One of the many ways known to make money online is a Membership Website.
Recently, I read a post entitled “Why Membership Websites Aren’t For You“ by an up and coming blogger, Joe Boyle of WebsiteBegin.com. Now before I chime in on this discussion I want to point out that I’m very impressed with Joe and his efforts over at WebsiteBegin.com. He is only 13 yrs old, yet he consistently produces useful, insightful content that sparks tremendous discussion on his blog. Keep it up Joe!
Now, Joe and his readers make some valid points against Membership Websites in his post, but I have to say, I don’t entirely agree with them.
Here’s why…
Generating a profit from a Membership Site can be very lucrative provided you know what your doing and how to do it. There are several factors that contribute to the success of a Membership Website. But before we get to those, lets first discuss what a Membership Website is, if you don’t already know.
What Is A Membership Website?
A Membership Website is a website created to provide premium content to its users, typically at a cost. Subscribers usually pay a monthly fee to gain access to the premium content that comes with being a member.
7 Factors That Make A Membership Site Profitable
As mentioned before, there are several factors that determine the success of your Membership Site. These factors are:
- Business Model
- Demand
- Relationship
- Who Will Benefit
- Marketing
- Quality Content
- Continued Value
Let’s discuss these further…
Business Model
This is an area where many small businesses fail to grasp an understanding. Your website or blog is not your business. Your Membership Website is not your business.
Ask yourself this, what is the need you intend to fill with your Membership Site? What is the one question most people come to you about for the answer? How can you fill the needs of your target audience and answer the questions?
This is your business!
Lets use my blog as an example…  I created my blog as an extension to my web design and internet marketing consulting services. My blog is a marketing and information tool used to brand, promote and share the internet marketing knowledge I have gained over the last 16 years. My core business is not my blog, but  rather my internet marketing and social media consulting services for small businesses. My blog is only a tool I use to grow that business.
Before you can ever expect build a profitable Membership Website, you must first understand what your business is and how your Membership Websites will fill the needs of your customers.
Demand
It is not recommended to set up a Membership Website just for the sake of making money. Many a Membership Site have failed when their intentions for the site were wrong.
You must ensure there is a demand for your Membership Site. The best way to do this is to survey your customers and ask them what they what to know the most from you. You’ll be surprised to learn that your customs may want something entirely different than you think they do. Listen to your customers and see if there is even a need for a Membership Site.
Here is an example…
My blog was created as an extension of my core business, internet marketing and social media consulting. After surveying my target audience it became very clear that my readers wanted a step-by-step guide on how to build their business online and succeed. They wanted to be able to go through the training modules at their own pace without having to pay my consulting fees.
It only made sense after reviewing the survey results, that I create a Membership Website that could provide coaching to my small business clients at a pace that was convenient to them. The information that would be provided is the same information I typically provide during my consulting sessions at a cost of $250 an hour! My Membership Site will provide the same knowledge for far less than my consulting fee at a set monthly cost. Not to mention, members would also receive new training content, live webinars and consulting calls for far cheaper than they normally would if they purchased consulting time with me.
A Membership Site is the only logical answer to fill my small business clients needs for onDemand coaching and training.
Relationship
Failure to cultivate a relationship with your potential members can have a negative impact on the success of your Membership Site. Think about this for a moment… Who is more likely to purchase from you? Someone who doesn’t really know you or someone whom you’ve been communicating with consistently and cultivating a loyal relationship with?
Those who know you and are familiar with the type of content you produce are more likely to become subscribers of your Membership Site. Also, people who have made purchases from you before are more likely to become members of your Membership Site.
Cultivate a trusting relationship with your potential customers and their more likely to become a repeat buyer.
Who Will Benefit?
The goal of a successful Membership Website is to fill the need of your customers, not your pockets. The money you generate from the subscription fees are only a byproduct of your intent to fill the need of your customers.
This is a very important lesson you need to understand. The content you create should be of the highest quality and your best stuff to benefit your customers. Give your customers what they want, and they will reward you greatly!
Marketing
This is an area where many small businesses fail to succeed when creating their Membership Website. Proper marketing pays a significant role in the success of your Membership Site.
The pre-launch phase is by far the most critical phase of your marketing plan when launching a Membership Website. During the 3 or 4 weeks prior to launching your Membership Site, you’ll want to release some video training that clearly demonstrates the problem your potential customers may be facing and how your Membership Site will help them solve that problem. This should be some of your best content which allows you to showcase the type of training members will receive.
This builds up anticipation and sets an expectation of what your customers will receive in exchange for their membership fee.
Quality Content
The content you provide to members of your Membership Website should be of the highest possible quality. It should trigger an “Ah Ha!” moment in your customers mind.
This isn’t all that difficult to achieve. The 80/20 rule exists on the internet as it does in most other marketing efforts. You should be sharing 80% of your content for free and charging for the remaining 20%.
The best way to produce high quality content for your Membership Site is to ensure you are following this rule:
“80% What to do, and 20% How to do it.”
If you go through my blog, you’ll notice that the majority of content posted here is about what you should be doing in regards to Internet Marketing and very little how to do it. That’s because I charge for the how to do it knowledge.
When launched my Membership Website will contain 12 modules with several videos each, or an average of 60 total coaching videos (give or take a few) on how to build and operate a successful business online. Those 12 modules are the how to do it which my customers must pay for.
Yet still, the key to your success with a Membership Site is to ensure you are putting 110% of your best stuff into the Membership Site content! Failure to do this will create a sour taste in your customers mouth.
Continued Value
Going beyond the need to provide quality content, you need to provide continuous value to your customers.
This can be done in the form of live and recorded webinars, Q&A conference calls and coaching calls. Anything that continues to provide new and improved knowledge and education above and beyond the core lessons of your Membership Website.
Providing continued value to your members also ensures their longevity as a subscriber as long as you continue to fill their need for information they seek and need.
Recommended Resource
For more information on how to create an extremely lucrative membership website the correct way, download the Membership Site Mastermind Free Report.
Summarizing
Hopefully, you’ve gained enough knowledge from this post to see how a Membership Website can be very profitable for your business if done right. Just be sure to put your customers first and provide your best stuff.
As Joe says in his post, Membership Websites aren’t for everyone. However, there are a few situations where it is best to provide a Membership Website to fill a need for your customers.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this discussion. Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below!
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