Community Archives -

How to Create a Private YouTube Channel for Your Online Community (Free Workshop Inside!)

Haiden Hibbert — Fri, 24 May 2024 13:31:07 +0000

Haiden Hibbert

I'm a Content Manager at MemberSpace helping entrepreneurs and creators sell digital products.

If you’ve searched for a way to create a private YouTube channel for your community – chances are you’ve come up short or found a complicated workaround that requires a ton of manual work. There really isn’t a straight forward way to set your channel to private, but there is an alternative to manage access to your videos and provide exclusive content to a community of subscribers.

In this post, we’ll walk through how to set up a private YouTube “channel” on your own website! With this approach, you can embed your YouTube videos on your site, restrict access to them, and allow your community to subscribe for paid or free access to your content!

Join our free workshop!

Learn how top revenue generators set up their video libraries and sell access using MemberSpace. We’ll walk you through the process step-by-step.

Step 1: Set your exclusive videos to “unlisted”

The first step is to decide which YouTube videos you want to be part of your private subscription and then set them to Unlisted. You can change the settings for existing videos by opening up the video, clicking Edit, and changing the visibility from Public to Unlisted. For future videos, you will simply set the video to Unlisted before it gets published.

Making a video Unlisted means that anyone who has the link to the video can view it, but these videos don’t show to viewers in the Videos tab of your YouTube channel page or in YouTube’s search results.

Step 2: Install MemberSpace on your website

To protect your private video content, create subscriptions, and accept payments on your website, you’ll need to install MemberSpace. This takes just a few minutes and works with any CMS!

Step 3: Protect your YouTube videos

After installing MemberSpace, you’ll need to upload each Unlisted YouTube video to the MemberSpace backend. This will create Content Links, which provide the highest level of security for your videos and create a unique, secure link for each video that is only accessible to subscribers when they are signed in on your website. You can either place or embed these links on your website pages.

If you need some guidance on how to set up your pages, check out our free workshop that walks you through how to set up your videos on your website!

Access Tip: You can make your videos accessible to all paying customers, and/or use MemberSpace’s manual approval setting to grant access to new subscribers.

Step 4: Set a price for your videos

If you want to charge subscribers for your private YouTube videos, you can easily and securely do this with MemberSpace’s Stripe integration. You can also create a free plan if you don’t want to charge for some (or all!) of your videos, giving you the flexibility to offer a mix of free and paid content.

Step 5: Share your signup link

Once you’ve set up your YouTube video subscription, MemberSpace will generate a signup link that you can share with your community (anywhere you’d like – on your website, social media, email campaigns, etc). When clicked, the link opens up a sign up form on your website that requires people to subscribe and pay for access to your videos.

Final Thoughts

By following these steps, you can create a private YouTube channel on your own website, giving you full control over access to your content and the ability to monetize your videos. With MemberSpace, setting up and managing your subscription is easy, allowing you to focus on creating great content for your community. Sign up for a free trial today!

Join our free workshop!

Learn how top revenue generators set up their video libraries and sell access using MemberSpace. We’ll walk you through the process step-by-step.

How to Create a Private LinkedIn Community – Monetize your LinkedIn Group in 5 Steps

Haiden Hibbert — Wed, 22 May 2024 15:47:50 +0000

Haiden Hibbert

I'm a Content Manager at MemberSpace helping entrepreneurs and creators sell digital products.

If you’ve established a strong presence on LinkedIn and have an engaged community of connections, you might be wondering how to start monetizing your network. Creating a paid LinkedIn Group can be a great way to generate revenue while providing even more value to your community.

While it’s technically against LinkedIn’s terms of service to directly sell access to your group, there are still plenty of ways to monetize your online community without violating any rules. The key is to build a community membership on your own website using a platform like MemberSpace. By doing this, you can charge members for access to exclusive content, resources, or services, and then invite them to your LinkedIn Group as an added bonus.

Here are some examples of how you can monetize your LinkedIn Group:

Host a private podcast for your community members and, as part of the subscription, give them access to your private LinkedIn group. This way, they can discuss the podcast episodes, ask questions, and network with other listeners.
Sell an ebook and, with a purchase, invite members to join your LinkedIn group to discuss the book and related topics, network, etc. This creates a built-in audience for your book and provides additional value to your readers.
Create and sell an online course and give students access to your LinkedIn group when they purchase the course. The group can serve as a place for students to ask questions, share their progress, and connect with other learners.
Build and sell a content library of resources like templates, guides, etc., and invite your subscribers to your LinkedIn group.

