Membership sites are a great way to earn money online. Here are 4 tips you should consider for a better membership site.
1. Decide what type of membership site you want and stick to it. There are 3 basic types of sites:
Community based such as hobbies or special interests. Members want to belong to talk with other members through forums and discussions and get information that’s relevant to their interests.
Product based such as downloadable scripts, software, reports, and ebooks that are used to enhance income potential.
Educational or content based such as business and career sites. They provide advice, tools and resources as well as forums and discussions. Sometimes content based sites will have some aspects of a product based site. In other words if you’re interested in niche marketing as a way to earn money online, the membership site might provide content for niche websites as well as advice on how to be successful with niche membership.
2. Provide value. Your members should feel that they get more value for their money then they expected. Membership rates can range from free to hundreds of dollars a month depending on the type of site and the content. Free membership sites usually offer an upgrade to a paid membership. The paid members get access to more areas, more advice, free ebooks, training, and seminars, for example. Many sites offer stepped fees for various levels of service. As the cost goes up the perceived value should increase more than the cost.
3. Provide quality content. In the first few months of a membership site the quality is usually of a high standard. As time goes on there can be a tendency to slough off on the quality and quantity of the content. Members are paying the same fees but receiving less. Make sure you have at least the first six months of content prepared and organized. That way you won’t be caught short.
4. Provide support. Communicate with your members on a regular basis. Let them know when new content is posted either through an email or by posting on a community forum. If there are questions about the membership site itself have contact information that can be found easily. With some large membership sites it’s nearly mandatory to have a support desk function, if you do, make sure any tickets are answered quickly.
Membership sites can be a lucrative ongoing revenue stream. Follow these tips and yours can be a success.
