Choosing the Format of Your Membership Site
Choosing the format of your membership site is a very important step. There are many different styles of site you can choose from. These include forum-based, content-based, set time, combination sites, and many more. The type of site you choose to set up will be dependent on the niche you are in and what will serve your members best.
Content-based membership sites are probably the most common. That's because people actively search for information all the time! If you can offer premium content, you can get members to pay you for access to this expert information.
Forum-based membership sites usually rely on the users to interact with one another -- which adds content. This can be an incredibly hands-off method; only if your members do actively participate and obey the rules. Unfortunately, forum-based membership sites can sometimes get out of hand and it could be quite troublesome for you as the owner to try and moderate everything. You can get moderators to help you out, so this is still a great option.
Set time membership sites are becoming more popular. This is when you have a set amount of content that people will pay for. Once they have reached the end of the set of content, their membership will cease. It's as if they have graduated!
Autoresponder memberships are also very popular. Basically, your autoresponder e-mail service will send out the content you have written to members based on times you have set up in advance. This is great for members who are very busy and do not have time to log into a membership site. This way, they can just open their e-mail and receive the content they have paid for. Be careful with this method, however, because it can have a lower perceived value than a content-based membership site.
Still other membership sites use a combination of different methods. This is a great idea, and it is very commonly done because it increases the perceived value of your membership site. If members feel like they are getting a good deal for the content, interaction with one another, and interaction with you, you will likely have a higher retention rate. Members like feeling like they are getting more than they have paid for!
In order to figure out what type of membership site you should set up, examine your competition and see what is popular in the niche. If you cannot find good examples, join niche forums and try to get a feel for what your potential members might want to see in a must-join membership site.
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