Now that you have some ideas for monetizing your LinkedIn Group, let’s walk through five easy steps to make it happen!

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Step 1: Create a private LinkedIn Group

To open your new community, visit the LinkedIn Groups page on your account and click Create Group. You’ll need to add a group name, description, rules, location, discoverability (listed or unlisted), and permissions (public or private).

A couple of things to note:

You can’t switch your group from public to private once you open it, so be sure to make it private!
“Allow members to invite their connections” should NOT be checked off – you want to make sure you are the only one who can invite people (after they pay, of course!)

Step 2: Install MemberSpace on your website

To create your community membership, protect exclusive content on your website, and sell membership access, you’ll need to install MemberSpace on your website. It works with any CMS and takes just a few minutes to add the snippet of code.

Step 3: Set up your membership

In order to sell access to your community, you’ll need to set up a membership and protect the content that you plan on offering your members – your LinkedIn Group, a podcast, online course, etc.

To do this, open up your new MemberSpace account and go to Products > Add Product. Select Community and add the URLs for the pages you want to lock on your website, as well as the LinkedIn Group link (by clicking Include external link).

After you add your links, be sure to enable the Member Menu! This will add a floating button on the bottom right corner of your website that allows people to login/signup and then access links to your LinkedIn group, as well as your other membership offerings.

Step 4: Set pricing

Once you’ve created your membership, it’s time to decide what you’ll charge subscribers. MemberSpace has a built-in integration with Stripe, so you can process payments easily and securely on your website. Depending on how you structure your community, you can accept one-time, recurring, or multiple payments, and set up different membership tiers if you want varying levels of access to your community.

After you’ve set up your community membership and pricing, customers will be able to sign up on your website and pay via credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.

Step 5: Invite connections to join your LinkedIn Group

After members join your online community, you’ll need to invite them to your LinkedIn Group (there’s an Invite Members button next to the group name). If you’d prefer, you can also have your members request to join your group instead, and then you will add them. Just be sure to give them access to the group link via:

The Member Menu,
A welcome email (this can be automated with MemberSpace), OR
A community dashboard on your website

Final Thoughts

If LinkedIn is where your online community spends a lot of there time, it’s a great idea to consider monetizing your connections by creating a private, paid LinkedIn Group. The key is to create a membership on your own website using a tool like MemberSpace. This lets you charge members for exclusive community resources. After they pay, you can invite them to join your private LinkedIn Group as a bonus. To get started, sign up for a free MemberSpace trial!

Join our community of membership business owners!

Free resources, templates, and workshops to grow your business.

How to Create Prviate X (Twitter) Communities – Set up Subscription Payments in 5 Steps

Haiden Hibbert — Wed, 22 May 2024 14:03:48 +0000

Haiden Hibbert

I'm a Content Manager at MemberSpace helping entrepreneurs and creators sell digital products.

As a creator, you’ve probably noticed the growing popularity of X’s community feature. Similar to Facebook Groups, X Communities allow you to create open or private spaces where you can set community guidelines, moderate posts, and manage members. However, if you’re looking to charge members to join, X doesn’t offer a native way to monetize your community directly.

But don’t worry – there’s a simple “hack” you can use to create a paid community on X. By setting it to private and selling access through your website, you can turn your community into a new revenue stream.

Launch a paid X community!

The easiest way to accept membership payments or one-time charges for digital products like podcasts, online courses, communities, content libraries, and more — all from your own website!

Get started for free! 5 minutes to set up.

Step 1: Create your X Community

To get started, create your community, give it a name, and add a “community purpose.” Then, set your Community to “Restricted” so you can moderate who joins (by only inviting/accepting paying members).

Keep in mind that you can only create a new community if you have an X account that is:

At least six months old
Public
Connected to a verified phone number or email address
Not associated with a history of violating X’s Terms of Service.

