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. It may be a membership site 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 on the topic. Although almost all 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 are passionate about a particular topic, even a topic about a very narrow niche, there are probably thousands of people on the Internet who are also very passionate about that topic. If this describes you, you can own that membership site.
What reasons are given for operating a membership site? I am sure that 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 simply for the cash. Those passionate members are each paying a monthly fee to belong. 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 do you need in order to start a membership site?
1. First of all, a topic. In particular, a niche topic. As we have already stated, it is best if you are passionate about this topic.
2. The second requirement is content. You must 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. Another quality that will help you to have a great membership site is some technical expertise. The membership site itself 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. Find a partner. If you have the content ideas, you can find a technical partner. This obviously would require some legal documentation in order to determine how work and profits are shared.
2. Find a membership site that offers an affiliate program. The owner has already created this site and will share the profits with people who do the marketing. 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 membershipfee, 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. Again, you find members, and the site’s owner finds a topic, content, and a technical support team. A great example of this structure is the new MemberSnap system started by Eric Louviere. You can understand more about the inner workings of this method by visiting the MemberSnap site.
Start your Membership site out of passion; continue it for the residuals!
