How do you build a membership Website. Create for Free -
Building a membership website can be an incredible business opportunity, providing you with a platform to share your expertise, connect with like-minded individuals and generate a consistent and regular stream of revenue.
In this blog in this blog post, we'll explain how you can build a membership website for free as well as how you can market your membership website to get additional members.
Here's a quick overview of the topics that we'll discuss:
- What is a membership website?
- What are the benefits of having a website for membership?
- How do you create an online membership site for free (step-by-step step-by-step guide)
- FAQ
What is a Membership Site?
A membership site is a website that provides exclusive content, services or goods to members that pay a monthly subscription or membership fee.
The services, content, or items offered by membership sites can differ greatly, based on the subject matter and the goal of the site. Some membership sites offer access to educational materials including online courses, webinars along with other forms of digital media, whereas other sites offer access to exclusive services, products, or even events.
Benefits of Building a Membership Site
There are a few benefits to building a membership site for a company:
Make a recurring stream of income
These sites can provide a regular stream of income since members usually pay a monthly or annual fee, such as a monthly or yearly subscription.
Create Content that is of higher production Value
In an age where there is a lot of free content available, such as blog sites and social networks, it's a challenge to make money from your content via brand partnerships or ads on their own. You're constantly faced with the pressure of producing high quality content, with only a tiny budget on hand.
The ability to let your readers support your business with monthly membership charges would allow you to have enough money to produce top-quality content that people would appreciate paying for. It will allow you to provide more focused, in-depth value to your subscribers without having to annoy your members with ad placements within your contents.
Improve the number of people who visit your website.
In providing users with access to information they cannot find elsewhere, membership sites can give a sense of exclusivity which encourages customers to visit your site regularly. A higher level of engagement could increase loyalty to customers and retention which could ultimately result in more revenue generated by the membership website.
Build an audience that is established to market and upsell
The members of your membership website probably have shown a keen interest in your content or products as they chosen to become paying members. This makes them an ideal prospect for targeted marketing efforts, in addition to upselling and cross-selling products you're selling.
There are opportunities for you to provide diverse other goods and services through your website such as personalized one-on-one coaching or mentoring and eBooks, online course, merchandise, and more.
Create a Strong Community
These sites will also help to create the feeling of community between your members, which allows users to meet others who are likeminded and to engage in conversations or collaborative activities. The social element of membership sites could be especially beneficial for creators or businesses that are seeking to create an audience of loyal customers who love their brand or products.
Profit from high scale and growth Potential
Membership websites can be highly adaptable since the content and services are able to be duplicated by more members with no cost. Additionally, as your volume of exclusive content and the number of members in the membership group expands, your membership site is likely to become more useful. Members will be able to connect to a wider and growing network of fellow members that they might not be able to find in other places.
How do you create a Member website for free
Here is the step-by-step guide to help you create your own membership website.
First Step: Identify the members you want to target
Before you begin investing money in creating a membership website it is important to determine who you would like to target as your potential members. Taking the time to research your target audience's profile will bode well for you in the next steps, in which you'll need to design your membership to meet your specific target audience's needs.
These are the most important questions you should ask yourself to help you find your audience
- What are your specialties that you are experts in?
- How have you dealt with challenges in this life?
- Do your areas of expertise or your life experiences appeal to people from certain geographical areas or age categories?
Here's an example of what I thought of:
- What are your fields of expertise? Culinary
- How have you dealt with challenges through the course of your life? Being a cook in a short time, as I am required to take care of 5 children at home
- Do your expertise or personal experiences attract individuals from certain geographical regions, gender, or age groups? I'm in an island in the tropical region of which I do not have the same availability to certain ingredients that many creators of content in Western nations.
Target audience: Parents wanting to know how to cook for their family in 60 minutes or less (additionally I may also be able to specialize in specific countries e.g. Indonesia)
By having a more clear understanding of your target audience, you'll be able to:
- Create a clear and concise mission for your membership website
- Choose the type of content to create and design material that is resonant with your intended audience
- Market your membership website more efficiently to the people you want to reach!
Important note: Make sure that your target market size is big enough to produce your target income by researching the size potential of your target audience. This can be done through research of your competition as well as performing some keyword research with Google Trends (it's free! ).
Step 2: Plan out Your Model of Membership
If you are planning your membership model you will determine the amount your intended customers will pay to join your club as well as the frequency you'll charge them in addition to the types of contents and benefits users will get through your membership website.
These are the steps you'll have to follow:
1. Note down your advantages and content ideas
With your own vision and mission for your site's membership Come up with the different kinds of information to help your customers achieve the outcomes that you want them to attain.