Step 2: Add MemberSpace to your website

To accept payments for your X Community, you’ll need to integrate MemberSpace into your website. MemberSpace allows you to accept payments, manage member data, send emails to members, and grant access to additional community resources and perks, such as webinars, videos, group coaching, and online courses.

Step 3: Protect your community

To ensure all your new members can access your community, add your X profile URL to MemberSpace and enable the Member Menu. This will add a floating button in the bottom right corner of your website, allowing members to easily access your community link and any other resources you want to offer your members.

Step 4: Set a price for community access

MemberSpace has a built-in integration with Stripe, making it simple to accept payments on your website. To join your community, members will fill out a sign-up form and pay using their credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.

You have several options when it comes to pricing! You can charge members on a recurring, one-time, or multiple payment basis, or even offer free access (most communities opt for recurring monthly payments). With MemberSpace’s flexible billing options, you can also choose how often you charge members, the amount, and the specific date of the month.

Step 5: Invite new members!

Once someone signs up on your website and pays for access to your X Community, it’s time to welcome them in. There are two ways to do this:

Option 1: During the sign-up process on your website, ask members to share their X profile. This way, you can invite them to the community after they make a payment. Anyone who is invited by the moderator (you) are automatically approved.
Option 2: Share the community link in an automated welcome email, text message, or on a members-only page on your website. Members will then request to join, and you will approve them.

Final Thoughts

There are tons of benefits to selling access to your X community on your website, including:

Having total control over your pricing and membership offerings, so you can offer your members additional perks like a content library, private podcast, or community newsletter
Easier moderation and better security for your group because you will only be admitting paying members
Higher quality signups that lead to better conversations – again, payment helps weed out people who are not genuinely committed or interested in your content!

If you need any help setting up your private X community, let us know! You can get started with a free MemberSpace trial today.

Do Subreddits Make Money? How to Create a Paid Reddit Community

Haiden Hibbert — Wed, 22 May 2024 14:02:44 +0000

Haiden Hibbert

I'm a Content Manager at MemberSpace helping entrepreneurs and creators sell digital products.

If you’re a fan of Reddit, you’ve probably thought about starting your own subreddit at some point. And if you’re really passionate about your topic, you might have even wondered if there’s a way to turn your subreddit into a source of income.

I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that Reddit’s terms of service don’t allow you to directly monetize your subreddit.

But here’s the good news: there’s a clever workaround that allows you to create a paid community around your subreddit. The key is to build your online community on your own website using a tool like MemberSpace. This way, you can sell access to exclusive content, like a community newsletter or private podcast, and then give your paying members access to your subreddit as a bonus. In this post, we’ll walk through the step-by-step process!

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Step 1: Create a private subreddit

When you create your new subreddit, make sure to set it to private. This means it will only be visible and accessible to redditors you’ve explicitly allowed in, so you can control who has access to your community and ensure that only your paying members can see and interact with your content.

Step 2: Install MemberSpace on your website

Next, head over to your website and install MemberSpace. This is the tool that will allow you to create a membership program and protect your content. It’s super easy to set up, and takes just a few minutes to add the install code to your website.

Step 3: Protect your subreddit

Using MemberSpace, create a new product and add the URLs for your subreddit and any other community resources or perks you want to offer on your website. This could be things like private newsletters, podcasts, or even exclusive video content.

Once you add the URLs, make sure to enable the Member Menu option. This will add links to your subreddit and other community resources to a floating button/menu in the bottom right corner of your website (accessible only to paying members).

Step 4: Set a price for your membership community

Next, it’s time to decide how much you want to charge for access to your community. Think about the value you’re offering and what your target audience would be willing to pay. Remember, you can always adjust your pricing later if needed.

MemberSpace makes it easy and secure to accept payments on your website with the built-in Stripe integration. You can charge members however you’d like with a payment form on your site via credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.

Step 5: Share your subreddit with new members

Once someone subscribes to your membership program, send them an invite to your private subreddit. The easiest way to do this is to request that members share their reddit profile in the signup form. Then, you can visit the profile and click “Invite to community,” select your paid subreddit, and send the invite!

Final Thoughts

If you’re an active Reddit user and want to turn your account into a source of income, building an online community around a private subreddit is a great option. Launch a community newsletter or private podcast, or sell access to an online course or ebook. Then, invite your members to join your subreddit to chat about your content, ask questions, and get to know each other. To get started, sign up for MemberSpace for free today!

