6 Different Types of Membership Websites That You Can Design - WordPress Membership plugin - Membership Websites

Sep 2, 2022

Six Types of Membership Websites You Are Able To Make

There are a variety of membership websites you can build. They're usually classified into six categories:

Content-based membership sites
groups or communities
Web-based Training and Certifications
Membership-Based Services
Online Boot Camps & Courses
Personal Development

This article will dive deep into each one and how you can generate recurring earnings stream for each of the models. In addition, we will talk about the steps to create a membership site, regardless of whether they are profitable, and how you can set a price for your membership plan.

6 Types of Membership Websites You can Create

Types of Membership Websites You Can Build

With the economy in turmoil, you're probably thinking of possible ways to earn regular income. One of the best ways to earn that income is making a membership website.

You've probably thought of this before. That's the reason why you're this far. A popular pop-culture saying which reads:

"If you're talented at something, don't try it on a free basis." - - The Joker, Batman: The Dark Knight.

That is where membership websites come in. They allow you to share your experience as well as your experience and know-how as well as earn recurring earnings.

Content-based Member Sites

Content membership and blog sites are some of those that have gained the most attention over the past decade.

If you look at it the direct mail approach to marketing is a popular choice for years. Many people paid a lot of money to join newspapers and magazines.

Today, when the internet is the most important source of entertainment to almost everybody, it's only sense to switch.

There are many different kinds of content. Here are some ideas for the kind of content you could create:

Newspaper articles
Gossip blogs
Fictional stories
Comic books
Video content
Educational stories
Podcasts
Photos
and more

You are able to produce a variety of posts based on the knowledge you have gained or expertise, as well as your niche. The internet is an enormous platform with millions and millions of individuals seeking for, read or listen to something new.

Groups, or community-based membership Websites

Groups and community-based membership websites give members a safe space to interact, socialize and learn, as well as share their information.

It's not a secret that people thrive in groups. We need each other not just for support but also for a few reasons; it's to survive.

There's a good reason that these social networks are popular. While a majority of them are now toxic and unsafe, people want that sense of belonging online.

Nowadays, the idea of monetizing an entire community or group isn't an easy task. After all, there are countless free options available.

There are plenty of communities online offer an excellent service and generate cash, too. It is possible to do this by creating a niche-based community.

An environment where members are able to join, feel secure, and only get access to information they require. The members of your group will desire a more structured group where they can engage in an enjoyable and safe conversation.

You'll want to believe that they are absorbing and contributing to knowledge, without the fear of trolls, bashers as well as other users' slack views.

Online Training and Certifications

Some of the most profitable website for members today are founded on online training and certifications.

People are always who want to acquire a new skill, upgrade their skill set as well as advance their careers. If you're a professional within your particular field it is possible to offer classes and certifications.

You don't necessarily have the ability to speak with authority in anything; you may also use other people's knowledge as well as their expertise, and then pass that knowledge to your employees.

It is possible to charge your members for many different items related to this membership type. This includes, but is not limited to:

Access to exclusive the content library within your member site
paid certifications could be used on their resumes or portfolios
Video training one-on-one
Personalized education
Webinars.

Additionally there is the possibility of creating upsells through offering your services. There are endless possibilities!

Member-based Services

Another type of successful membership website is a service-based site. You can provide your services to members.

Create a niche-based web-based service where you get clients to send regular checks to your services.

That applies to any skill, too. It is possible to offer a variety of types of services, like:

Web-design Services
SEO Services
Language Tutoring
Homeschooling
Legal Services
Life Coaching
Financial Coaching
Business Consulting
Accounting Services
Coding
Content Writing
Digital Marketing Services
Advertisement Services
and many more.

If you feel like you have a marketable skill, then this is the kind of website to help you.

Online Boot Camps and courses

You can also run online boot camps or online courses on your members' site. Most likely, you've viewed or joined many offers on similar websites.

