are many ways to access a membership site. First you need to know your ideal customer (who is interested, willing and able to buy?) And where can you find it. Then you need to find ways to encourage him to your membership site. These can be articles related to your topic, Facebook ads or other ads, social media, and more. Consider using a lead magnet and funnel system to collect letters from potential members, as most people don't join their first visit. Your lead magnet might be something that's already on your membership site.



Keep your membership site active:

Make sure your content is up to date and provides value for your members. Always work to increase membership and replace members who are dropping out. Consider having a community membership for your membership so that your members connect with you and others in the community.



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