Join our community of membership business owners.

Free resources, templates, and workshops to grow your business.

How to Create Paid Facebook Groups – Accept Payments for Your Private Community

Haiden Hibbert — Fri, 17 May 2024 18:34:58 +0000

Haiden Hibbert

I'm a Content Manager at MemberSpace helping entrepreneurs and creators sell digital products.

Creating a private, paid Facebook Group is a great way for creators and entrepreneurs to build an engaged online community and monetize their expertise. And with nearly 1.8 billion users, Groups remains one of the top platforms for online communities (even despite Facebook’s declining popularity!).

So, how do you start charging members to join? The easiest way to create paid Facebook Groups is to sell access through your website and use a membership platform like MemberSpace to process payments.

There are tons of benefits to this approach:

You have total control over your pricing and membership offerings, so you can offer your community additional perks like workshops, a content library, or an online course
Requiring payment to join ensures that your members are genuinely interested in your group (AKA no spammy signups!)
By only providing the group link to paying members, your community will be more secure and easier to moderate
Many potential members already use Facebook, making it easier for them to engage with your content.

Launch a paid Facebook Group!

The easiest way to accept membership payments or one-time charges for digital products like communities, online courses, content libraries, and more — all from your own website!

Get started for free! 5 minutes to set up.

Step 1: Set up a private Facebook Group

If you don’t have your group set up already, you’ll need to create one and set it to “hidden” so people cannot find the community unless they have then link. Then, turn on membership approval so you can moderate who is able to join.

Step 2: Install MemberSpace on your website

To ensure only paying community members can access your Facebook Group, you’ll need sign up for MemberSpace for free and connect it to your website (it works with any CMS and takes just a few minutes to install!).

Step 3: Protect your Facebook Group

In this step, you’ll use MemberSpace to create a signup/login area on your website so paying members can access your group.

First, go to Products and add a new Community. This is where you’ll add the URL for your group. This will require members to sign up and pay for your community before they get access to the group link.

Make sure Member Menu is enabled. This will add your Facebook Group link to a menu in the bottom right corner of your website that is only accessible once someone logs in or signs up and pays for group access.

Step 4: Set a price for access to your group

MemberSpace integrates directly with Stripe, so it’s easy to accept payments securely on your website. Recurring payment is the most common option for online communities, but you can also choose from multiple payment, one-time payment, and free.

When someone goes to signup for access to your group, they’ll be prompted to pay via credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.

Step 5: Share your group with new members

Once you’ve added your Facebook Group to MemberSpace and set up your pricing, it’s time to make sure all new community members get access to your group after they sign up. There are a few ways to do this, so choose the one that works best for your workflow/business!

Option 1: Automatically redirect them to a members-only page that contains a link to the group, or redirect them directly to your Facebook Group. You can do this when you set a price for community access. Members will then request access and you’ll approve them (knowing the requests are only coming from those who paid and received the link via your signup process).

Option 2: Send out a welcome email to new community members with a link to the group. This can be automated with MemberSpace to send after someone signs up on your website. Like option one, members will request access and you’ll approve them.

Option 3: Add members on Facebook after they sign up through your website.

Paid Facebook Group Example – The Social Broker

The Social Broker membership community is a great example of how to create a successful paid Facebook group. By using MemberSpace, this community offers members access to a private group, along with other perks like coaching, guest speakers, customizable templates, and workshops. This model not only provides a sense of exclusivity and value for members but also generates a steady income stream for the business.

Final Thoughts

Creating a paid Facebook Group is a great way to build a community around your expertise while adding a new revenue stream. MemberSpace makes it easy to set up and manage your paid group. You’ll be able to control your pricing, decide what perks to offer members, and keep your group private and secure. To get started, sign up for a free MemberSpace trial, and let us know if you have any questions – our support team is happy to help!

How to Create a Paid WhatsApp Community – 5 Steps to Monetize your Group Chat

Haiden Hibbert — Fri, 17 May 2024 18:31:50 +0000

Haiden Hibbert

I'm a Content Manager at MemberSpace helping entrepreneurs and creators sell digital products.

