Four examples of content you can develop for your membership website |

Creating content for your membership site may feel daunting at first pass However, it doesn't have to be. Try one of the templates that have been tested.

In the middle of night, you wake in a sweaty state then realize:

If you're like me, it takes at least two cups of coffee to escape the near panic and formulate a plan.

But since no one should need to consume that amount of coffee this late at night , except for writers working on an assignment deadline or students preparing for the dreaded finals season So, I've decided to provide my plan -- along with some examples different types of content you could make for your membership website.

#1. Resources that can be downloaded

Do you ever look for templates online when you need to create an entirely new book or put together an official form?

Pretty frequently, right? I do it all of every day. I'm in the theme gallery of Typeform anytime I need to make something stylish without sinking too much money or the rest of my day in it (or even worse, pestering designers).

Are you not a model individual? No worries. Downloadable resources don't require templates or forms, though those are one of the oldest examples.

They are particularly helpful when your demographic skews towards women and, indeed. More than twice as many women read ebooks as men.

And the success for creating short ebooks in Google Slides -- part of the suite that we mentioned in the previous section -- has been demonstrated. An entrepreneur makes use of Google Slides to make each of his lead magnets (short sweet ebooks that help him grow his email lists).

Open Jazz Studio includes audio downloads as well as leads sheets, transcriptions and workbooks in the services they offer for their Piano Access Pass membership program.

Guides and worksheets are an essential element of downloadable goods on membership websites.

It is possible to see an example of this via the " Quick Wins " bonus of the Smart Insights' membership program.

In terms of topics that you could tackle with your free materials, return to the drawing board , and consider your personas for your members. What kind of information can help them reach the objectives of your members?

It would be helpful to keep track of their progress? Make a checklist for them or a workbook.

Do you offer business consultations? Create an editable spreadsheet that allows them to enter their information and analyze important metrics.

The idea is obvious. If the content is beneficial to your members, it's content you should create..

#2. Mini-courses , tutorials and lessons

Speaking of being helpful, is there anything better than a step-bystep manual that actually backs up its advice with data and directs you in a clear direction?

(Probably it is, however I am bias about the data. This is a thing I do.)

Blog Biz School's Chantel Arnett is the the master at combining this kind of content and downloadable materials. Check out what she offers:

If her material isn't useful in the form of templates, she can use it by offering a quick and precise education about material relevant to her audience.

The good news is that mini-courses and tutorials don't necessarily require huge cost to create.

These can be as easy as screen share videos in which you guide participants through a specific series of things -- for example, doing a task using a program or even tips for preparing for an interview or unique how-to blog posts where you outline procedures in great detail.

But for the best outcomes, you should incorporate video in as many ways as you are able to. Videos can be used to provide on-demand instruction as well as improves retention for learners among other benefits .

Furthermore, it's far more user-friendly than an endless wall of text It's important to consider this considering that 67% of learners utilize smartphones for accessing learning materials.

Chantel isn't alone who's seen success through this kind of content by joining a subscription. MarketingProfs uses tutorials and video learning as a mainstay of their content to members and also.

Have you noticed that they've included additional items on the content list? If MarketingProfs has a best-selling book that's been two times and marketing mastermind Ann Handley does it and you're not surprised, then you're on the right path.

As a plus, now lets you keep track of a user's progress in your online classes, which is an additional reason to make use of this particular form of content whenever you look into the studies behind using and assessing videos-based education.

The content topics and inspiration will (again) boil down to what's relevant to the users who are accessing the content.

Luckily, with the ability to track your tutorials and mini-course success with multiple information points and not just comments and feedback from participants, but also the progression of the students when they work through their file files, figuring out what's beneficial is simpler than ever.

Content doesn't have to be static, however. If you'd rather engage members in a more direct way, think about this type of content to be included on your membership website.

#3. Interactive content

The snag with downloadable Mini-courses and resources is that they're passive in nature. However charming they are, they're an inert resource where the principal interaction occurs through observation.

