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How do you adopt a membership Subscription or Membership Business Model?

Dec 9, 2022

Contents

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    It's easier and more affordable than you think!  

This guide will give you tips to aid your business transition to the membership model.

First, we'll cover some advantages of the membership model prior to looking at some businesses which are well-suited for making the transition. In the end, we'll give you suggestions on how to move to membership.

If you're looking to end trading your time in exchange for cash or add an additional revenue stream to your business, or transition your business to a different model and create a membership site, this guide can help.

Let's begin...

Benefits of the Model of Membership

One of the best benefits of transitioning to the model of membership is the potential for recurring revenue.

Recurring Revenue

If you can sign up members up on a subscription basis that means you'll receive payment in regular intervals on a consistent basis.

Predictable Income

Recurring revenue is a guarantee. If you're a freelancer or even managing an agency, you'll be acquainted with the cycles of feasting and eating.

One month you might have more work than you are able to handle. Other months , you may see a decrease in your income. Membership models can generate a more predictable income stream , which makes financial planning easier.

Passive Income

A further benefit that comes with membership is the possibility of the possibility of earning passive income. Although your venture will likely need a significant amount of effort upfront in addition to periodic maintenance and upgrade and administration tasks for a growing list of members and their families, the possibility of the passive income can be greater that if you're simply a regular service provider.

If you decide to take just a couple of days, or a week or more time off according to how you've organized your membership-based business, money will still be coming from existing members as well as new sign-ups.

Scalability

If you've been operating an organization where you're the primary asset and the person that does the majority of the work The other benefit of a membership-based model is the greater opportunity for scaling and outsourcing.

If you're offering an online training program (more tips for creating a membership website are available later in this piece) You can employ personnel to handle the administration of your course and you can concentrate on the creation of content.

For those offering access to resources, for instance, stock images or code snippets that are available on an annual basis such as, for instance, you could employ individuals to assist in the creation of the things.

Membership models offer plenty of scope for automation and processes, making it easier to scale and outsource than a regular freelance gig.

Recycle and reuse your Content

Instead of designing a single amazing WordPress site for one clientand moving to the next project it is better to create a high-quality WordPress theme that you can make accessible to all your customers.

The same applies to many other items that you might be producing for your clients in a single-time basis. If you provide services for coaching or consultation to clients, you could reuse your knowledge and create videos and other educational content to make available on your membership website.

Instead of working one-to-one basis with the people that you assist, the membership site model lets you reuse and reuse your talents, knowledge, and other resources to create the context of a one-to-many connection.

Now that we've uncovered some of the primary benefits of the membership model Let's look at what kinds of companies can benefit from the transition.

Businesses that are able to transition to the membership model

The good news is that, with some creative thinking, most businesses can transition into a membership-based model in some way or another.

Coaching and Consulting

Experts in their area, or at least possess enough expertise to ensure that customers are already paying them for their time, are ideal candidates for embracing the model of membership.

The sharing of your experience and knowledge and making it available through a paywall on your website can be a great means of helping other people while also earning recurring revenue.

Service Providers

Service providers such as freelance graphic designers and coders can transition their business to the membership model too.

Designers and illustrators could start a subscription service where their members get access to a set quantity of images from stock or editable templates each month in exchange for a monthly fee.

Developers can create similar products as those they create for their clients and make them available to their members.

Product Business

It's also possible for creators of physical items to transition their products to a membership model. Boxes for subscription are becoming more popular.

Instead of selling products that are available for purchase in one time it is possible to switch to letting your customers register, join who then get products in a consistent manner.

This has worked for beer, clothing, coffee, and books to name only a handful. There is no need to have the idea of creating the products, just someone who knows how to design a beautiful monthly subscription box.

If you're unsure the best way to move your company to the membership model, the last section of this article offers suggestions on how to use your talents and knowledge to create a new membership project that's independent of your existing business.

Tips for transitioning into the model of membership

Offer Productized Services

One option is to switch from offering bespoke services to creating a productized service. An example would apply to freelance writers.

Instead of approaching every client differently and offering them an individual service that is tailored to their specific needs, try creating just one package and advertising it towards your intended audience. It could, for instance, be a subscription plan that includes 4 blog posts of 500 words each month, at a predetermined cost.

When you have a productized solution where customers sign up, join the subscription program. Even though you're producing unique articles to each subscriber, everybody is provided with the same content with the same format every month. This removes a lot of the negotiations, as well as other chores that are associated with providing every customer something unique.

Another benefit of offering productized services as part of your membership plan is the fact that you'll work with strict procedures and processes, rather than treating each assignment as an individual task. Due to this, outsourcing and scaling are simpler since the staff can follow these systems for the same level of service for all your members. Like companies such as Design Pickle have shown, this approach can be used with graphic design. There's a good chance it could be beneficial for your services.

Create Educational Content

In the past, if people are paying you for your expertise, then you could make money from that expertise and share it with those who are paying for it.

Build a Community

Your job could involve managing online and hosting events or something more hands-off for example, directing the activities with your members. Completely transitioning your company to a membership-based model using this method could require adding more content and features to your community, so that it can be more beneficial and allows members to pay more to access it.

Create a completely New Venture

Maybe you can't see the way to allow your business to make the transition but you'd love to enjoy the benefits of the membership model like recurring income as well as serving a larger audience.

If that's the case it's possible to start your own business completely with a subject that isn't related to your company or, at the very least, separate from it. Are there any interests or fields of expertise you think people might be interested in paying to communicate with you about or learn from your expertise?

Maybe you're an experienced pianist who would like to make money out of this pastime by creating online training material for others to learn how to play. Maybe you are a fitness enthusiast and want to inspire people to be healthy and fit.

You could even create your own membership website which is distinct from your company, but that helps others learn how to begin working in your current field. If, for instance, you're an independent photographer instead of converting your business to the membership model, you could create a separate membership website which teaches other photographers how to start a career in freelance photography. Perhaps a site for membership which helps users to take better pictures is a more appealing way to monetize your skills.

With the right tools and commitment to creating useful content as well as a willingness to market your project to your target group, creating a successful site for membership is possible for lots of individuals.

Remember you don't have to be the best in the field you're interested in It's just important to understand more about the people you're helping.

Final thoughts

This guide to how your business can transition into a membership model sold you on the benefits that come with it and also given you some ideas on what you could do.

This won't be an easy task, and it'll take from your time that you invest in your company. But the rewards can justify the investment, especially if the idea of recurring revenues and predictable earnings, along with the possibility to grow and create an income that is passive, appeal to you.

 Is your company ready to move to the membership model? We'd love to hear from you and ask us any questions you may have in the comments below.

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