Boot camps are typically brief courses with workouts as well as homework and other tasks for your students. However the courses usually are packed with lectures, tests, and homework that the participants are able to complete at their own pace.

A majority of instructors at boot camps have a greater involvement. That is because the participants must focus and finish their tasks within the given time frame.

Personal Development

There are also sites for personal development. There, you are able to use your hobbies or any particular skills that you possess and pass on your expertise.

It's a fantastic method to generate a regular source of income, while doing what you love. There's no way to know if you might have it so lucrative that it turns into a full-time business.

Here are some examples of skills and hobbies that you could sell on your membership platform:

Arts and Craft Lessons
Music Lessons
Horse Riding
Home Repairs
Gardening
Knitting
Food and Fitness
Dieting
Self-improvement
Life Coaching
and more

Be aware that when you're establishing a membership website, you don't necessarily have become an authority in your field. What you need to be able to do is offer something valuable to people who are just starting out and those who are one step behind you.

Be aware that your skills and experiences are the basis of your membership website. Therefore, start by establishing what you're familiar with.

How Do I Create A Membership Website?

And contrary to what most are saying, creating your very own membership site is actually more simple than you imagine.

It generally requires four major components:

The main site
A section for members
A control of access
A payment portal.

If you've had experience in creating websites previously, then it is likely that you'll require a domain and a host service a content management system along with an SSL certificate.

But, the majority of components mentioned above are already provided by WordPress.

If you're making use of WordPress to host your membership website, then you will need an excellent membership plugin that will safeguard your website's content as well as take care of the members.

It's a short and easy to follow guideline of 6 steps that will help you start.

Are Membership Sites Profitable?

Indeed, a good membership site is lucrative. Through our time, we've witnessed a variety of clients move from operating their membership website as a side business to becoming their main source of income.

Naturally, there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to marketing your membership site successful.

After working with hundreds and thousands of websites similar to ours, we have created a blueprint that has proven useful to some of our customers.

Inside, you will discover a plan and training video that contains tips on how profitable membership sites attract new members.

There are also some truly cool hacks like:

Effective strategies employed by many of the Internet's most popular websites to attract new leads, followers, and members.
Tips for conversion obtained from dealing with thousands of membership site owners.
BI, SS and PP. A largely unknown marketing technique that is used in the dark by some of the most successful entrepreneurs and online marketers.

Naturally, we have also witnessed a lot of businesses that aren't willing to look into this possibility to build a membership site.

That's completely understandable.

You don't need to invest a large amount of money marketing or spending a lot of time the perfecting of your website.

If you're starting from scratch using the MVP strategy to try out the water.

Remember, your MVP doesn't have to be perfect. You don't have to spend a lot of time crafting the perfect course, program or even a community. According to the saying, "done" is always more effective than flawless.

How Do I Price My Website Membership?

Pricing your membership website to maximize your profits is always tricky.

On one the other hand, you'll be going through the "imposter syndrome" period in which you believe that making a specific price excessive.

In the same way however, you'll need to ensure that your site is successful so that you can offer better services.

There is no cookie-cutter response to this. Each membership site model differs. Every niche, service or skill is priced in a different way.

But, there are some tricks that can help guide you in the area of pricing. One of those is understanding the various pricing methods.

Price Models to be used for membership sites

These pricing models are pretty much the common ground for every membership website. It will be seen in one way or another.

One-Time Payment - this type of pricing model is usually ideal if you don't provide recurring content, services or delivery. In the case of example, you're providing your clients a one-time training session or just one lesson.
Recurring Payment It is common to opt for a recurring fee when your website offers the option of a perpetual solution or continuous access for your members. This pricing system on a lot of membership sites for these reasons:
In-continuing income for you
Amortize your customer acquisition cost
The least expensive choice for members.
Freemium - Some membership sites provide freemium rates. A few entrepreneurs offer memberships for free that are of the basic price. Additionally, they offer a paid membership section with advanced content. Make sure your free offering has enough value that it can be used to recommend your paid offering is much more valuable. If your free offering is top-quality the customers will feel more trusting of your paid solution.
Membership Levels - If your product offers different levels of support, you may be able to provide several higher-end membership levels. An affordable tier could offer DIY solutions and a more expensive one could offer individual consultation or a customized, done-for-you solution. Membership tiers could include "free." Take care of overlapping three membership tiers, though you could be confusing prospective members.

