Types of membership sites – .com – Wingdings Translator Online

In this tutorial we will see the four main types of membership sites that we can usually find: product, service, content and community.

The main types of membership sites

As we saw in , there are four types of membership sites that we can usually find:

Product membership site
Service membership site
Membership site content
Community membership site

We are going to see a little more about each of them to find out how they work, in which case it is advisable to choose one or the other, and which of them may be the most appropriate according to our strengths. We will also see hybrid models that combine several of these types. Let’s start with one of the best known, the product membership site.

Membership site for product or discovery marketing

The first of the types that we are going to see is the product or discovery marketing membership site. In this type of membership site we will send the client a product or product pack in exchange for the payment of a recurring fee. It usually works very well with surprise products, hence the discovery, although it is not mandatory to do it this way.

Stores, whether physical or online, can opt for this model. If you already have a product at a good price, you have suppliers that work well, and you also have stock available, this type of membership site may be the right one.

The operation in this case is as follows: The client pays periodically, normally monthly, a fee to receive at home, for example, the batch of surprise products that we have to send each month. Because he is signed up for this membership, this customer can discover products he likes that he might not have tried otherwise. This opens the possibility for you to order it from the store, or to go buy it if it is not an eCommerce.

This whole process contributes in various ways to your billing. On the one hand we have the payment of the monthly membership, and on the other, sales in your store. In addition, this opens up a world of possibilities, you can send a pack of products where you include some that for some reason you are interested in selling as a priority, either because you have more stock, because you have obtained a better price, or because you want to promote it for some reason.

The product membership site is a good idea for wine stores, craft beers, gourmet products, garden kits or kits to learn how to do anything, even conventional stores such as a physical shoe store or a greengrocer. It is not necessary to have an online store to opt for this model. Let’s see the next guy 🙂

Service membership site

The second type that we are going to look at is the service membership site. In this case, the client will pay us on a recurring basis for a specific service. That is, he pays us in exchange for our time.

Let’s note that it can be something similar to the product membership site. The difference is that instead of charging for a product, we charge for a service. Another difference is that it is usually not necessary to send anything.

The service membership site is perfect for freelancers who are good at what they do, and who want to offer their services to the public on a regular basis.

These services could be offered in person or online, for example using tools such as Skype or Hangout. They can also be more or less scalable depending on what it is.

The service membership site, as we have said, is recommended for independent professionals. Nutritionists, pediatricians, personal trainers, web hosting or maintenance companies, yoga or mindfulness instructors, consultants, and many other professionals can benefit from creating a service membership site.

Let’s keep in mind that this is still a service, we are simply offering it periodically in exchange for recurring payments. So far a brief summary about this second type, let’s learn a little more about the next one.

Membership site content

The third type that we are going to look at is the content membership site. In this case, the client pays on a recurring basis in exchange for access to specific content, as is the case in , where in exchange for a flat rate they have access to 6045 training videos.

It is a type recommended for people whose forte is to create content of what they know how to do. Normally we talk about digital content, be it audiovisual, books, PDFs, courses, audios, etc.

Community membership site

The fourth type that we will look at is the community membership site. In these membership sites, customers pay to have access to a group of people or a community for a specific reason.

If you move in a specific sector and have many contacts in it, it could be interesting to set up a membership site of this type to which you could belong in exchange for a monthly or periodic fee depending on the term we deem appropriate.

We could start a community membership site simply by having a method to make recurring charges, and a place, which may be online or not, where those people can establish conversations with the rest of the community. For example, a forum could be created, a specific social network for a group, or even a private Facebook or WhatsApp group in which you can only be a member if you pay the fee.

The hybrid model

So far we have seen the four main types of membership sites that are usually created. However, we can also find hybrid models that combine several of them or even all of them.

An example of a hybrid model could be a paid monthly membership that entitles you to regular access to a premium podcast, and also to belong to a private forum where you could interact with other listeners. As we can see, the membership site types of content and community are being combined here.

Another option would be a yoga course membership site in which there is a slack group to interact among students, or even face-to-face meetings.

Or even something more complete that has them all. An eCommerce that sells materials for crafts and that offers its customers, in exchange for a flat monthly fee, the periodic shipment of a kit to learn how to do something, an online course where the step by step is detailed, resolution of specific doubts via email , and also access to a community of members who share the same hobbies, there are many possibilities!

That being said, the ideal thing to do when starting out is to focus on one, and when the whole theme is working we can think about expanding our business and offering other options.

Summary and conclusion

There are four broad types of membership sites: product, service, content, and community. The product membership site is suitable for stores, and its operation consists of sending a product or a pack of products in exchange for a periodic payment. The service is recommended for independent professionals, and in this case the recurring payment is made in exchange for receiving a specific service on a regular basis.

On the content membership site, the customer pays to have access to content that is normally of the infoproduct type. And finally, in the community membership site type, people will make the payment to belong to a specific group and be able to interact in it. There are also hybrid models that combine several of these types.

Any business is likely to become a membership site, we just have to see, among other things, the type that is best for us. If you are interested in going deeper into this subject, we have available the , as well as a . And you already know, if you want to set up yours, we have about membership, online business or marketing in general so that you can get going 😉