The irony is not lost on me that you are literally IN a membership site consuming education on how to start a membership site. It’s very meta.

Similar to premium content, sometimes an audience or a listenership has so much in common or to talk about that they need a place to have those discussions and commiserate/celebrate. That’s where you come in! Why not create a membership area where they not only get premium content, but access to each other. Even something as simple as a Facebook page will allow your fans and guests to have access to you, talk about the show, get extra files or transcripts, and basically hang out together. Even if you charge a very small fee, this is a very effective way of creating a small income AND getting quick access to your listeners – a good thing if you want to create MORE things they might love.

There are lots of ways to create nice membership sites, though. Tons of membership plugins allow for content-locked offers to different membership levels, and there are great content-creation plugins that allow for membership.

Skills Needed:

Believe it or not, you need the skill of leadership. You can’t let the inmates run the asylum, so to speak. It’s great to have a place to collaborate but people in any group need rules about what they are and aren’t allowed to post and discuss. In addition, you need the ability to use Facebook as an admin or hire someone to do it, and you need to be there to take part in the discussions at least once a day. If you don’t want to use Facebook, you’ll need to know how to install and use a WordPress plugin or outsource your website stuff AND billing stuff to someone trustworthy.

Resources:


Keith and the Girl Membership Page
Wishlist Membership Software (affiliate link for She Podcasts – currently use this – currently use this)
LearnDash – for membership/courses (affiliate link for She Podcasts – currently use this)
Membership Academy – HIGHLY RECOMMEND! (affiliate link for She Podcasts – currently use this)