I’m certain you belong to at least one – or if you’re anything like me – MANY – membership sites. They are everywhere these days from Microsoft to digital planner clubs to even physical sticker clubs. I seem to be a sucker for all…
Starting your own membership site online can be an exciting thought. There are tons of blog posts out in the cyber world talking about how lucrative these types of sites are. Successful membership sites like Netflix rake in billions.
On a smaller scale, “software as a service” (SAAS) memberships such as email autoresponder companies, graphics design software, etc. make six to 7 figures sums every month. Yes, please.
They have thousands of members who willingly pay for the benefits of belonging to the service. And that sheer promise of having a stable, recurring, and wildly profitable income is a welcome idea for most!
The good news is that building a membership site is within the reach of any determined marketer – but you must be aware of what will be required from you. Don’t just jump in blindly thinking only of your dream of quick and easy, recurring money.
There is no quick and easy money with this business model. Let’s lay out some facts:
The Learning Curve
Generally, running a membership site is not nearly as complex as some other online business models such as eCommerce and so on. However, there is a learning curve, especially if you’re new to online marketing.
You’ll need to learn product creation. After all, there has to be a deliverable for your paying customers each month.
Next, you’ll need to know how to install WordPress and set up the membership software. Most membership software come with video tutorials to guide you, but you’ll still need to follow along step-by-step.
The learning curve is where most beginners throw in the towel. They lack the fortitude and patience to learn whatever they need to.
So, be ready to spend time in the trenches mastering the tech stuff. It’s not difficult, and you’ll only need to learn it once.
Investment Is Required
You’ll need to purchase a domain name, website hosting, an email autoresponder, and membership software. This is not a business you can start with no money down. Ideally, the bare-bones minimum you should have is about $250 to get started.
Expectations
Once you’ve set up your membership site, it would be good to load it up with 2 to 3 months’ worth of content so that you’re ahead of the game. Once you have enough content to deliver for 2 consecutive months, then you can start marketing your site while you work on the upcoming months’ content.
That 2 months buffer is a good lifesaver just in case unexpected hiccups occur in your content creation or just life in general. As you get more and more members in your site, you may want to start thinking about outsourcing content creation.
You’ll need to find reliable and proficient freelancers so that your deliverables are of high quality. You must satisfy your subscribers’ expectations. This will ensure you have a high subscriber retention rate.
Hands Off – But Really?
Many beginners dream of earning passive income. A membership site will provide that, but only to some extent. Automation in your site will take care of a ton of tasks for you.
Customers will be onboarded smoothly. The payments will be taken care of… and the content delivered like clockwork.
However, you will always need to be actively marketing your site and finding ways to improve it. This is a never-ending process, BUT it’s a fun one if you enjoy what you’re doing.
You’ll need to test out paid advertising. Or experiment with different content formats and so on.
The crux of the matter is this – success in this business is an ongoing process. You’re either progressing or regressing because no matter how good your membership site is, there will always be some attrition.
If you observed Netflix, you’d notice that they’re constantly adding new content and testing things out. That’s how they stay at the top of their game – and that’s what you’ll need to do to stay at the top of yours
- Are you willing to take on the challenge of learning new concepts and tools?
- Will you go through the learning curve and do what you need to even on days when you feel like giving up?
- Are you ok with taking 4 to 6 months to grow your membership site even when results seem slow to come?
If the answer is YES! to all the questions above, you’ll definitely have what it takes to start your own profitable membership site.
6 months from now, you can have a business that generates a stable monthly income for you, and with time, your membership will go from strength to strength… and you’ll realize that all the effort was worth it.
Time to get started!
