With how 2020 has been business owners and entrepreneurs are being pushed towards online platforms more than before. In all honesty, creating an online presence for your business is a must regardless of a pandemic. Unfortunately, there isn’t one website that fits every need. If for example you are a public speaker but want to offer courses and talks online, you won’t be able to do it with a standard brochure site.
What you could be looking for is a membership website
What is a Membership Website?
Simply put a membership website is a gated site that has member exclusive content. A gate can also be thought of as a barrier that requires a user to sign and log into your website. It’s common to see these types of websites from nonprofit organizations, clubs, and strictly online business models.
Memberships to a website can be free, paid, or even have a tiered model. The point is to have a website that entices users enough to want to sign up and become a member to get access to all of your content.
What Type of Content Goes on a Membership website?
The most common types of content that are offered through a membership setup are ebooks, online courses or lessons, webinars, and digital-only products. This is the perfect space to house any and all created content in a way that can also build a community around it. Having webinars exclusive to only your site is a great way to build up your own authority.
Can you put physical products and perks into your membership site? Of course!
What Can You Get From Your Membership Site?
It’s wonderful that you want to create a resource or a hub for other people but let’s be frank here, benefiting your business is always the bottom line. Here are a few things you benefit from building a membership site.
Increased Revenue
Offering online-only products that you never have before allows you to make additional revenue. If you already have the content in place why not try to earn something off of your hard work? Being online also means that your products are available 24/7 and worldwide, so your website could make sales for you while you sleep.
Increase Authority
With a membership comes a community. You are building up space for people to come to and gain information or buy products that they are interested in. This increased traffic to your website helps search engines understand that you are an expert in your realm.
Marketing Opportunities
Building up a member base is an efficient way to collect emails for marketing campaigns, find out what your most common products are for future sales, and even just getting reviews from members that you can use as marketing and self-promotion tools.
Membership Websites Are On-going
Unlike a portfolio or a blog website, a membership setup requires ongoing commitment in that your users expect new content from you, new perks, and growth. You should be prepared to continue to build on any groundwork you set up for your site if you really want to see the benefits from it. This constant growth is why we are such a fan of a membership-based website, it allows you to always be able to continue up and never stagnate.
Want To Get Started?
We’d be happy to talk to you about beginning your new project! Reach out to us and schedule a consultation.
