I've come across quite a few forums that have the option to upgrade to paid membership. First off let me say that this method of works for making money online. Paid memberships make money online all the time. There are entire sites built around this model - aka "membership sites." One of my favorite examples is the TutsPlus network. Over 10,000 people are paying $9 a month for membership to their network.
I know, TutsPlus is not a forum, but that doesn't mean we can't learn from them. Why not take the membership model and apply it to forums?
A lot of people have the right idea and do have paid memberships on their forum. But then barely anyone pays for it. Why are so many people willing to pay 9 bucks a month there when most forum members wont pay $5 for a year of premium membership?
Here's why 97% of paid forum memberships S.U.C.K.!
(Btw I made up that percent - I think it sounds about accurate though)
The majority of paid memberships I've seen consist of the following:
1) More PM space
2) Longer sig length
3) Colored username
4) Special group rank
5) And rarely, access to a paid members forum
But look at this from the general users' perspective. Do they place value on these things?
Do you honestly think forum members on a pet owners' forum care about a larger inbox or sig size? I'd be so bold as to say NO, they don't. (Except #5, if you do it right... keep reading)
So what are members willing to pay for?
They're willing to pay for what they signed up to get. If your forum's about dogs, then your members are going to be willing to pay for dog stuff. If you run a gaming forum, then your members are going to be more willing to pay for gaming related stuff.
People register on your community because it interests them. The least you can do is take what they've already told you and offer them something they want; something that has real value to them.
How to create an awesome membership program
In this post I'm not actually going to teach you how to build an entire paid membership business out of your forum but here's what I'd recommend you do now. Do a Google search for "YOUR KEYWORDS HERE membership site sign up now" (without quotes) or something like it and you'll come accross a few profitable paid subscription sites.
I did a search for "dog owners membership site sign up" (without quotes) and came across Dogrrific.com. It's only $22 for life but you get the idea. Imagine how much more it'd be worth with an active community to back it up.
Also check out usconcealedcarry.com. They charge $37 - $97 a year for members to access their entire board. That's right - you can't post unless you pay. Now stop me if I'm wrong but seems like there are plenty of FREE forums out there to go post on.
So how can they charge that much AND have thousands of people PAY?
Because they treat their members AWESOME! They have a huge forum, tons of articles, ebooks and audios... heck they even have a physical magazine sent to the member's doorstep. But I only bring these up to get your gears churning. You don't have to go out and create a magazine. Just think: What could you be offering your members that you aren't already? And more importantly: what would it be worth to your members?
Lazy-man's tip of the day
And here's what's awesome: You don't even have to create content for your paid members. Most likely there's an affiliate program for an existing membership site, ebook, or physical magazine. You just sign up as an affiliate, start referring your members, and make a few bucks. You could even offer bonuses on your site as an incentive to buy. If you want to get members to sign up for a "Cat owners ezine" (I just pulled that one outta my butt - dunno if it's real or not) you could offer your members access to a premium forum and send out a weekly newsletter to your paying members.
Just have your members forward their email receipt to you when they purchase through your affiliate link, then you add them to the "Paid Members" permissions group, and you're ready to roll.
Hope this helps! If you liked this article do me a favor and LIKE me on Facebook and I'll send you more helpful tips & tricks on how to optimize your forum. :great:
I know, TutsPlus is not a forum, but that doesn't mean we can't learn from them. Why not take the membership model and apply it to forums?
A lot of people have the right idea and do have paid memberships on their forum. But then barely anyone pays for it. Why are so many people willing to pay 9 bucks a month there when most forum members wont pay $5 for a year of premium membership?
Here's why 97% of paid forum memberships S.U.C.K.!
(Btw I made up that percent - I think it sounds about accurate though)
The majority of paid memberships I've seen consist of the following:
1) More PM space
2) Longer sig length
3) Colored username
4) Special group rank
5) And rarely, access to a paid members forum
But look at this from the general users' perspective. Do they place value on these things?
Do you honestly think forum members on a pet owners' forum care about a larger inbox or sig size? I'd be so bold as to say NO, they don't. (Except #5, if you do it right... keep reading)
So what are members willing to pay for?
They're willing to pay for what they signed up to get. If your forum's about dogs, then your members are going to be willing to pay for dog stuff. If you run a gaming forum, then your members are going to be more willing to pay for gaming related stuff.
People register on your community because it interests them. The least you can do is take what they've already told you and offer them something they want; something that has real value to them.
How to create an awesome membership program
In this post I'm not actually going to teach you how to build an entire paid membership business out of your forum but here's what I'd recommend you do now. Do a Google search for "YOUR KEYWORDS HERE membership site sign up now" (without quotes) or something like it and you'll come accross a few profitable paid subscription sites.
I did a search for "dog owners membership site sign up" (without quotes) and came across Dogrrific.com. It's only $22 for life but you get the idea. Imagine how much more it'd be worth with an active community to back it up.
Also check out usconcealedcarry.com. They charge $37 - $97 a year for members to access their entire board. That's right - you can't post unless you pay. Now stop me if I'm wrong but seems like there are plenty of FREE forums out there to go post on.
So how can they charge that much AND have thousands of people PAY?
Because they treat their members AWESOME! They have a huge forum, tons of articles, ebooks and audios... heck they even have a physical magazine sent to the member's doorstep. But I only bring these up to get your gears churning. You don't have to go out and create a magazine. Just think: What could you be offering your members that you aren't already? And more importantly: what would it be worth to your members?
Lazy-man's tip of the day
And here's what's awesome: You don't even have to create content for your paid members. Most likely there's an affiliate program for an existing membership site, ebook, or physical magazine. You just sign up as an affiliate, start referring your members, and make a few bucks. You could even offer bonuses on your site as an incentive to buy. If you want to get members to sign up for a "Cat owners ezine" (I just pulled that one outta my butt - dunno if it's real or not) you could offer your members access to a premium forum and send out a weekly newsletter to your paying members.
Just have your members forward their email receipt to you when they purchase through your affiliate link, then you add them to the "Paid Members" permissions group, and you're ready to roll.
Hope this helps! If you liked this article do me a favor and LIKE me on Facebook and I'll send you more helpful tips & tricks on how to optimize your forum. :great:
