How to Build a Thriving Community: Membership Sites
Technology has made connecting with audiences around the world easier than ever, but how do you use membership sites to build a thriving community to help boost your business?
There are 4 types of communities I will be discussing in my series:
- Membership Site
- Facebook Groups
Keep reading to get a more in-depth description of membership sites and make sure to check out my other posts for my tips on mastering each of the platforms.
Community Building Tips
Before we dive into how to build a thriving community using membership sites, I wanted to remind you of a few key tips that are important in any community:
- Focus on what your audience wants.
Your copy should tell your readers what they want to hear, focusing on quality over quantity when it comes to reaching your audience. It doesn’t matter if you put out 3 posts in a day if the content is not relevant the message won’t get through.
2. Make it personal.
Share more about yourself so your community connects and feels they can relate with you. Once they get to know you they will trust your opinion and what you have to say as well as want to invest in the things your passionate about
3. Don’t cut corners and expect amazing results.
When I first created my email list I made the mistake of skipping creating a strategy before sending out the content – I just wanted to get something out. I ended up with only a few follow-up emails with the longest being only a few paragraphs – it wasn’t something that I was proud of and certainly not something I would submit to a client. I went back and created a strategy that would nurture and entice my audience and saw immediate results.
What Are Membership Sites?
Membership sites are places where your community can engage with a variety of content by signing up with your page including online programs and courses. Memberships sites act differently than the other communities because they use an integrative approach to convert their following. This could be an email talking about your site or signing up and sharing posts on your social media. Just like the other methods discussed in this series you will need to have a call-to-action, opt-in section, facebook group, engagement in other groups, and paid ad strategy to name a few.
How to Display Services on Your Site
Once your membership site is set up you need to figure out how to display your offerings. Tiered services are a great way to display what you offer while giving your entire community an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of your services.
I especially recommend this to those who are just starting off and this is their first membership site. Since you haven’t had a chance to build out your client base you will need to focus more on visibility strategies since no one knows you yet.
How Many Tiers Should You Create?
Tiers offer different options for every budget. For example, you can offer low-cost courses where it takes little of your time to more expensive, high involvement courses like one-on-one strategy sessions.
Depending on what you decide to do with the membership site – whether it’s courses, business content, or community content – three tiers is a generally good rule to have. Of course, if you have multiple courses and want them in one place that’s not an issue, but make sure to keep this organized with the more courses.
How to Encourage People to Move Up Tier Levels
Most people will start at the bottom and work their way up the tier levels as they grow more comfortable or need more services. For those that start at a higher tier level, this is a great opportunity to get reviews and testimonials. Use these to show the benefits those people got with your program.
Whether you grow your community on email, Facebook, Instagram, or membership sites these tips are meant to help you grow your community. If you still find yourself confused I would love to help you get a strategy set up during a complementary strategy call!