Here is an example of what I came up with (example only):
2. Note down the details of what you can offer to your members
Some examples of this include: Free printable recipe each week, a no-cost online class every six months, access to an online group, the ability to shape future recipes with polls, and the opportunity to be part of an online webinar each month for free and discount coupons to buy products on your website and so on.
After that, you can choose to set up a single subscription or multi-tiered membership. If you choose to create multiple tiers, your audience will generally be able to access more content and perks as they move up the levels of membership. The availability of multiple membership levels allows your organization to appeal to different audiences with varying financial backgrounds.
At the end of this step, you should have something similar to the table below (this is only an example):
3. Determine your payment arrangements
The following are the 3 most crucial aspects you must think about in terms of the payment arrangement for your members:
- What is the method of payment you'll be offering? Do you accept credit cards, PayPal, or other forms of payment?
- What will you do with refunds and cancellations? Will you offer a money-back guarantee or a free trial?
- What frequency are you going to be charging your customers?
On the last point, membership sites typically have a month-long charge, but you can also provide annual memberships as well as alternative payment periods based upon what is most beneficial for your business and the people you serve. Memberships that are annual in nature are ideal as they provide a steady source of income for all year. This gives you the security of finances and make it easier for you to invest in more long-term, higher-funding projects that will allow you in order to produce amazing content.
Be aware that you're not pricing your services yet, as you'll most likely need spend some time trying determine the amount of time needed to produce the content and how much your other business expenses will be before you are able to set the right price. This will be covered in step #4.
Step 3: Choose Your Membership Website Builders
This part is important because your membership site builder will decide the things you can create with your membership website, and how you will be able to structure your pricing as well as other aspects. You must settle with the site builder you choose in order to make sure the platform will be able to accommodate your membership website demands.
We suggest using it since it is completely cost-free! There is only an additional 5% (up to a maximum of $99 for a month) when there are transactions. This is great for those who are just beginning out and don't have a lot of customers yet. It is among the least expensive platforms for members-only websites.
There are some important features to consider when you create your membership site by using :
- Unlimited, forever-free plan
- Unlimited members and membership levels
- Provide multiple levels of membership that offer a variety of recurring times (weekly, monthly, annually and even for life)
- Offer different content to different members, based on their membership levels
- Provide a quick, secure and easy checkout procedure so that it is easy for everyone to purchase your subscriptions
- The feature of creating content is powerful and includes: scheduled postings, live previews as well as rich media (videos, text, polls and sharing digital files, etc.)
- Connect with your users through comments and likings
- Design highly-converting landing pages for your membership website with no technical headaches
- Offer free trials or charge a separate first-time fee for your members
- Enjoy a free fully-hosted domain from our site, or simply join any custom domain your account
- Incorporate Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel tracking to obtain valuable insights on your clients
Sign up to get a no-cost account No payment information is required. You have time to investigate the platform and then decide if it's right for you.
There is also an instructional video that will show you how to set up your membership site for free, and also an overview of your membership journey. It is available here:
Step 4: Configure your Member Levels and Prices.
In this stage, you'll already have a good concept of the benefits and content that you'll be offering your members, so now it's time to place an amount on them!
Below are a few aspects you should think about when setting your price for membership:
- How much time and funds is needed to create your exclusive content for members that you are planning to make?
- How much are you paying to recruit new members?
- Do the old pages on your site have monetary value? i.e. your new members will gain access to an extensive archive of valuable past content when you have created content for your membership site for an extended period of duration. You might want to charge a higher first-time fee to monetize your old membership content in that case.
- Would your target audience be looking for annual membership plans in exchange discounts on fees?
- In order to ensure that your rates are affordable, be aware of what competitors are charging
It may be helpful to search for membership sites offering similar content that operate in your field to use to help you determine your price guide.
When you have completed this process, you will be able to create something like the table below (this is just an illustration):
5. Design Your membership website and sales Page
A membership sales page is a page that's designed to promote your membership program. It's an essential element of a well-performing membership website because it's the most effective method to convince users to join as paying members.
Making a successful member sales page is a challenging task, but when done well, it can be an extremely effective method of generating revenues and creating a loyal membership community.
Thankfully makes it easy to design a fully custom-designed membership sales page absolutely no cost! The tutorial video on how to use the powerful and easy-to-use store building tool right here.
Here are some tips for creating a high-converting membership sales page:
- Make clear what benefits your site's membership benefits are and what it offers those who are interested in joining.
- Clearly state the pricing and payment methods, like monthly or annual subscriptions. Also, provide an unconditional money back guarantee or trial period to reduce the risk for customers.
- Make sure you have a prominent and clear call-to-action that prompts the visitor to sign up or join the site's membership program.
- Provide some information about you as the person who created your site to enhance the credibility of your website.
