How To Launch A Membership Website
A membership website is exactly what it sounds like: A website on which you’ll provide a product or service on a consistent basis so that people can subscribe to your site and pay a membership fee to access that product or service. This is a great way to run a business online or expand your existing business, and it can be a great way to generate a passive income as well. To get started, continue reading to learn how to launch a membership site that will be a success.
Start With Your Hosting
Because your membership website will require that users pay a fee to access its most valuable content, you need to research a web hosting provider that will ensure your site will always be up and running correctly. Certa Hosting is just one great example of a web host that will give you numerous options in terms of what hosting plan will fit your budget and needs. The web host that you end up going with should be reputable, offer high quality customer service, and give you enough bandwidth and storage.
Start By Charging A Low Fee
Many people don’t put up their membership websites because they never feel quite ready, but the best way to get started is to just dive in. If you aren’t positive that you have the right amount of offerings, you can simply begin by charging a very low fee. Let people know that they’ll be the first ones to sign up and basically be your guinea pigs as you get their feedback.
Setting Up Your Membership Website
When you’re ready to design your membership website, make it a point to include two essential pages: Subscribe and Members. The Subscribe page will be where your potential members will learn about what their options are and what they’ll get with their membership. This is the page on which they can actually sign up to become a member of your website. The Members page will be the very first page that every new member will end up seeing upon successful registration.
Use An E-Commerce Platform
Nailing down the many layers of a membership website can be difficult, especially if you aren’t an experienced web developer. Thankfully, there are services available such as e-commerce platforms that will make it easy to set up your membership site, especially if they include a content management system that lets you charge members a fee and easily provide them with the products and services you promise. A great example is a WordPress plugin called Wishlist.
If you’re going to have various levels of membership on your website, you should create a custom home page for every level. You should also be able to manage any member discounts that you’re providing, as well as any free access that you’re giving to your members based upon their status.
Follow the tips above to launch your membership site. Once your site is up, it’s a matter of promoting yourself as an authority in your field to attract people to your site.
