How to build a super successful membership website

Do you want to build a super successful, financially lucrative membership website? Explore our top tips and get started.

It’s no surprise that the small business community has seen a boom in membership websites. In a financially unstable economy, these small financial commitments enable people to access in-cred-ible support, inspiration and opportunities… but for a fraction of the price.

However, they need to be done?right. Competition is rife, and so if you want your membership to stand out from the crowd then you need to create something that has the potential to grow into a deeply engaged online community.?

And guess what? This is something we can help you with.

Read on for our top tips on what happens?after?you nail your membership business strategy. It’s time to build that epic website.

Why should you launch a membership website?

Before we get stuck in, let’s start by outlining why a membership could be a beneficial part of your business. Online memberships are a fantastic way to?establish your authority, form a strong sense of loyalty among your followers, and stay connected with the people who are committed to hearing from you.

The ripple effects are enormous. A successful online membership can give you:

• Regular recurring income
• Lower acquisition costs
• Higher customer lifetime value
• The opportunity for additional monetization routes
• A launchpad for business development and growth
• A dedicated community for your brand
• PR opportunities (and enhanced brand awareness and equity)

Of course, it’s also a big commitment! If you want your online membership to thrive, then you need to dive in headfirst and commit yourself to consistent marketing, exceptional content and authentic communications.?

5 ways to build a super successful membership website

You’ve validated your minimum viable product (MVP). You’ve established who your audience is (and what they need from you). You’ve figured out how much your membership will cost.

Now, it’s time to bring it all to life.

1. Choose your online membership website platform

When you’re building an online membership, unsurprisingly it starts with your website platform. Which one will you use? Which one will give you the feature you need, while still being cost effective?

The fact is, cost will play a huge role in your decision. While there are undoubtedly brilliant membership platforms such as?Kajabi?that will give you an all singing, all dancing membership site, they also come with a hefty price tag. At a minimum, you’re looking at nearly $1500 for the year?just?for the platform – this doesn’t take into account getting a professional, robust design, killer copy, branded photography (etc, etc, etc…).

As online memberships have skyrocketed, we’ve found huge success in designing and building memberships through WordPress and?Memberpress?– the plugin for WordPress memberships. This, coupled with custom coding, has led to some seriously impressive results. Take a look at our?blog on Wellgood Wellbeing, a recent membership website project we’ve worked on.

Here’s what it comes down to – when you choose your membership platform, check that:

• It works with multiple payment gateways (such as Stripe, Shopify, Paypal)
• It creates a member login after payment
• It allows the number of members that you hope to get
• It integrates with Zoom / Teams if you plan to host online workshops / webinars / sessions
• Memory capacity is high enough for regular, consistent new content
• There is the potential for community boards / discussion sections (if this is relevant for your membership)
• The design can be fully adapted for your brand
• The platform has good SEO functionality

Spend some time comparing options and outlining all costs – both now and in the future – before making that final decision.

2. Choose your payment method

Will your membership work on a subscription model? Will there be different tiers? Will you also offer one-off purchases or a discount for annual payments? Whatever path you choose, you need to build it into your website and be sure that the functionality allows for this method of payment.

In making these decision, there are several factors that you need to consider:

• Security: if you’re using your actual website to take payment (rather than a service like PayPal), then you need to guarantee the safety of your site. An?SSL certificate?may do the trick, but do your homework once you’ve chosen your processor.
• Income: depending on how much you anticipate being paid, you may need to switch your payment processor. For example, if you’re hoping to make 5+ figures a month, then standard PayPal won’t be sufficient – you’d need something like?PayPal Pro. The fees will be higher; something worth keeping in mind.
• Fees: which leads us to fees. Every payment system has a different fee, which will impact your monthly income. Don’t rush into the obvious choice. Do your research and take your time.
• Additional functionality: if you want to include a function such as the ability to gift a membership to someone, check that your platform has this option!

Your choice is a crucial one for the success of your membership. Payments need to feel easy and trustworthy for your customers and you, as the business owner, need to see a worthwhile ROI.

3. Nail your website design

Listen – it won’t come as a surprise to you that we are ALL about the website design. And because your membership portal is (often) one part of a bigger website, businesses can underestimate the fact that the membership side of the website needs a cohesive, strategic design of its own.

There’s SO MUCH to explore here. From your branding, to navigation, social proof and the customer journey, your website design should engage your members from the word go and take them joyfully through every corner of your membership portal.

Sure; you can achieve a good deal through templates and plugins. But a professional website designer will be able to code those big, bold dreams and turn them into a reality.?

RELATED: 6 REASONS YOU SHOULD GET A CUSTOM WORDPRESS WEBSITE

4. Don’t forget your sales page!

Now, before you roll your eyes and shout ‘NOT ANOTHER TASK ON THE TO DO LIST!’, know that your membership sales page can make or break your online membership.?

The truth is, you can’t expect your audience to click a link and immediately sign up to your membership. It isn’t going to happen. Instead, you need to lure them in with a sales page dripping in extraordinary copy and compelling calls to action (CTA).

Your membership sales page should include:?

• A powerful headline
• Snappy and engaging copy that tells a story (and provides a solution)
• Clear points around the highlights of the membership
• Any bonuses that the membership offers
• Testimonials and social proof
• Information on the company / individual leading teh membership (and why they’re the experts on the topic)
• Slick images and video (if appropriate)
• FAQs
• Pricing information
• A-ma-zing CTAs

You’ll also want a clean design – one that focuses purely on one (and only one!) outcome… Driving conversions to your membership.

YOU MIGHT LIKE: HOW TO CREATE A HIGH CONVERTING LANDING PAGE

5. Engage your community

You need a cast that net wide if you want to attract potential sign ups to your membership website. A great way to do this is by utilising your online community.

Take a look at your content strategy and consider how it can support your endeavours. For example, do you have an active mailing list? Speak to them – and, while you’re doing that, strive to build it tenfold. Lead magnets are a great way to do this. Add a seriously valuable lead magnet to your website – related to the things that people will get from your membership – and then feed those subscribers into an email sequence designed around membership conversions.

(Not sure where to start? We wrote a blog about?ways that you can turn your website into a lead generating machine).

Social media is also a vital way to get your membership message out there. You can then add?UTM links?to all of your platforms (and, in fact, any marketing messaging that you send out) so that you can take note of where those clicks are coming from. Armed with that information, you can more readily decide where to pour your time, attention and energy.

Can Littlebigbox help me launch a membership website?

We would LOVE to help you plan, design and launch your new membership website.

Take a look at our?packages page?or go straight ahead and book in a free?discovery call?with us. We can’t wait to hear from you.