It also adds more onus for you as a content creator to create more detailed content.

Eighty percent of professionals who work as marketers claim that their interactive content sets their brand apart from competitors.

Unlike the other materials The key is to be careful not to overly scholastic when it comes to interactivity. Even though a short quiz about the subjects that you have covered in your mini-courses could indeed be helpful, your audience chose the self-paced option for reasons.

As a minimum the students probably won't have time or energy to recreate a classic classroom experience regardless of whether they would desire it.

Instead, you should ensure that you keep your interactive contentspecifically, quizzesat a moderate level, similar to the content below .

If you have a membership that is geared towards fledgling marketers, for instance, you might develop the following questions:

What is your most loved burger toppings say about your best marketing strategy.

Select five colors, and I'll show you how marketing great you are.

Are you Don Draper or Walt Disney? Find out within two minutes.

This tongue-in-cheek kind of content could not appeal to the audience you are targeting, but here lies the rub.

As it's an interactive medium Your audience will let you know if that's an issue and allow you to alter your course.

For those who are more serious of matters, live webinars can be another type of content that you can produce for your members. As the name implies, it's content that you create in real time However, preparation must be planned ahead.

Entrepreneur Tiffany Williams offers regular webinars to her clients in her Rich Girl Academy program.

Every month, she picks a new topic of relevance to her listeners and then someone of the "team that includes Oprah" interacts with the audience via live training.

Because live webinars can be extremely time-consuming, this schedule is the perfect one to emulate for people who are looking to dive the depths of interactive content without overburdening their work load.

Polls and quizzes, on the other hand can be more flexible and can be created and released at any point. Once a week should be an ideal starting point however, if you notice your participants slowing down or showing poor engagement, consider spreading your quizzes further.

Then, top off your posts with a dash of the spoken word.

#4. Audio files and podcasts

The last type of content is part-interactive and part-downloadable , however it's such a different content form that what we've talked about to date, that it is worthy of an additional mention.

That's a pretty far cry from posts on blogs which average 37-second read time  regardless of how long.

The best aspect of this type of content:

Amy Porterfield makes usage of these as well, implementing several of the strategies that Justin utilizes to keep her listeners amused with informative interviews talking about relevant issues and trends in the field and giving listeners actionable tips.

Bottom line:

Audio files and live podcasts can be a simple, affordable form of content you can develop on your website for membership ahead of time and on a recurrent basis in addition to having such a the high level of audience engagement, they're definitely worth adding to your repertoire.

For the best results from the opportunity, you should invite speakers from industry and other creatives to talk about the latest trends within your field, as well as jam-packing a presentation with action-oriented advice to give your guests.

The loose lips could be a sinking ship, but for membership website content, they're the perfect floating device to ensure you're at the top of the customers' satisfaction wave.

The content of your blog

Making content for your website may feel daunting at first pass However, it doesn't have to stay that way.

Bear the following points in mind when you're searching for information:

Backups should be made to cloud storage systems. Data loss can have detrimental effects for small-scale businesses and with so many easy alternatives, there's really no reason for you to put your data in danger.

While you should create some content before you get going, you don't need to have everything ready on day one. You probably shouldn't. What your members respond to and connect with will inform your content plan as you go along.

Once you do dig in, start with downloadable materials like templates, workbooks, ebooks, and infographics.

Chances are that people are sign-up for your subscription in order to gain some thing. Deliver that desire with mini-courses as well as tutorials that offer easy victories throughout the day.

You can then mix it up with interactive content like quizzes, polls, and live webinars. These will transform your website's membership from dime-a-dozen to an engaging one-of-a-kind.

Then, relax your tongue and create audio files and podcasts.

Podcasts in particular have been wildly successful for other membership websites and are fairly easy to develop compared to other kinds of content.

Be encouraged. Although it may seem daunting in the beginning, once you've started to create content, you'll find your groove and your members will fit seamlessly with you.