How to Build Your Own Membership Website or Social Network + One Alternative to Membership Sites to Generate Continuity Income

A membership subscription website is an exclusive space in which people pay you for the ability to access your content, which is usually articles, audio, video, eBooks, and other forms of digital media. Membership websites are generally built on social networking or blogging platforms so that you can either build a space for your members to interact among themselves or a space in which you can easily showcase frequently updated content.

Generally speaking, the kinds of membership subscription websites that are most successful are either highly entertaining or very informative. If you are going to create one, focus on connecting a specific target audience to one of the following valuable information that’s either hard for them to find via search engines or non-existent. If you can create a membership subscription website filled with valuable, in-demand content, people will pay you for the privilege of access.

Now that you know what a membership website is, I will go over the following points:

• Low-Cost Web Tools and Services I have used to Build Membership Sites
• One Easy Alternative to Creating a Membership Site that allows you to still create a subscription offer and generate continuity income via subscription payments.

Web Tools and Services I have used to Build Membership Sites

There are a ton of different products and services online that you can use to build your own membership subscription website. I have used the following plugins integrated into WordPress.org software:

• Paid Memberships Pro
• Mighty Networks
• aMember Professional
• S2Member
• Wishlist
• Premise Theme

If you are looking for something you can manage on your own once it’s set up, I would say the Paid Memberships Pro is the most user-friendly and budget-friendly solution around. Plus Paid Memberships Pro, has all the features you would need to run a membership site on the WordPress platform. I’ve used it on my website for years, as well as helped my web clients get setup on the platform as well.

You can also create your own membership website on ‘build your own social network’ on a platform like Might Networks or Ning. Both of these services allow you to easily create your own network for minimal cost, without knowing HTML or needing programming skills.

• I have built several social networks on Ning; my most popular site www.mybbwo.com
• I built my FireStarter Circle Monthly Mastermind on WordPress using Paid Memberships Pro – an example here.
• I have a guide on how to Create Your Own Ningalicious Network and how to make money from your network.
• I currently help clients setup memberships on Paid Memberships Pro, Mighty Networks, and the SamCart Courses App

If you are interested in profitable ways to generate residual income online, creating your own membership subscription website is an opportunity worth looking into. Just keep in mind that if you do decide to build your own space, you have to focus on giving people what they pay for.

At first BBWO was a free website, for several years actually. During that time my goal was to attract attention and build a large following. Today I only charge a one-time signup fee on www.mybbwo.com, because I do not offer monthly content, so there is no need (in my opinion) to charge reoccurring payments. You always need to define what’s in it for your prospective members. Joining a network like BBWO has its benefits, including being able to promote your business, ask questions, and find professionals with services that can help you. Plus members get to network with thousands of other women entrepreneurs online. Value needs to be very clear when you are charging for access. In the case of BBWO there is no continuity payment from individual members, but with marketing, I get a steady flow of members each month, so that’s where the continuity comes in. For example: 10 New Members in One Week at $45 per sign-up = $450.

SistaSense.com is currently a membership website with recurring payment options. With this kind of pay-per-use space you don’t need a large influx of new sign-ups to make a steady income, but having a library of information for new members to access is ideal. And it’s also important that members get content that is added at set intervals each month or presented live via events or webinars, so they consistently receive value for their continued membership payments.

Subscription payment options to consider:
– You can offer a trial price as a signup incentive.
– You can offer monthly, bi-annual, or annual payments to make it appealing to your audience depending on their needs.

When I talk to most of my prospective web clients interested in building a membership website, we always discuss the following question: “What kind of site is really right for you.”

• If you want your members to be able to create discussions and add blogs or videos then a social networking site would be best for you because it offers more social features. Take a look at my site www.mybbwo.com to see the kinds of features that I am talking about.  Again members can create forum discussions, blog posts, groups, videos, and more.
• If you want to create a training website where you share information with your members and really just want them to (at the most) be able to leave comments, the best solution for you is to create a membership website built on the WordPress platform.  WordPress sites allow you to easily add new content as you would on any other blog, but make it exclusively accessible to your members. Browse the sistasense membership page, for example.
• If you want people to pay you to post information similar to a classified service, your best solution would be to create a directory rather than a membership website. Take a look at one of the directories I created as an extension of BBWO Network – http://shop.mybbwo.net. With a directory, there are no monthly fees, only a submission fee for each entry.  Also, directories don’t require you to do the work of creating content. Submitters create the content and simply pay you for the ability to post on your space. Refer to my web design site and use the contact form there, if you would like me to help you set up a directory site, membership website site, or custom social network.

Beyond making a profit or figuring out how to set up your space, your first priority should always be building quality content and creating a loyal following online. Truth be told, if you don’t currently have the content ready to build a membership site, or if you can not commit to creating quality content each month this may not be the right solution for you. For more last recommendation I want to discuss alternatives to building a membership site that still allows you to create subscription offers and generate continuity income.

Consider the following:

A Pay-for-Access Newsletter: Newsletters are significantly easier to set up. Plus if you can consistently send out quality information that people will pay for, you can have your on continuity income stream without building a membership website.

A Virtual Training Service: Consider offering live virtual training via conference calls or webinars. In this case, you will only need at most a squeeze page to get sign-ups from interested people, a registration page, and a private page for members to access call-in details, replays, and other material you would like to offer.

If consistently creating content on a monthly basis is going to be a challenge for you, consider creating a ‘Set Time’ subscription offer vs. a “Life Time” Offer. In this case, you would pre-record or write your material and then schedule out the content over a designated time. Here is a client example, you can click here if her site is down.- You can create 6 sessions and turn them into a 6-week course.
– You can create 3 modules and turn them into a 3 month / 90-day course.
– You can create 12 featured topics and turn them into a one-year program.

If you have more questions and would like to discuss your project ideas in more detail, click here to schedule a consultation with me. For more ‘Make Money Online’ ideas, also download the SistaSense Marketing Formula, which includes my 12-part audio series SistaSense Monthly. Inside this series, I talk to you about different kinds of digital products that sell well online, how to tap into new income streams, and different methods I use to keep your income steady throughout the year.