A membership website is an exclusive section of your business designed to provide premium content, including online courses, newsletters, and events, exclusively to subscribers. 

To create a membership site you have to follow these 8 steps:

• Understand the target audience
• Decide the model
• Design membership content structure and strategy
• Choose the right platform
• Design a pricing strategy 
• Market your membership 
• Engage your members
• Track your site’s performance 

What Is A Membership Site?

A membership website in the exclusive section of your business where you can deliver premium content like online courses, newsletters, and events to subscribers. 

While it's feasible to create a free membership site, the essential element is the ‘gated’ nature, necessitating users to create an account and log in for content access. 

For WordPress-based business websites (commonly used), this gated area is typically established using a WordPress plugin or on a subdomain with specialized community-building software.  

Alternatively, you can use a platform to construct your website and content from scratch. Once operational, you’re prepared to welcome new members who can log in to access your content.

Membership sites may be free, paid, or a combination, featuring diverse membership plans. The key distinction from a subscription website mandates payment. 

Steps To Create A Membership Site

Step 1: Understand The Target Audience

Instead of targeting a wide range of audiences, reel in a specific targeted audience for your membership site.

While aiming for everyone might seem lucrative, it often dilutes your message and fails to resonate with anyone. So, by laser-focusing on a specific niche, you can create content and tailor your entire site to their needs and requirements.

To find the right target audience-

• Gauge the interest and current trends to understand search volume for relevant keywords. Moreover, estimate the size of your potential audience. 
• Observe your competitors and check out how successful membership sites are targeting similar demographics to validate the profitability of the niche.
• Research the market to know what contents work and how much people are willing to pay. 

After analyzing your target audience and market, design your value proposition and include what makes you unique from others.

Step 2: Decide The Model

Now that you have understood what your target audience wants, design your membership model. There are tons of membership models and levels you can offer. 

• Decide will offer paid or free membership.
• Decide on the number of membership tiers you will have.
• Finally, decide what contents and features will be included in each tier. 

Step 3: Design membership content structure and strategy

Since you have a clear idea about your audience and your value proposition, it’s time to fill your site with the right stuff: content. 

• Choose the right content. Pick the trendy topics. Try some experimenting topics to test your audience. 
• Make sure you maintain the quality of your content. 
• Maintain consistency in how you post and when you post your content. 
• Tier your content according to different membership levels as different levels deserve different access to content. 

By strategically aligning content with membership tiers, you create a clear incentive for members to upgrade and unlock more value. 

Step 4: Choose The Right Platform

Now that you have a good idea of who is your audience and what you want to post, you have chosen the right platform to form your membership site. 

Here’s what you should look for in a membership site builder:

• ‘Join us’ page 
• Membership form
• Member-only area with password 
• Member forum
• Newsletter
• Member Directory
• Online store

There are many platform options, so you have to choose according to your preference. For example, if you want a ready-made platform, you can choose Teachable platform. 

Conversely, opt for a CMS platform like WordPress where you can customize your site as you want. 

Here are some of the best platforms or sites for membership:

Wix 

Wix stands out as a user-friendly and highly adaptable website builder, making it an excellent choice for crafting membership websites. 

With a free initiation plan and seven paid options available, Wix also accommodates the creation of online stores, provided you opt for its e-commerce plans.

What makes Wix particularly appealing is its simplicity. Coding skills aren’t a prerequisite; the intuitive drag-and-drop feature empowers users to effortlessly place elements of the text boxes on their pages, facilitating a seamless website-building experience. 

Uscreen

Uscreen stands out as an all-encompassing membership platform socially designed for video creators. 

This platform offers the capability to establish paid memberships featuring a Netflix-style on-demand video library, live-streaming functionalities, and an integrated community space. 

All these elements are presented within your branded website and Over-the-top apps, providing a comprehensive solution for video-based memberships. 

Squarespace

Squarespace stands out as a chic website builder, offering one of the most appealing designs available in the market. If you are creative or aspire to have a genuinely beautiful website, Squarespace is tailored for you. 

However, it's important to note that Squarespace isn’t generous with free offerings compared to Wix. while it provides a 14-day free trial, it lacks a free plan. The pricing ranges from $16 to $49 per month, billed annually. 

Additionally, the Member Areas feature comes at an extra, running from $9 to $35 per month, billed annually. 

YourMembership

YourMembership serves as a comprehensive membership builder, providing all the necessary tools to establish and operate a website. 

Its centralized dashboard allows for the efficient management of members and events, along with the ability to access analytics detailing site growth.

Moreover, users can establish automated workflows and share content like blogs, polls, and surveys.

However, it's essential to be aware that building a site on this platform can come with a substantial cost. 

Although specific pricing details may not be available on YourMembership’s site, competitor Wild Apricot estimates a setup fee of $2500 and a total cost of $6000 for the first year with YourMembership. 

This cost consideration is an important factor for those evaluating membership website platforms. 

SureMembers

SureMembers represents a premium WordPress plugin designed to streamline the process of safeguarding your website content. 

It offers a straightforward approach allowing you to secure your content by simply choosing a membership name and selecting the specific articles, pages, or categories you wish to protect. 

Additionally, SureMembers facilitates easy scheduling for content drip and the inclusion of downloads within these memberships. 

While SureMembers adeptly handles member management and content protection, it's important to note that for selling memberships, you’ll need to integrate either SureCart or WooCommerce into your WordPress setup. 

This additional step ensures a comprehensive solution for both content protection and membership sales. 

Step 5: Design A Pricing Strategy 

Monetizing your membership website is important to generate revenue that can be reinvested to enhance your site’s tools and content. 