WhatsApp is a great tool for creators, coaches, and membership business owners looking to offer a live chat to their online community. With features like sub-groups, announcement groups, polls, video calls, and file sharing, WhatsApp makes it easy to create a home for your members to interact with you and each other.

However, one key feature WhatsApp lacks is the ability to create a paid community. That’s where MemberSpace comes in! By integrating MemberSpace with your WhatsApp community, you can:

Provide members with a secure, private group link
Charge for community access directly through your website
Securely manage payments

Launch a paid WhatsApp Community!

The easiest way to accept membership payments or one-time charges for digital products like online courses, communities, content libraries, and more — all from your own website!

Get started for free! 5 minutes to set up.

Step 1: Open your WhatsApp Community

Anyone can create a WhatsApp community – all you need to do is download the app for iOS or Android. Once you’ve got the app installed, you can also use WhatsApp on your desktop if you prefer.

Step 2: Install MemberSpace on your website

Next, you’ll need to add MemberSpace to your website. Any CMS works! This will enable a signup/login area on your site so new members can pay to get access to your WhatsApp community.

Step 3: Protect your WhatsApp community

To ensure that only paying members get access to your private chat, you’ll need to set up a new Community in MemberSpace. Just add the name of your community and the URL, and then enable the Member Menu option, which will make your paid community link accessible via a floating button in the bottom right corner of your website.

Community Tip: At any point in the future, you can add more offerings to your membership community with MemberSpace, like coaching sessions, template libraries, or podcast episodes! Simply add your content to your website and add the URLs to your Online Community in MemberSpace.

Step 4: Set a price for access to your WhatsApp community

After protecting your community link, it’s time to set up your pricing! You can create one or multiple pricing tiers and charge customers a recurring subscription fee for ongoing access to your group.

Step 5: Share your community with new members

Once a new member signs up for your WhatsApp community, you can send them the invite link. The easiest way to do this is to copy the invite link and send it via email or text. You can use MemberSpace to send an automated welcome message including the link that will get sent out as soon as someone signs up on your website.

Final Thoughts

Combining WhatsApp and MemberSpace is a great way to create an exclusive, valuable community experience for your members. Setting up a paid WhatsApp community is simple and straightforward, even if you don’t have technical experience. With just a few steps, you can start accepting payments, protecting your community link, and inviting new members to join your group. If you’re ready to get started, create a MemberSpace for free today!

How to Create a Paid Instagram Community – A Better Alternative to Instagram Subscriptions

Haiden Hibbert — Fri, 17 May 2024 18:30:08 +0000

Haiden Hibbert

I'm a Content Manager at MemberSpace helping entrepreneurs and creators sell digital products.

Building a following on Instagram is no small feat – especially with the ever-changing algorithm and increasing competition among creators. So if you’ve managed to grow an engaged community on the platform, you’re probably wondering the best ways to monetize it!

While Instagram does have a paid subscriptions feature that allows followers to subscribe for access to exclusive content, it leaves you at the mercy of the platform’s rules and payout policies, which isn’t ideal when you’re looking for a sustainable and reliable source of income.

In this post, we’ll walk through a more flexible alternative to Instagram subscriptions – selling access to a paid Instagram account on your own website! This way, you remain in control of your pricing, your member data, and any additional perks you want to offer your community, like group coaching sessions, newsletters, or private podcast episodes – all in one place.

Launch a paid Instagram account!

The easiest way to accept membership payments or one-time charges for digital products like podcasts, online courses, communities, content libraries, and more — all from your own website!

Get started for free! 5 minutes to set up.

Step 1: Set up a private Instagram account

If you haven’t yet, you’ll want to start by opening up a private Instagram account, or setting your current profile to private. This is where you’ll build and grow your paid community, share exclusive content, host live Q&As, encourage discussions among your followers, talk to members in your DMs, etc.

Step 2: Add MemberSpace to your website

MemberSpace is the tool you’ll use to accept payments for your paid Instagram account on your website. All you need to do is sign up for MemberSpace for free and add a snippet of code to your website (this takes just a few minutes and we have install instructions for each CMS, so no tech expertise necessary!).

Step 3: Protect your Instagram page

Next, you’ll use MemberSpace to create a signup/login area on your website so you can share the URL for your private Instagram and accept payments for access to your account.