Let's go into the detail.

Pricing Your Membership Website

First, determine the problem you're trying to fix and the people you're trying help.

Any of the six types of membership websites mentioned above can help solve a specific, niched problem.

The next thing to do is selecting the best way a membership website can help solve your challenge. This guide on building your own membership website as well as the MVP model could aid you with this.

Additionally to that, you also need to make a list of what your competitors offer in terms of price, the amount they cost, how many customers they have, and how long they have been operating for.

In our latest conversation of Jan Koch for our Memberships and Courses podcast In the interview, he says that you can determine if the idea you have or idea is a viable solution through a simple Google or Amazon search.

Through your investigation, you will find out what other people have done exactly the same thing, and if they're making money.

The next step is determine how much your membership plan is going to cost each month, per person.

This will be your lowest price. There is no chance of making an income if you charge lower than your member's cost.

For this it is important to consider two kinds of cost to be considered both fixed and variable. Let's break it down below.

Fixed Costs

Fixed costs are the charges which you are required to pay no matter how many subscribers you've got. They include:

Cost of advertising
For payment for any subscription software that you utilize
Salary of employees (if any)
Costs to publish content maintain your site's membership

Be aware that the greater your member count is the more likely you will be able to divide fixed costs among each participant.

Variable Costs

The variable cost usually refer to expenses directly related to each new subscriber or member.

It could comprise the following features:

Commissions for affiliate sales or affiliate sales.
Fees for transactions (this will vary based on the payment program you're using. )

It is also important to consider your time for each consulting session, especially if you're providing consultation services.

For a look at your break-even value, you need to make three assumption:

Monthly variable cost for each participant.
Projections on memberships and the number of monthly memberships you'll receive at the conclusion one year. (Pro Pro Tip: Utilize what you know about the competitor to come up with an educated prediction. Divide your competitor's estimated number of members by the years they've been in business to get a rough idea of the number of new members they add every year. Cut this down by 50% since many membership sites speed up yearly growth as they produce outcomes. Change your projections as you think is appropriate.)
Costs per month for set up to provide your solution.

It's quite a bit of numbers and maths We're getting close to the final.

The following step to take is to calculate the break-even price floor. You need to find your fixed monthly cost per member to do this. Here's a quick formula:

Fixed Monthly Cost Per Cost of Member = Monthly Fixed Cost / The Number of Members to be Targeted

Add the fixed cost per month for members to your variable cost per member/month.

The sum you calculate from the calculations is the price floor you set for each month. Remember that this is the floor, and you will have to add profits.

Anything less than this number will cost you more money.

One thing you should keep in mind is that the monthly pricing floor is only as accurate as the presumptions you made in the previous paragraphs. So please take it as an approximate estimate.

Here are a few more professional tips that can help you with pricing:

Include the cost of your membership plan to your pricing floor for the month.
Find out about the market by doing this, you'll find out what your target audience is willing to spend for similar courses to yours.
Review the prices of your competition and if they're offering better quality than them, add more to the price.
You should be confident in your solution and value providing and set the price in accordance with the same.
The value of the effort and time you exert.

Bonus Content: Epic Content Blueprint for your Membership Website

If you're just starting out and looking for different types of content to add to your membership website You're in the right place.

We've created an Epic Content Blueprint where you will find 6 ways to enhance your content, make it more enjoyable, as well as a step-by-step guide on how to create epic content, and more!

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