- Include testimonials from satisfied members as well as case studies or endorsements from industry experts to establish credibility and build trust.
- Set up an FAQ section to answer common objections or queries a prospective members might have regarding joining the membership website. This will help reduce hesitations and increase conversions
- Develop a professional image. Utilize high-quality videos and images to convey the benefits of the site's membership benefits and create an emotional connection with the visitor
- (Optional) Make people feel the impression that there is urgency highlighting limited-time offers, bonuses, or exclusive deals which are only available for a limited time. This can motivate the visitor to quickly take action and join the membership site.
This replaces the need to pay for the membership plugin because you can create an entire site for free by using the free website builder.
Here's an example of how an online sales page for members is like:
Step 6: Create Your First Content
When you're creating content for your membership website It is important to concentrate on quality over quantity. There's no need to update daily However, when you do post ensure that it's written well and informative. Additionally, consider adding multimedia elements such as podcasts, videos or images to your content to make it more interesting and interesting for your users.
Here are some suggestions for content to help get your creativity going:
- Video tutorials
- Digital files can aid students in following the video tutorials e.g. worksheets, color palettes, etc
- Behind-the-scene photos of your work
- Templates and printables
- Polls to let your members choose the content you'll be creating
Content creation doesn't need to consume a significant amount of time in the beginning since you'll offer regularly-scheduled content to your users over time. Content can be created in batches and planned to publish in the future. Remember to always be transparent to your viewers about what they can expect from you after they sign up.
7. Advertise Your Membership Website
Once you've published your membership website Now is the time to market it in order to get members! Here are some effective marketing methods which you can use at a low cost:
- Share your message on the social media platforms and develop content that appeals at your particular target audience. Social media can be so effective and is absolutely free. Make sure you build authentic connections, post relevant information about your field, respond to every feedback, and be as responsive as you can, and increase your reputation as a writer. So, the people you follow are more likely to believe in you as a creator to offer them valuable information when they sign up to your membership
- Be sure to add an address to your membership website in all of your social media bios
- Run challenges on social media. This is particularly beneficial for those who run the membership site that caters to specific areas of interest like art. There are drawings challenges every month where members' creations can get highlighted on your social media, etc. This is great because you're tapping into your member's social media networks and generating awareness for the membership portal through the members of your site.
- Utilize SEO or search engine optimization (SEO) methods to make your website get higher rankings on search results. This will help more people discover your site and boost your membership numbers
- Provide a free lead magnet to entice site visitors to join on your email list. Use email marketing campaigns to entice potential members by providing relevant material until they're ready become your members
- Consider launching attractive offers to attract new members. For instance, you could offer discounted membership fees or free digital items (e.g. eBooks, printables, etc) for a limited amount of time. The "limited-time" aspect is an important aspect here since it gives a feeling of urgency for your target audience to sign up for your subscription.
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FAQ about Building Membership Websites
The steps to start in creating your own membership site:
- Find out who your ideal members are
- Design your membership model
- Select your preferred membership site builders
- Choose your membership levels and prices
- Make your membership website as well as a sales page
- Create your first piece of content
- Make sure to promote your member website
What's the distinction between membership sites and subscription websites?
The words membership websites and subscription websites are frequently utilized interchangeably since each require a monthly fee for providers' products or services like exclusive content for members, software, and more.
The term "membership site" is considered to be an online portal that is focused on providing members-only content and building a community. In contrast, subscription sites are not typically characterized by any particular focus on building a community. Subscription websites are typically designed to provide ongoing access to specific services for example, a computer platform, media streaming or online education.
Does it make sense to offer single or multiple membership levels on my website?
Offering multiple membership level options can increase your revenue potential because you are able to charge various fees to provide a distinct levels of membership or benefit. Multiple membership levels also provide the flexibility to tailor choices for membership to suit the preferences and preferences of members. This will increase participation and retain.
What is the best time to publish content for my members?
It's all dependent on the kind of content you wish to deliver - some members may need daily as well as hourly update whereas others may be able to get by through regular updates. Setting your objectives in advance can help you determine an appropriate content release schedule. Importantly, you need to ensure that your customers remain informed about the content you expect them to publish before they subscribe to you.
Final Thoughts - Get Started on Your Membership Site
Starting a membership website can be a rewarding endeavor for both financial as well as personal.
Hopefully this article inspired you to develop a membership site which not only fulfills the needs of your target audience but also provides the value of support, quality as well as a sense of belonging to your customers.
Remember that building a successful membership site requires time, energy, and perseverance, however the rewards can be significant. Through careful planning, efficient marketing and continuous involvement with your customers, you can create an effective membership site that not only generates revenue but also has a positive effect on the lives of the members you have. Begin building your membership site with now!