Community building is one of the most effective ways to build a loyal customer base. These customers can go on to become brand advocates, recommending your products to their friends.
And in case you
didn’t know, leads through referrals are 30% more likely to convert and have a 16% higher lifetime value, according to The Importance of Referral Marketing.
That’s why most top brands, especially in the SaaS market, have invested in building communities on independent platforms or third-party ones like Facebook, Discord, Kartra, and Reddit.
A membership site is one way to create a community of loyal customers. So, this article will show you how to set one up.
What is a Membership Site?
A membership site is a space on your website where you provide exclusive content to subscribers. Subscribers gain access to premium content such as high-quality newsletters, case studies, online courses, webinars, and virtual events.
Source: yoursoulcialmate.com/membership
Note that a membership site does not always require subscribers to pay. Sure, you can build a membership site to monetize premium content and get an additional revenue stream for your business.
However, some brands build free membership sites where the primary goal is community building, not monetization. They’ll then make money from the community through other digital products like premium online courses.
It’s also possible to create a site with several membership levels, including a free plan.
Simply put, it’s important to consider what your primary goal is to determine the specific type of membership site that’ll work best for you and your audience. If you’d like to dive deeper, here are more examples of outstanding membership sites.
A membership site is one way to create a community of loyal customers. So, this article will show you how to set one up.
6 Steps for Launching a Successful Membership Site
A subscription site creates gated content where users must sign up to access the content. Here is how to create one:
1. Understand Your Target Audience
Before you get technical and set up a membership site, you must deeply understand your target audience. This sets the foundation for everything else you’ll be doing, like creating content for the site, developing the value proposition, and so on.
Therefore, analyze your audience to determine their demographics and psychographics. Figure out their interests, aspirations, and pain points.
If you have an existing customer base, you can review your CRM for insights. Another technique is to analyze existing membership sites in your niche. Look at how the sites are set up, the content they share, the audience they attract, and their value proposition. You can also do additional independent research through online surveys and quizzes.
The analysis and your goal should help you identify the suitable membership model to adopt, i.e., paid vs free (or several membership tiers), and the tool that’ll get you closer to that goal. To learn more, read our blog article about membership pricing models that maximize revenue.
2. Create a Value Proposition
Once you’ve understood your audience—including their interests and pain points—developing a value proposition becomes much easier.
The value proposition tells your target audience why they should join your community. Aim for a unique value proposition that can help you stand out from existing membership programs in your niche.
Check out this membership site example:
Source: problogger.com
Problogger is very clear on what bloggers stand to benefit from this community.
3. Select a Membership Software
One of the most critical decisions you must make when setting up a membership site is picking the appropriate software to host it.
The software you choose will impact several things, including the users’ experience and your ability to scale and monetize the community.
When choosing a platform, consider your current and future needs. For example, is custom branding important to you? Do you need to publish different types of content formats, such as text, videos, and audio? Do you need a checkout system or payment gateways for paid users? Kartra is an excellent all-in-one platform you should consider.
4. Create High-Quality Content
Content will make or break your community. Remember, the whole point of creating a paywall or content gate is to ensure only subscribers can access your exclusive membership content. It wouldn’t make sense to have people sign up for generic content they can get anywhere, would it?
So, you must create high-quality content. The best approach is to launch with a significant batch of binge-worthy content. This helps you demonstrate the value of joining the membership site.
But if you want to reduce the churn rate and keep those members, you must consistently create fresh content. Make sure your content provides unique perspectives. You can also include original data from your studies. To learn more, read 4 Foundational Strategies for Improving Membership Retention.
Another brilliant way to keep your content engaging is to use different formats. In addition to long-form blog posts, white papers, and ebooks, you can create videos, host webinars, do expert interviews, and create podcasts.
Also, incorporate interactive elements like polls and questionnaires to keep users involved.
5. Market Your Membership Site
It’s time to make sure your target audience is fully aware of your membership site and its value. We recommend using a multi-channel marketing approach.
Use both paid and organic campaigns to promote your course on social media, search engines, and email marketing. Create a profile of your membership site on social media and use it to share some snippets of the premium content available on your site.
For example, you can use an AI summarizer to summarize a few insights from an exclusive case study. This type of content piques users’ interest, pushing some of them to check your membership site.
The ProBlogger membership site we mentioned earlier has a private Facebook group with 21K members, for example.
Source: facebook.com/groups/
Use paid advertising to target specific audiences who stand to benefit the most from your membership platform.
The other marketing strategy is content marketing. This involves publishing and ranking quality content from your website. You can create a blog and cover general topics closely related to the primary objective of your membership site.
Then, build links to ensure these blog posts rank on search engines. This will increase your membership site’s visibility and allow you to attract more potential customers.
To optimize the ROI of your marketing efforts, it’s worth considering partnering with SaaS marketing agencies, especially if you’re running a paid membership site. These agencies will can help you execute an effective content marketing strategy.
6. Collect Feedback
Finally, collect feedback from customers to identify areas of improvement.
Was the onboarding process simple enough? Do they like the content variety available? Are they happy with the content volume and schedule? What additional membership features would they like to see?
Use this feedback to improve membership experience and drive more value for your online community members.
Conclusion
Creating a membership site is a powerful way to foster a loyal community that supports your business and helps it grow. By offering exclusive content, you can engage your audience, provide ongoing value, and even open up new streams of income—all while building relationships that turn customers into enthusiastic brand advocates.
If building a community feels like the best next step for your business, now is the perfect time to get started. Whether you’re creating free memberships to nurture connections or paid ones to generate recurring revenue, having the right tools makes all the difference.
With Kartra, you’ll have everything you need to create, manage, and grow your online membership under one roof. From customizable membership sites to seamless checkout systems and integrated marketing tools, Kartra empowers you to launch your community with ease.
Ready to build a community that transforms your business?
Get started with Kartra, the best all-in-one platform to bring your vision to life.
Author Bio:
Eli is the Content Manager of Crunch Marketing. The company works with enterprise SaaS clients, helping them scale lead generation globally across EMEA, APAC, and other regions.
