A Membership Site is a website that only allows members to visit.  These sites usually require members to pay a monthly fee to belong.  The common point of interest amongst the members is passion for a particular topic.  It may be about a particular type of fish, or a particular type of cooking, or a particular sport.  The owner of the membership site is usually considered an expert on the topic.  Although almost all members join the site because of the promise of information on their chosen niche, many of them continue paying for their membership because of a sense of community.  If you are passionate about a particular topic, there are probably thousands of people in the Internet universe who are also very passionate about that topic.  If this is you, you can own that membership site.

Why would you want to operate a membership site?  I am sure that some people answer that question by saying that their passion drove them to begin the site.  However, I am sure that many people do it for the money.  Those passionate members are each paying a monthly fee to belong.  Even if it is only $10 per month, a site with 250 members results in an income of $2,500 per month.  Once the site is built and you have those paying members, the time cost of maintaining this site is a part time job.

What does it take to start a membership site?

1. First you need a topic.  More specifically, a niche topic.  As we have already stated, it is best if the owner are passionate about this topic. 

2. The second requirement is content.  You need to have high quality content in order to both attract and retain your members.  Don’t forget, they are paying you a monthly fee and expect quality in return.

3. Another quality that will help you to have a good membership site is some technical expertise.  The membership site will require special software to maintain memberships.  The forum will also require software.  Knowing how to install and maintain the various types of software will be a valuable ability.

4. The fourth item is optional but I believe it is necessary in order to create the sense of community.  A forum.  This allows the members to share information and questions with not only you, but each other.

There are alternatives to running your own membership site.

1. Locate a partner.  If you have the content ideas, you can find a technical partner.  This obviously would require some legal papers in order to determine how work and profits are shared.

2. Locate a membership site that offers an affiliate program.  The site owner has already created this site and will share the profits with people who market the site.  You would find potential members and in return receive a monthly residual for all that join. That residual is quite often 50% of the membershipfee, but may be a different percentage as well.

3. There is one more model that borrows from the first two. In this model you are charged an up front fee, and you then get to keep all the monthly fees from the members you find.  In addition to the fee you pay to join, there may be a monthly fee as well.  Again, you find new members, and the site’s owner finds a topic, suitable content, and a technical support team. A good example of this structure is the new MemberSnap system started by Eric Louviere. You can read  more about the inner workings of this method by visiting the MemberSnap site.

Start your Membership site out of passion; continue it for the residuals!

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