If you’ve been planning and researching your idea for a membership website for a while, it’s time to get started. It might tempting to put it off with reasons like "I don't have enough content", "My Facebook group doesn't have enough members yet", or something similar. The problem is, you'll never feel comfortable starting your membership business if you're waiting for everything else to be "perfect".
That doesn't mean you shouldn't plan your website. Just don't get caught up in the trap of continuously planning but never executing.
It's Time to Jump In
If you're still sure if now is the time to start your membership website, read on. Here are 4 compelling reasons to help motivate you to start your membership site as soon as possible.
Passive Income
One of the huge benefits of a membership model is passive, recurring income. The term passive income is a bit misleading, though. Passive doesn’t mean that there is nothing you need to do but watch the money roll in. Any service or platform promising that is making promises they likely can't keep.
Creating a membership website allows you to use your creativity and passion to generate passive through subscriptions. Once you have members signing up regularly, recurring income can come at any time, even while you're sleeping. That's passive income. And it's a good feeling. It won't happen overnight, and you’ll need to update content, promote your site, and engaging with your members regularly. It will take some time to build your membership, but will be well worth it the end. So starting sooner rather than later is definitely the best option.
Community Building
This is a benefit that might very well bring you even more satisfaction than the money you’re making. When users join your membership website, they become part of a community of like-minded individuals with shared interests. Instead of offering one-on-one coaching sessions or workshops, you now have the ability to reach an infinitely larger audience. This sense of belonging fosters a supportive environment where members can interact, collaborate, and network - with each other and with you. Building a vibrant community around your brand can lead to organic growth through word-of-mouth referrals and high member retention.
During this process, you are building your reputation as an expert in your field and a leader within your niche. This strengthens your credibility with your own community as well as outside it, as more people come in contact with your content through shares and referrals. At the same time, you have the extreme satisfaction of knowing that you are helping people by sharing your expertise.
Increased Website Value
Unlike traditional digital models that rely on one-off sales, membership websites can accumulate value over time. As you continuously produce valuable content and add more resources to your site, the overall worth of your website grows. This increased value can attract new members and help retain existing ones, contributing to the long-term sustainability of your membership site.
The very definition of a membership site makes this possible. A membership site is not a “set and forget” type of website. You are going to be adding new content and engaging with members on a regular basis. This will create reasons for new members to join and for existing members to keep coming back to your site. They will be motivated to engage with you, your content, and other members of your community. You'll develop loyalty among your members, making them pre-disposed to continue to purchase new products from you in the future.
Market Conditions
There truly has never been a better time than now to start a membership website. Membership businesses are continuing to grow in popularity. In fact, the subscription economy could grow to as much as $1.5 Trillion by 2025. It has already grown over 400% in the last few years. And there are as many niche topics in the subscription website space as any other type of online business. Getting in now only makes sense as the wave of popularity is still on the way up.
The popularity of the subscription model really started to soar a few years ago and hasn't looked back since. People are used to recurring income websites now, and almost expect online services to offer a subscription-based option. Even e-commerce sites are offering subscriptions to products such as vitamins, and cleaning products. There is less resistance than there once was to the subscription model. Customer acceptance of the model is another reason to get started as soon as possible.
In addition, the technology is available to make starting a membership website almost a no-brainer. With today's software platforms, you don’t have to mess with payment processors or plug-ins. All-in-one membership platforms can now provide the framework for just about any functionality you may need, built-in. You can offer courses, downloads, embedded PDF’s, support material, videos, podcasts, and more. Having a website that has all this functionality built-in can save an enormous amount of time and money before you even start.
Why wait? Get started today.
The SubHub platform provides all the functionality and design elements you need to get started on your membership business today. Keep things simple to start and work up from there. You can also get help from the SubHub support team at any time. You can even have the team design and set up your website for you.
So what are you waiting for? Get started now with a free SubHub trial.