First, go to Products and add a new Community. Under Where is your product?, select An external link. This is where you’ll add the URL for your profile.

Be sure to enable Member Menu. This will add your Instagram profile link to a menu in the bottom right corner of your website (only logged in members can see the menu).

Step 4: Set a price for access

Once you’ve added your paid Instagram profile as a new product, it’s time to decide how much you’ll charge members for access! MemberSpace has a built-in Stripe integration, so accepting payments on your website is a secure and easy process. All you have to do is connect to an existing Stripe account or create a new one, and choose from one-time, recurring, or multiple payment and then indicate your pricing.

When someone goes to sign up for access, they’ll fill out your signup form and pay via credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.

Step 5: Share your profile with new members

As soon as someone signs up for your paid Instagram on your website, you’ll need to provide them with the profile URL so they can request to join. In addition to using the Member Menu, there are a few ways to do this with MemberSpace:

Option 1: Send out a welcome email that includes a link to your Instagram profile, so they can request to join
Option 2: Redirect new members to a “secret” landing page after they sign up for your community and include the link on that page. You’ll need to protect this page with MemberSpace so only members can view it.
Option 3: When someone signs up for access to your community, you can manually send them the link to your Instagram profile — this can be done via email, text, or any other method you prefer.

Final Thoughts

Creating a paid Instagram community can be a lucrative way to monetize your following and build a sustainable income stream as a creator. By using MemberSpace to accept payments and manage access to your private Instagram account, you maintain full control over your community, pricing, and other membership offerings! You can have everything up and running in just a few minutes, without any tech expertise required. Get started for free today!

How to Create a Paid Slack Community – 5 Steps to Monetize your Channel

Haiden Hibbert — Tue, 14 May 2024 19:53:04 +0000

Haiden Hibbert

I'm a Content Manager at MemberSpace helping entrepreneurs and creators sell digital products.

If you’re looking for a way to make your online community more valuable and engaging, creating a private Slack channel might be the perfect solution. As a creator, coach, or entrepreneur, you can provide your members with an exclusive space to discuss your content, share their experiences, and connect with you and each other.

The best part? You can easily monetize your paid Slack community using MemberSpace!

Launch a paid Slack community!

The easiest way to accept membership payments or one-time charges for digital products like podcasts, online courses, communities, content libraries, and more — all from your own website!

Get started for free! 5 minutes to set up.

Step 1: Create your Slack workspace and private channels

Start by creating a new Slack workspace. You can create multiple channels for your community members to discuss different topics, or even have different groups or cohorts get access to their own channels. Whatever you decide, make sure to make each channel private, so only paying members can access them.

Step 2: Connect your website to MemberSpace

Next, you’ll need to create a MemberSpace account for free and install it on your website. This is the tool you’ll use to add a sign up form on your website and accept payments for your paid Slack community. It takes just a few minutes to add the snippet of code and works with any CMS.

Step 3: Add your Slack workspace to MemberSpace

Once you’ve set up your Slack and MemberSpace accounts, it’s time to add your workspace URL to MemberSpace. This will ensure that your members are able to find it once they sign up and pay.

By enabling the Member Menu option, your paid Slack community link will be accessible via a floating button in the bottom right corner of your website.

Step 4: Set a price for access to your channel

Recurring payment is the most popular option for memberships, but you can charge your members however you’d like to join your community. MemberSpace offers lots of billing flexibility and integrates directly with Stripe to make payment processing secure and streamlined.

Once you’ve set up your pricing plan, members will be able to sign up and pay via credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay on your website.

Step 5: Automate new member invites

Because you’ve set your Slack channel to private, new members will need to be invited to join once they sign up on your website. Don’t worry – you can automate the entire process by 1) connecting MemberSpace to Slack via Zapier and 2) following the steps in the tutorial below to add external users to your Slack channel.

Private Slack Channel Example – Boss Project

MemberSpace customer, Boss Project offers a private Slack Channel (AKA “your online executive team”!) to members who sign up for the highest tier of their membership community, along with other perks like group coaching calls, a content library, and an online academy.

This is an amazing value-add for community members who want lots of support and guidance.

