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Over time, creating an open and free online community has the ability to provide all of the top of funnel leads that you'll ever require. Sound too good to be true? It might be. It's a difficult question because you want to avoid putting to provide so much value through the unpaid community that paying members aren't enticed to sign up for your paid-membership community.
In the event that there's a thriving, free group in your sector Do you have the unique value proposition to draw people away from the place they're already comfortable being part of - the place they know people and have established a name - and join yours?
If you are, then good luck to ya. If not, you should think about ways to join that existing thriving community and be a valuable participant. We'll discuss that shortly. Two popular platforms to create a free community are Facebook Groups and discussion forums. If you choose to use Facebook, we recommend the use of a closed Facebook Group where non participants are able to see the group is there and can join in until they have been approved by leader of the group. If you've created an open group, the discussions which take place tend to revolve about the least common denominator and rapidly degenerate. The goal is to make an inviting, welcoming environment so people actually participate, just like within your subscription. Facebook has also hidden "secret" groups, which are invite-only groups, but you don't require this because you're using it for an end-of-the-line source, and must be easily found.
The biggest pitfall that comes with Facebook is that you're essentially playing in someone else's sandbox. If they change the rulesas they have previously done the community could disappear overnight. Being more in control and taking lower risk are important considering the time and effort it requires to build an effective community. An open discussion forum could also be an effective community choice. Find out if the software that you're using in your membership permits you to set up an independent community outside of the wall.
Either way, clearly post the rules of your community and prepare to moderate discussions as required. If there are moderators in your paid community, expand the area they are in to include the community that is free as well.
Once again, I strongly advocate establishing a formal free and paid. paid content strategy. Once you have one in place, you are able to start discussion in your free community using your free content and thereby promote your paid subscription in a way that is not pushy.
Whatever the location you choose to host a free community it is going to be necessary to put a lot of effort into it, especially in the beginning. You must establish yourself as the leader of your group as well as the expert in your field. Provide a lot of value up front and answer questions thoroughly and promptly. As time goes along, as long as you've got an adequate number of members, you should pull your participation in the group that is free. For instance, let your group know you'll be there on Fridays and Tuesdays to answer questions and participate. If they'd prefer to talk to you faster, then there's always a person available to talk with them within your community of paid members forum.
It is also important to provide some less specific responses to inquiries as the time passes. Give answers by all means, but don't give away the full information as you would a paying member. Offer a sample and guide the member of your community to your membership that is paid for so they will find the complete answer to the question, and other questions. It's also helpful when you are able to point them to the content in your membership that can answer specific questions that are asked by your group for free. Similar to any other channel for acquisition, you need a way to capture leads and get potential customers into your marketing funnel, aka download your lead magnet and start sending out your email nurture series. Make sure you do this.
Make sure that you're consistently advertising your paid membership in your community that is free. Be respectful, not pushy or obnoxious about it. Instead, you should include links to your entire free content (which obviously include lead magnets for opt-ins throughout the piece), podcast episodes and announcements about the addition of your paid membership, as well as special promotions to help drive the conversions.
Make sure you create a free community with careful thought on your part. It's a long-term investment as is creating your own podcast but if you can get the momentum going, then you're off to the races toward the paid membership!
Be a role model in your current communities.
If there is any or more online communities that are devoted to your area of expertise You can join them and regularly contribute, help others, and contribute the value rather than reinventing the wheel by starting your own competing community.
The idea of this could be thought of as an extension of your social strategy , and is an integral part of your weekly process. In other words, you should be able to keep track of all your social media activities you want to engage in throughout the week. Make participating in these free groups one of the top points on your checklist. Get it on your calendar and commit to it because if your participation is spotty, you're in the wrong place as it's unlikely to be recognized or be noticed in a meaningful way.
If you're persistent to this method, you'll build up a reputation as an expert who is worth the attention of and look out for in these communities that are free. Please don't believe that you need to bombard someone else's community with salesy, snarky emails. That will get you a one-way ticket to the exit courtesy of the group's organizer. Be sure to follow their guidelines, and only advertise your membership in the manner that is permitted in your natural influencer plan The first goal is to become a helpful person who provides a lot worth to the group.
Reddit and Quora
Reddit and Quora are often overlooked sites that can serve as an all-in-one resource for those searching for something on the web. I'd be shocked by the results of a search on these two sites but found nothing relating to your membership topic.
Answering questions to questions on Quora as well as Reddit relevant to your area of membership creates the gift that keeps on providing. If you are a helpful source on these sites users will see your answers repeatedly.
You can add participation in these websites in your social media strategies checklist as well. Even if you visit these websites once per month , or even once per quarter, make sure you have some sort of engagement if your business area is mentioned on either website. You should spend an hour looking through these sites to find questions that you could answer or threads you can provide something useful to. If you are able to write 12 responses in the time, you've planted seeds that will eventually produce fruits as these threads and questions are referenced repeatedly at some point in the future.
When you're on these sites be sure to remember that one of the most important rules for marketing: first be friendly, then you can be more useful, and then you'll be truly helpful in providing so much value that you have no choice but that your intended audience give you money to get additional sweet, sweet value.