There are a LOT of good reasons for building a membership site.
Maybe you want to create a private area for your clients, demonstrate your knowledge of a certain topic, develop a new course, or share your passion and interests…
Or maybe you're simply looking for a new way to work online!
Whatever your reason for thinking about creating a membership site, there are 3 main benefits that stand out.
If you're considering creating an online membership, here's why you may want to get your website up and running…
1. Leverage your knowledge and become a known expert
We're guessing you know a lot about what you do, and we hope you enjoy it too (because if you don't, you really should find something that makes your tail wag)!
If you've trained for a career or spent years learning on the job, then you have a lot of knowledge you can pass on to other people.
If you run your own business or are an entrepreneur then a membership site is the perfect way to showcase your expertise and let people know that you're the bee's knees.
You can pack your membership full of relevant knowledge that you already have…
Voila! You're now an authority on social media, accounting systems, weight loss techniques, or the best food for different breeds of dogs (you'd be surprised what people are interested in).
Whilst having a membership site in itself is nothing to be sniffed at, the compound benefits of being seen as an ‘expert' or ‘authority' on your subject can do wonders for the rest of your business.
Perhaps you'd like to become a professional speaker or release a book?…
The extra credibility you gain from sharing your expertise in a membership site can really help!
Conversely, if you're already a speaker, author or another kind of expert, a membership site can provide you with a commercial element that confirms your expertise and gives you something tangible to sell!
A membership site is one of the best ways for you to leverage your skills, expertise and knowledge whilst at the same time breaking free from the ‘time for money' trap.
2. Create a loyal customer base by adding value
Let's face it, if your membership site doesn't add value to people it's not likely to do well!
A successful membership site is all about value exchange.
We're not talking monetary value here (although that's important too)…
But rather the value that comes from your customers or clients feeling like you have gone above and beyond the call of duty for them, and provided them with something pretty darn useful!
If you create value for your members, treat them well, and provide them with more than they expect, then you're building up a team of loyal followers…
These are the people who will go forth and spread the word about your site, and most likely any other services or products you offer!
That's worth an awful lot these days when there's social proof and a competing business at every turn.
Not to mention that being part of someone's journey and transformation, or making a positive difference in their life or business, is one of the most rewarding things you can do.
3. Boost your income and finally get that holiday to Maui*
We're not going to mention the words passive income here…
Honestly, we think the myth of passive income is BS – somewhere down the line, if what you are putting out there is decent, you'll have put a lot of work into it…
A membership site, especially, takes a lot of time to set up and get running!
However, what a membership site does give you is regular, recurring income that can give you that little (or lot) extra you need to make your life more comfortable.
And depending on your membership model, you may not have to do a whole lot for that money once the site is up and running!
Most successful membership sites, however, do provide regular new content, or perhaps a monthly feature like a webinar or coaching call..
So, we wouldn't be being authentic if we said you don't have to work for your money when running a membership site!
It's a good kind of work though, and it doesn't have to be totally time-consuming!
If you look at the maths, a monthly membership site that costs just $20 per month…
So, just a 100 members would give you an additional $2,000 a month – what could you do with that extra income?
If you got 500 members into your site, that would be a $10,000 month income – which is pretty awesome!
And if you went with premium pricing (a model popular with coaching programs), then you'd only need 10 members paying $500 each month to achieve a $5,000 monthly income!
If you're self-employed then a membership site can bring stability to your income and help you to avoid the peaks and troughs that can come with a service-based business…
And even better, your membership site should be growing every month, meaning that your stable recurring income will grow every month too!
*Maui not obligatory, other destinations are available.
So, how does creating a membership site sound now?
Whether you're thinking of adding a membership site to an existing business, or creating a whole new business solely focused on your membership site, hopefully, you'll agree that there are some pretty good benefits to developing this kind of site!
In order to make sure you start off on the right track with your membership site and ensure it helps you reach your goals, try asking yourself the following questions:
- What is your main goal with your membership site? (i.e, pass on knowledge, build authority, extra income)
- What topic will your site be about – is there an existing market for this topic?
- What pricing structure will you use, and how many members do you need to achieve your desired income? – Is this realistic given your chosen market?
And if you're thinking of moving from a service business to a membership site then be sure to check out this post for additional ideas.