Final Thoughts

Selling access to a private Slack channel is a great way to launch an online community, share your expertise, and add a new income stream! You can also add your Slack channel to an existing membership as a way to increase the value of an existing community. To get started, sign up for MemberSpace for free!

How to Start a Running Club Online – Free Workshop Inside!

Haiden Hibbert — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 18:36:25 +0000

Haiden Hibbert

I'm a Content Manager at MemberSpace helping entrepreneurs and creators sell digital products.

Starting your own online running club is a great way to turn your passion into a profitable business. Not only can you bring together a community of like-minded runners, you can also provide valuable services like training programs, 1:1 coaching, route recommendations, private podcasts, and more.

In this blog post, we’ll walk through the how to start a running club online in just five steps. Whether you want to offer virtual coaching to athletes or build a worldwide community for beginner runners, this guide will set you on the right path.

Let’s get started!

Join our free workshop!

Learn how to set up your running club content library and sell access using MemberSpace. We’ll walk you through the process step-by-step.

Step 1: Define your club’s niche

First, determine what sets your running club apart. As the founder, what unique value can you provide to members? For example:

Training programs for specific race distances
Connections to expert coaches
Guidance on injury prevention
Running routes across different cities
Community support and camaraderie for new runners
Training for ultramarathons or trail running

Here’s an example from Rogue Running, an established running community, on their specialty in training programs:

From beginners prepping for their first 5K to advanced marathoners and trail ultra-marathoners training to go the distance, we train over 3,000 athletes per year with programs for nearly every person and race distance.

Rogue Running

Step 2: Build your running club website

Your website will be the home for all things related to your running club. This is where new members will learn about your mission, join the club, access training programs and route recommendations, connect with other runners in the community, and more.

To get your site launched quickly, use a user-friendly website builder like Squarespace, and choose one of their pre-designed templates that are easy to customize.

Make sure to have dedicated pages that speak to what makes your club unique. For example, showcase your specialty training programs, highlight member spotlights, and share race discounts or partnerships.

Need help setting up your website? Join our free content library workshop where we’ll walk you through the steps of how to add your content – your training programs, online courses, videos, etc – and sell access directly from your site.

Step 3: Set up a membership management plugin

While your website will function as the face of your running club, you need a way to manage memberships, payments, content access, and member communication. This is where a membership management plugin comes in handy.

MemberSpace is a plugin built specifically for managing memberships and selling digital products. With MemberSpace you can:

Accept one-time or recurring payments
Create membership packages
Gate access to premium content
Communicate with members
And more!

The plugin integrates with your website so you can protect any pages, posts, downloads, etc. behind a membership paywall. This lets you easily monetize the value you’re providing runners.

Step 4: Choose a membership model

When setting up your membership packages in MemberSpace, you need to land on the right membership structure that aligns with the value you provide.

Common options include free memberships, monthly or annual memberships, and one-time entry fees.

For example, you might offer:

Free: Access to a basic training schedule or guide
$10/month or $100/year: Access to private Facebook group, 8-week 5K and half marathon training guides, route recommendations, discount codes, etc.

Test different models to see what works best long-term. You can always change this later on!

Step 5: Protect your exclusive content

A key step in building your online running club is deciding what content will be exclusive only for paying members. As the club founder, you’ll put in significant time and effort creating training plans, curating route suggestions, coordinating group runs, recording podcasts, and more for your members.

So what should you make exclusive to paid members only? Here are some suggestions:

In-person running groups
Training programs
Video courses
1:1 coaching/feedback
Route recommendations
Member forums
Discounts

MemberSpace makes the process super easy by letting you gate access to pages, posts, downloads, forums, etc. behind your membership paywall.

Final Thoughts

Now that you have the foundation to start your own online running club, it’s time to launch and get the word out! Start by letting your personal network know through email and social media. Share what makes your club unique and how you’ll help fellow runners reach their goals.

Some easy ways to promote your new running club include:

Creating a Facebook Group to foster community
Joining local running Facebook Groups to introduce yourself
Offering discounts to the first 50 members who sign up
Creating a simple lead magnet, like a PDF guide, to earn email list subscribers that you can market to
Sharing photos of running routes, races, etc. on social media and using targeted hashtags

The most important next step is to launch your membership site with MemberSpace! With MemberSpace, you’ll have the toolkit to turn your passion into a profitable online running community. Get started for free today!

Join our free workshop!

Learn how to set up your running club content library and sell access using MemberSpace. We’ll walk you through the process step-by-step.

How to Start an Online Book Club – 5 Steps to Launch a Paid Membership

Haiden Hibbert — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 17:03:27 +0000

Haiden Hibbert

I'm a Content Manager at MemberSpace helping entrepreneurs and creators sell digital products.

Starting an online book club can be a great way for writers, creators, and business owners to connect with their audience, grow their community, and add another income stream.

As the host, you can position yourself as a guide through interesting books while also giving members special perks that make it well worth the price. Whether you’re an author promoting a new release, a thought leader growing a niche following, or a community owner looking for new member benefits, a paid book club can help you make more money from your expertise.

This guide will walk you through how to start an online book club, including the key steps of planning, building, and marketing your membership from scratch. Let’s get started!

Start an online book club!

The easiest way to accept membership payments or one-time charges for digital products like communities, online courses, content libraries, and more — all from your own website!

Get started for free! 5 minutes to set up.

Step 1: Make your book club worth paying for

The first step is determining what benefits, resources, and perks you’ll provide paying members to make joining your book club worthwhile. After all, there are free online book clubs people can join, so you need to demonstrate the additional value that members will unlock with a paid subscription.

Consider including some of the following perks:

Book recommendations from you as the expert host
Access to a private online community
Live video meetups with featured authors
Casual video chats where you connect more closely with members
Giveaways like signed books, merch, or prizes for members
Special workshops related to topics from the books

Book Club Tip: Get creative! The book discussions themselves will be meaningful, but the more you can position this like an exclusive community that happens to center on books, the better.

Step 2: Set up your book club website

Your book club needs an online hub for promoting membership details, facilitating discussions, and housing gated member content. The easiest way is to create a professional website through a user-friendly platform like Squarespace. Don’t spend too much time perfecting – you can always tweak the site later.

Focus on an easy-to-navigate site that clearly:

Explains overall book club concept
Highlights membership perks
Allows membership registration and payment
Includes blog/updates section
Features member community access

Step 3: Create members-only pages

With your website set up, it’s time to create gated content accessible only to paying members. This helps create a valuable, exclusive experience for your community.

Using a membership plugin like MemberSpace, you can easily restrict access to any pages on your website that include book club details, like book recommendations, workshops, author Q&As, and more.

Simply add the URL for each members-only page to MemberSpace. Then, when someones goes to visit the page, they will be required to sign up and pay or login to access it.

Step 4: Set up your paid membership

MemberSpace also allows you to accept payments for your online book club. You can:

Create pricing tiers like monthly, annual, or lifetime access
Accept secure online payments
Customize your registration form
View member data and activity

Once you’ve set up your subscription, you will get a unique sign-up link for your book club which leads to a payment form where members can input their billing details.

Step 5: Promote your online book club

Once your paid membership is set up, it’s time to focus on spreading the word to drive sign-ups! Here are a few easy marketing ideas to get you started:

Create social media posts highlighting the exclusive perks of joining like author Q&As.
Do short live videos showing a glimpse of the types of discussions held in the book club.
Send emails to your current followers and customers with details about the book club. Offer the first month at a discount to incentivize sign-ups.
Offer affiliate opportunities where followers can share links and promo codes and earn money for new sign-ups they drive to the book club membership.
Add a banner or pop-up on your website to promote the club. Offer something for free like a downloadable book, discussion guide or author Q&A to capture emails you can market to.

Final Thoughts

Launching your own paid book club is a smart move for creators, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs looking for a creative way to engage their online community and earn more income. If you need any help getting set up, let us know! We have a library of resources available on MemberSpace University to help you get started and grow your online business.

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Table of Contents

Step 1: Set your exclusive videos to “unlisted”

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Table of Contents

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Final Thoughts

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Launch a paid Facebook Group!

Table of Contents

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Step 3: Protect your Facebook Group

Step 4: Set a price for access to your group

Step 5: Share your group with new members

Paid Facebook Group Example – The Social Broker

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Launch a paid Instagram account!

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