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What Is Needed to Start and Run a Membership Site?
Websites that only allowed registered members to enter and participate in are usually called Membership Sites. These sites usually require members to pay a monthly fee to belong. The common thread amongst the members is passion for a particular topic. That niche topic may be about a particular car, or a particular type of cooking, or a particular sport. The owner of the membership site is usually perceived as an expert in that particular niche. Although most members join because of the promise of information on their niche, many of them continue paying for their membership because of a sense of belonging to something. If you have a lot of passion about a particular topic, there are probably thousands of people in the Internet universe who are also passionate about that topic. If this describes you, you can operate that membership site.
Why would you want to operate a membership site? Some people answer that question by saying that their passion drove them to start the site. However, I am sure that many people do it for the money. Those passionate members are each paying a monthly fee to be members. At a monthly fee of $10, a site with 250 members results in an income of $2,500 per month. Once the site is active and you have those paying members, the time cost of maintaining this site is a part time job.
What does it take to start a membership site?
1. First you need a topic. More specifically, a niche topic. As we have already stated, it is best if the owner are passionate about this topic.
2. The second requirement is content. You need to have high quality content in order to both attract and retain your members. Don’t forget, they are spending money every month and expect quality in return.
3. Third, you need some technical expertise. The membership site will require software to maintain memberships. The forum will also require special software. Knowing how to install and maintain the various types of software will be a valuable ability.
There are other ways to benefit from a membership site, without building one yourself.
1. Locate a partner. If you have the niche idea, you can find a technical partner. This obviously would require some legal papers in order to determine how work and profits are shared.
2. Locate a membership site that offers an affiliate program. The site owner will share the profits with people who market the site. Your job would be to find potential members and in return receive a monthly residual for all that join. That residual is quite often 50% of the fee, but may be higher or lower.
3. There is one more model that combines the first two. In this model you are charged an up front fee, and you then get to keep all the monthly fees from the members you find. In addition to the fee you pay to join, there may be a monthly fee as well, akin to a franchise fee. Again, you find members, and the site’s owner finds a niche topic, suitable content, and a technical support team. A good example of this structure is the new MemberSnap system started by Eric Louviere. You can understand more about how this system works by visiting the MemberSnap site.
Start your Membership site out of passion; continue it for the residuals!
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