Have you ever thought about creating a membership site?
Of all of the inquiries that I get related to my work, questions about membership sites are at the top of the list.
When I set out to leave the photo industry nearly a decade ago, I wasn’t sure what the exact path would be. Coaching? Speaking? Writing? Online courses? I was open to everything that would take me on the path that I was looking to travel. It turned out that creating a membership site- and then eventually multiple ones- was the thing that moved the needle towards creating the level of time, money and location freedom that we desired.
Within those memberships, I now teach about memberships. It’s been an honor to be a part of leading so many people towards creating and growing profitable memberships.
We did a mastermind call last week for accountability and goal setting for membership site owners in the group, and we had people creating memberships in niche fields such as solo cleaning, writing habits, IT/tech, Google ads, health and fitness, storytelling, interior design, real estate, personal finance, podcasting, faith and devotionals, entrepreneurship for pastors and more.
I am convinced more than ever that any niche, interest or industry can be turned into a profitable membership.
Often, it’s not the lack of information that holds us back from doing something we haven’t done before. It’s the belief that it’s even possible that prevents us from putting the full effort in.
In today’s newsletter, I wanted to share a list of a few types of people who have the potential to create, grow and gain total life freedom through memberships. Understand that you don’t need to possess all of these- often you just need to be in one category to make it happen.
1- The Hobbyist
Often, people stop themselves from starting because they don’t see themselves as “the expert.” But that could be a terrible mistake if you believe that. All it takes to have the idea side of the membership is to have a hobby that you are tremendously passionate about. People will psych themselves out or never believe something is possible because they have been trained to believe you can’t do what you love and make money at it at the same time.
But there are endless, profitable memberships that were built simply by a person who had a hobby and wanted to turn it into a business. Some examples are paid memberships based around knitting, surfing, fans of sports teams, enthusiasts of certain art scenes, yoga, home brewing, woodworking and many, many more.
2- The Industry Insider
In every industry, there are people who are insiders. They have their finger on the pulse of what’s going on. There are always early adopters and late adopters, and late adopters are appreciative of early adopters. Because early birds are always in the know, they provide insights, trends and updates for everyone else. They keep people informed and that’s extremely valuable. Every industry has- and needs- them. That information can easily turn into a paid membership that gets out to more of that specific industry. Examples of this include tech, beauty, automotive, finance, travel, gaming, and countless others.
3- The Natural Leader
This is another overlooked segment. Some people are just natural leaders and they often take it for granted. They find it easy and fun to bring people together. Because it comes so easily, they don’t see the value inside of it. Most people are looking to be led. They aren’t looking to lead.
The natural leader can walk into nearly any hobby, interest or industry and lead in this regard. They understand what it takes to create an environment where others feel welcome and safe, and people don’t like leaving those situations. They know that they don’t need to be experts. As a leader, they have the ability to build the tribe and bring in the experts to be, well, the experts.
4- The Skilled Networker
Again, they don’t have to be “the expert.” They just know all of the experts. Not only do they know the experts, but they seem to know everyone. Like a natural leader, they can bring people together. They might not have the leadership skills yet that The Natural Leader has, but they seem to always be in the right place at the right time, always know how to connect with people, and they have built so much trust in their careers and lives that people just want to be around them.
And because they are so connected, they add value to their members because they help them make connections that they otherwise would never have had. The options are all on the table for The Skilled Networker
5- The Content Creator
Do you host a podcast? Do you write a blog? Do you create videos for YouTube? Are you prolific at creating social media content? Is it refined to a specific niche or for a certain type of person or group? In doing so, have you built any type of following?
If so, you are set up to create a membership. The better your free content is, the more likely your followers will be to join a paid membership when you show them the benefits. The more faithful a following that you have, you will have built something where your followers will often join a membership just because they get greater access to you, your teachings, and your network.
6- The Coach
They have the expertise. They have the knowledge. They often have the trainings, manuals and information. They have leadership abilities. They just don’t have the time and they might not have the recurring online income to give them better income streams, time freedom to breathe for themselves and expand their business. The coach often just needs a shift in perspective and a different type of business plan to go from working 1:1 to working one to many.
7- The Service Based Business Owner
They already have a business, but not unlike the coach, it’s not optimized for recurring income. For the service-based business owner, there might not even be online income that they can add quickly. Many service-based business owners have created memberships where customers can “jump the line” and be top priority when it comes to availability. Others have created a list of services that can be done on a continual basis that is an additional value that is created as a membership. There are countless options that can be created from this.
These are just a few of the types of people that can create a paid membership from what they already have. If you see yourself in any of these categories, respond to this newsletter and let me know what it is.
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Do you want to know if your idea could be a potential membership? If so, our team is opening a few complimentary spots to brainstorm YOUR idea. These are absolutely free, but they will have limited availability. If you want a spot, email us directly at vincent@totallifefreedom.com.
Have an AMAZING week!
Vincent
