The internet is built on the premise that information is fluid and we are all interconnected in one way or another. Though we need the human connection to survive online communities are thriving with the lack of strong connection between their own users. For many brands, building a community website, specifically membership sites, not only provides them with a viable marketing vehicle but also allows them to reach out to their customers and understand how they can tweak their products and services.
What is a Membership Site
Membership websites are like an immunity. It gives customers deeper access to the business’ inner soul. A customer would never want to jump off from one service/business provider to another from time to time. Nowadays, every customer seeks stability. Stability of having strong connections towards their provider for a long period of time without having a lot of trouble. They aim to have a stable connection with businesses that do their job well and make their everyday life easier to deal with. These things are the main points that membership sites do.
Unlike other normal business owners, individuals who take part in creating their own paid membership sites excel in the field of ecommerce more every year. They are more powerful. Their membership site makes them more capable of handling anything in the field of ecommerce.
Membership sites can be defined as a business platform/section where customers get special access to the business’s specific contents made for its members. Oftentimes, membership sites are paid with developed content being exclusively offered.
A business’s membership sites content can include either of the following
- Business/service blog articles
- Survey articles
- Videos and exclusive tutorials
- Group Webinars
- Podcasts
- White papers
- Screencasts
- Other membership information and perks
Want to start creating yours? Strikingly will help you with that in just one click.
How to Create a Membership Site
As a business owner building community membership sites, you might be tempted to think of the ROI for such an endeavor. However, it’s important to note that at the heart of these types of membership sites is the desire to build relationships and interact with like-minded individuals. Thinking of your customer first and foremost when creating a community site can help propel your project to success. With that said, here are the features and factors you should think about a lot before making that part of a successful online community membership site.
1. A strong plan
Successful free community membership sites were built with an objective driving it. What is your purpose for building the community membership site? Are you looking to recruit members or maintain customer loyalty? Do you want to use a community membership site software for market research? Is your community membership site intended for providing exclusive member benefits? Choose a goal to work towards and create content and membership site features that will help accomplish that goal. You can do this by making your own member's page. This will open more opportunities for them to communicate directly to you, and you have the privilege to get first-hand control of your audience and their wants.
Want to bag that goal? Start working with Strikingly! We’ve got a lot of offers waiting for you. To know more, visit here.
2. Relevant content
With community website builders such as Strikingly, you don’t have to worry about having to write or read code to build your own online community. This way, you can focus on creating relevant content to attract members. Writing quality membership sites content enables you to build your brand as a reliable information source in your niche.
Encouraging your members to contribute helpful information can also help with your content building and marketing strategy. User-generated content is even better for websites because it is created by real people for human consumption. You can do this on your own membership site through Strikingly' add custom form. Choose the specific form you want your membership site to have and you are now ready to go.
However, with the proliferation of internet trolls and fake news, do be cautious about running your membership site software due diligence on contributors as well as the accuracy of the content that they are sharing.
3. Community input
Building a website out of membership sites templates is a great way to start but as your network grows, membership websites will also evolve. Listening to your members’ feedback and adding new features to your site that will improve the user experience. Add a message board or a section in your forum where members can offer ideas on how to make your community membership site better. The presence of a comment/audience section on your membership site makes it more social and interactive.
4. Reputation management strategy
When you create community membership sites, you naturally have to attract individuals to join your paid membership site network. However, for your site to succeed, you need to motivate members to interact and trust one another. A strong reputation strategy that recognizes members for their efforts at maintaining a strong network is highly recommended. Find out what matters to your members, and the kind of membership site environment they would thrive in to make them stay in your online community. Include these things in your rules and regulations as well as in the activities governing your membership site software. Incentivize high-quality content contributors to encourage them to continue participating with great content.
5. Personalized your membership platform
Originality is always on top. It can make you different from the others in a good way. Strikingly gives you enough freedom to customize your own online community website and make it stand out. The ability to choose custom design elements enables you to create a website that your members will feel comfortable in.
Aside from engaging membership site software design elements, get your members to keep coming back to your website through curated content that is relevant to them. Build an online newsletter campaign and constantly update your members with new content as it comes in.
Reasons why you should create your own membership site
As someone who seeks to ace the ecommerce world, you must know your specialty and nourish it. Having knowledge of what weapon to use to win your customer’s hearts is a must. With that, creating membership sites must be your holy grail.
Membership sites have a lot to give you. And as a one-click-away partner supporting you, Strikingly listed all down for you.
- Increases sales
Who would not want additional money? With membership sites empowered with SEO, getting more revenues is never impossible. A paid membership site allows you to collect more audience for your business website. SEO on the other hand does its job in securing a smooth flow of traffic for your website. Strikingly is a platform that will offer you more than website design and the best SEO hacks you could ever imagine.
Designing membership sites gives you the capability to showcase more of your “charming points”. Unleashing your inner beauty through building a membership site will do more than giving you a marketing platform for your business. And how to do that flawlessly? Strikingly will show you the ways.
- Traffic-free
Website traffic is among the most common issues in the field of ecommerce and website building. Membership sites free you from all sorts of troubles like that. When you have your own membership site, you are immediately given direct access to information about your consumers. These include their contact information and email addresses. Information like this plays an important role at times during marketing periods.
There are tons of membership site ideas you could rely on in creating membership sites that will make your ecommerce world more exciting. Curious? Here’s more.
- Builds loyalty
Developing membership site ideas is like making a plan for a family reunion. You are considering tons of ideas on how to make every moment count. The happiness and contentment of the people involved are your top priority. The same way goes for designing membership sites. You do not just build it to add a section on your website or for aesthetic purposes, most importantly, you build it to build stronger relationships. Creating membership sites makes you more connected to your audience. You got all the chance to converse with them and hear what their hearts want from you as their provider. Having your own membership sites shows you more of yourself.
Best Example of Membership Sites Builder to Inspire You this 2021
You might currently be developing that interest to start dealing with membership sites. After all the perks it could give you, who wouldn't? If you are starting to be captured by membership sites' beauty, why not create your own? Don’t have any ideas? There’s nothing to be worried about because Strikingly got it all covered for you.
Take a look at these membership sites builder and be inspired to create yours this 2021!
- CMS Hub
- MemberPress
- Wix
- MemberSpace
- Wild Apricot
- YourMembership
- Morweb
- Weebly
- Membership Works
- Strikingly
Why Membership Sites Rock More with Strikingly
Strikingly isn’t just a website builder, it is an ally. It’s your personal helper to find the best among the best for you. With Strikingly, you are not only being offered a bunch of membership site ideas. Once you join Strikingly (which also comes in Free!), you are given access to a wide collection of amazing templates and features only made for our members. You can even add a custom membership form.
Curious and eager to know more? Chat with us and we'll tell you more.
