Discover What Membership Sites Are and Why You Need One

Membership websites are a popular format for eLearning businesses. But have you ever wondered how these actually work? 

Well, in today’s article, we will explore everything related to membership websites, from their definition to the best strategies for making sales. 

So, if you are ready, let’s get started! 

What is a membership site, and what makes it successful?

A membership site is an online business where only members can access certain features and functionalities. Membership sites work on a simple subscription-based principle. Users who are subscribed to a membership site pay fixed monthly/yearly fees, which gives them access to the offered content and materials. 

There are various types and forms of content creators can offer to their members. For instance, 

• pre-recorded video courses and audio materials (podcast episodes), 
• webinars and live sessions,
• eBooks and guides, 
• educational infographics,
•  access to different case studies and research that will support the learning process,

With all this variety, the most popular forms of content remain pre-recorded video courses and PDF guides. 

If you want to make your membership site successful, there are a few things to consider. For example, 

• Good UI that guarantees a smooth user experience. 
• Unique content that is engaging and informative. 
• Community. Good memberships have learner communities aimed at fostering engagement, motivation, and providing support. 

Do I need to start with a membership site?

Before reviewing popular strategies for membership sites, let’s see if membership sites are for you. 

Benefits 

eLearning membership sites provide you with a variety of benefits, such as: 

• Recurring revenue that contributes to building a steady stream of income. 
• Scalability. The content offered can be accessed and sold for unlimited amounts of time (till the information remains relevant). 
• Flexibility. You can constantly create and add new content to the membership site, ensuring it is always up-to-date. 
• More chances to make sales. Membership sites tend to be perceived as having a higher value than individual courses. This happens because users pay a fee and gain access to multiple courses and learning materials instead of one. In a sense, you can compare the perceived value of membership sites to product bundles. 

Challenges 

Even though membership sites come in handy with lots of benefits, there are certain challenges that you will have to deal with. 

• One of the most challenging parts is the initial setup effort. To start a membership site, you need to pick a high-quality and scalable eLearning platform.  But, before starting the sales, you have to create different types of materials to upload to the website. This process involves creating multiple courses, guides, webinars, and other forms of content that the members will have access to after purchasing a membership plan. 
• Finally, you should set up different membership plans and user permissions based on the purchased plan. 
• Another challenge of membership sites is the constant need for content updates for member retention. Making a sale is motivating, but the key with membership sites is to retain the members for a consistent stream of revenue. One of the ways for member retention is by making sure the content is always up-to-date. As a creator, you should regularly check the guides, courses, and other materials to make necessary updates. It will allow you to make the content relevant to the current industry trends. For instance, if your membership site offers marketing courses, you should update the materials every few months, as it is one of the fastest-changing industries. 
• One more challenge of membership sites is the competitive market. As a beginner, you will have quite a few competitors that already have a name and regular members. So, you will need to incorporate strategies to stand out. Assess your offering and develop a unique value proposition. 

For instance, your unique value can be offered once a month in a live webinar session among all the pre-recorded content. This can motivate customers to choose your membership, as they will have an opportunity to participate in a live discussion, develop relationships with you as a creator, and ask the questions they have in real time. 

Popular membership site strategies

If you want to succeed in the membership site business in this competitive environment, let’s analyze some popular membership site strategies. 

Tiered memberships

The Tiered membership model is one of the most popular choices in the current market. 

This membership gives users different levels of access to the site content. For instance, users who subscribe to the basic plan can access five courses and five downloadables. In contrast, users with the Pro package get access to all the courses available. 

With tiered membership, you can offer different access levels, such as basic, premium, and others. Make sure that each tier provides a clear description of what the member will gain. You should make the benefits clear so that users are motivated to purchase the package at a higher price. 

An example of a creator offering a tiered membership model is Gina Horkey. 

Gina started her journey as a virtual assistant and currently offers multiple courses on how to become a fully booked VA online. Although she sells courses separately, she also offers membership plans with bundles of resources and courses. 

Her basic membership plan costs $497. It is the Fully Booked Foundations program offering eight courses that guarantee results. Even though the actual value of the courses, if bought individually, will be $2487. Thus, Gina offers a value-bundle plan that motivates the customers to choose a membership plan. 

Another plan she offers is Fully Booked VA, which costs $1197 and gives lifetime access to world-class VA training. It offers everything the basic program does + 6 skills courses. Besides, it offers certification and 12 weeks of support via live coaching sessions. 

Her tiered memberships offer value and unique features while giving customers choice. 

Trial periods

A good strategy to increase membership site sales is to give users a taste of it first. 

Essentially, you should offer free trials. For instance, each new user can get 1 or 2 weeks of free access to the site content and course repository. You also can limit free access to certain courses and materials to motivate users to upgrade. 

This will allow members to experience the value of your offering. Thus, they will be more motivated to upgrade to the paid plan. 

MYOKORE membership offers 30 30-day free trial period before customers actually make a membership purchase. 

Exclusive events and content 

If you want to retain users longer, then a good strategy is to offer exclusive member-only content. The members should constantly be reminded of the value of your offer. Thus, do not hesitate to organize member-only events such as live webinars to build a sense of community. 

For instance, Adriene Mishler is an actress and yoga instructor, offering a Find What Feels Good membership program. The program offers over 700 videos of yoga practices and meditations suitable for everyone, from beginners to advanced practitioners. She offers member-exclusive content in the form of new classes every month. She also organized events and retreats to connect her community and foster engagement. 

How to grow your membership site

Well, let’s dive into the practical section of this article. Throughout this section, we will review how you can grow your membership site. 

Identify Your Audience 

First of all, identify your audience. In order to get returns on investments, you should promote your products to the right audience. Thus, identify who is your target. 

• What is their age group? 
• What types of content do they prefer? (pre-recorded videos, articles/PDFs, or live webinars) 
• How much do they already know about the topic? 
• What do they want to learn more about? 

Answering these questions will help you identify your target audience and create buyer personas for targeted promotions. 

Your Membership Website Target Audience 

• Age group
• Content Preferences
• Knowledge about your particular topic
• Interests in your topic

Address Challenges 

To grow your membership site, make sure to address challenges and come up with effective strategies to resolve them. 

The most common challenges with the membership business model include 

• Member retention. Getting members to subscribe for one month is not enough; you should incorporate strategies to retain the members longer. (e.g.,  offer annual plans with more perks and discounts, make sure content is engaging, etc.) 
• Scalability challenges. With a growing number of members, it can be hard to scale the platform. Thus, make sure that the platform of your choice can handle traffic. 
• Attracting new members and keeping active levels of engagement is another challenge that must be effectively addressed. 

Choose a Membership Software

To grow your membership business successfully, you need to choose the right platform. A good platform must offer 

• Good UI for easy user navigation and excellent user experiences. 
• Scalability to grow your business and ensure fast loading speed. 
• Course and Website builders for maximum customizations. 
• Branding functionality to stand out from the rest. 
• Live functionality to allow you to host live webinars and coaching sessions. 
• Membership-building tools to structure and offer memberships for the learners. 
• Seamless payment gateway. 
• Marketing and sales functionality to effectively promote your membership site from one single dashboard. 

Luckily, you do not have to spend hours trying to find a platform that offers all of these features… Uteach is the perfect choice for you to start and grow your membership business. 

Decide on the Pricing Model

Whether you are planning to offer a membership program with single or multiple plans, these tips will be useful to take into account when pricing the membership: 

• Conduct thorough competitor research. Analyze competitors’ pricing and identify what features they offer with those prices. 
• Develop a value proposition. Determine what unique features you can offer to the users. Also, when developing a pricing strategy, consider your target audience and their willingness/ability to pay for the offered plans. 
• Know your audience. When pricing a membership, it is vital to assess your audience and understand their willingness to pay for what you offer. You can conduct surveys on focus groups to gather more details regarding your target. 
• Choose a pricing structure. Most course creators that offer membership websites choose tiered pricing (different pricing plans). Another structure you can offer is a freemium model. Essentially, users can access your membership site’s content for free. However, to gain access to exclusive content or certain add-ons, users have to pay a certain fee. 

Membership Website Example

Maria Forleo’s business school, more commonly known as B-school, is a perfect example of a successful membership website. Members of the program gain unlimited access to the entire course catalog dedicated to entrepreneurship. 

A unique feature that sets B-School apart and contributes to its success is community engagement. How does she do this?

Well, she implements several strategies to foster a supportive community. For instance, members participate in weekly skill exchange sessions. These sessions allow members to remain motivated and gain valuable insights into certain topics each week. Another strategy she incorporates is organizing monthly challenges to motivate learning to achieve specific goals. 

This contributes to higher user engagement and retention levels, making Maria’s membership site one of the most successful ones in the niche.

So, at the end of the day, members can exchange skills with one another, motivate each other, and network. She does not allow the community “just to be there.” 

Summing it up

To sum it all up, the membership site is an excellent way to gain and retain knowledge. 

If you want to grow your membership site, make sure to incorporate the right strategies and target the right audience. Also, do not forget about choosing a perfect platform. 

If you are looking for the best platform to start and grow your membership site with, then Uteach is for you. Uteach is an all-in-one platform for coaches and course creators that allows them to build, promote, and sell memberships among global audiences. 

Take advantage of the free trial today, and start growing your business to maximize revenue.