Some pricing strategies that you can opt for are:

• Selling subscriptions:
• Offer different membership levels with varying access and pricing.
• Examples: Free (Basic content), Basic, gold, and platinum memberships.  
• Affiliate marketing: Sign up for affiliate programs and incorporate affiliate links in your content to earn commissions. 
• Direct advertising sales: Sell advertising space directly on your website to interested parties.
• Ad networks: join ad networks like Google Display Network to display ads on your site. 
• Sponsored content: deliver sponsored content such as blog posts, podcasts, and emails for additional revenue. 

Factors influencing pricing

• Audience size 
• Content creation time investment 
• Content value
• Demand 

Step 6: Market Your Membership 

To attract more members to your website and maintain engagement with your current audience, plan effective marketing strategies. 

Instead of waiting for users to discover your site, take a proactive approach across multiple channels, emphasizing the benefits of membership. 

Key marketing methods

1. Email marketing
2. Leverage email marketing, a powerful and enduring method, by creating members-only emails
3. Share exclusive content directly to members' inboxes, such as blog posts, discount codes, early access to sales or product releases, members-only sales, bonus online course sessions, and event invitations. 
4. Consider providing special launch offers or discounts to encourage sign-ups, even for fee memberships.
5. Social media 
6. Engage your audience on social media platforms by sharing regular updates and valuable content. 
7. Choose social platforms strategically based on their relevance to your target audience and the nature of your brand. 
8. Stay consistent in your posting and avoid sharing content solely for the sake of it. 
9. Testimonials
10. Gather testimonials from existing members to build social proof and encourage new sign-ups.
11. Share user reviews in a visually appealing format across social media to enhance your marketing efforts. 
12. Given that 92% of customers read online reviews before making a purchase, testimonials are particularly vital when offering paid memberships. 

Step 7: Engage Your Members 

Ensuring high levels of engagement among your members is pivotal for fostering a sense of community, encouraging repeated visits, and eliciting recommendations for your membership website.

Actively prompting users to interact with your content and engage with fellow members contributes to long-term customer loyalty. 

Here are some ways you can boost interaction and engagement:

• Facilitate forums
• Organize expert Q&A sessions
• Provide exceptional customer support 
• Develop community through live events and challenges 
• Keep content fresh, up-to-date, and relevant 

Make sure you keep consistently posting and interacting with your members and is quick to respond to their queries. 

Step 8: Track Your Site’s Performance 

Once your membership website is live and being marketed, track the performance of your site. Analyzing performance metrics helps identify areas for improvement nad highlights successful aspects. 

Here are some handy tools to track your performance:

• In-House Analytics
• Google Analytics
• Crazy Egg
• HubSpot

Benefits Of a Membership Site 

Creating a membership website is an excellent choice if you aim to cultivate an online community around your content. 

This platform provides a unique opportunity to establish authority, foster loyalty among your audience, and maintain a meaningful connection with those who genuinely want to engage with your work. 

Key benefits of a membership website:

• Authority establishment
• Enables you to position yourself as an authoritative figure in your niche
• Memberships contribute to a sense of exclusivity, enhancing your credibility 
• Building fan loyalty
• Facilitates the development of a loyal fan base that values your content.
• Memerbships create a space where dedicated followers can connect and engage.
• Monetization and exclusivity 
• Allows you to monetize your efforts by offering exclusive content.
• Provides a platform to get paid for your valuable content, which might not be achievable through a regular blog site.
• Integration with digital products 
• Functions as a complement to other products such as online courses, podcasts, coaching services, digital downloads, live webinars, books, and ebooks.
• Offers a centralized hub for your digital offerings, enhancing user experience.
• Engagement expectations
• Membership sites are ideal for realtors committed to regular delivery of valuable content.

Alternative To Membership Sites: Crowdfundly

While membership sites or platforms are good options for community building, it can be a bit difficult and hassling with coding and designing the whole thing from scratch.

So, here is another option- Crowdfunding. Crowdfundly is a tool exclusively for creators to earn donations, sell memberships, and sell any digital items to fans. 

Crowdfundly should be your go-to tool if you are a content creator and looking for a tool to create your community and deliver exclusive content to your fanbase. Here, you can even sell any type of digital product- ebooks, music, audio files, photos, videos, and so on. 

Why Do We Recommend Crowdfundly? 

Here’s why we recommend you use Crowdfundly: 

FAQs

How Much Does It Cost To Build A Membership Site?

Opting for a basic website builder involves additional costs such as service, domain and hosting fees, ranging from $20 to a few hundred dollars per month. In contrast, an all-in-one membership management software includes a website builder aligned with various tools like contact databases and marketing features, eliminating the need for separate domain and hosting expenses. 

What Is The Difference Between A Membership Site And A Member-Only Site?

Many membership sites consist of two distinct parts: a public membership website and a password-protected members-only site. The public site is open to all, featuring information about the organization, membership benefits, and a signup form. Some offer free resources as a preview. Upon joining, members gain entry to the private site, access exclusive content, participate in the online community, and enjoy other membership perks. 

What Is The Difference Between A Membership Site And A Subscription Site?

While membership and subscription sites both involve recurring fees for access to gated content, the key difference is that subscription sites are transactional, offering limited interaction, like Netflix. In contrast, membership sites prioritize community-building, allowing members to engage in discussion, interact, and attend events for a more communal experience. 

Concluding words

Now that you understand how to create a membership site, create your community and engage them with your content. Make sure you promote your membership properly to reach the maximum audience.