What is a membership site?

So in the last post, I jumped right into the benefits of membership sites but perhaps you’re new to the concept of membership sites. Here’s a post to give you an overview of what is a membership site and why it may be to your benefit to join one.

So let’s take one step back. A membership site is a members-only site that you either pay a one-time or ongoing subscription for exclusive training and content.

I’ve joined a few membership sites over the years. You may have already joined one and not even realized it. They can include closed forums, goal association groups, online classrooms and training, and tracking/project teams, etc.

They all the following in common:

1. They have one main problem to solve or goal to hit and it involves going through content and training provided.

2. You are joining a team of people who will share the journey with you. It’s very likely you may not personally know the team.

3. You’re all there to learn and share progress, and encourage.
   

Here are a few examples I’ve joined or am a part of:

• Rocking Productivity Academy by Jeff Sanders – A whole site dedicated to learning the ropes of being more productive with actionable steps.

• National Novel Writing Month, a non-profit community group. They rally behind the yearly challenge to write a novel during the month of November. There’s guides, tutorials, a forum and regional sites that offer in-person workshops.

• Platform University by Michael Hyatt. This group is focused on building your following and online brand to create a “platform” to reach your audience.

If you’ve never joined a membership, I can tell you there are 4 main benefits to joining one.

Accountability. Sometimes it’s easier to accomplish something for yourself if you know it benefits others more than it does you. A member site is a great way to finally commit to a goal or project you’ve been keeping on the back burner. You’re still only really accountable to yourself but any progress you make and share with your team will help inspire them as well. I’ve personally never would have pushed myself December 2016 to finish setting up my blog if it wasn’t for having a goal do to so in the Rocking Productivity Academy and submitting it to the Dreamiest Awards.

Flexibility There’s a reason you haven’t committed to take on more projects or set up more goals. Often, our schedules are already packed as it is or could be so unruly that we’re just not sure it can commit to a goal for more than a couple of weeks at a time.  A membership site is virtual and often, the content itself if pre-recorded and self-paced. This means that you can fit the training whenever and you are not bound to attend at a physical location.

Encouragement. This piece may be the most overlooked but powerful. Sure you join and work through the training on your own, but there’s something about seeing a running buddies’ post that reminds to push forward and finish whatever we set to accomplish. And even if there are crickets on the forums, usually the creator/leader of the membership site is actively interacting and giving advice, providing further reading, or links; making the site a full resource and at times the motivation you need to keep going.

Expertise. Packed with experience and resources, membership sites are a great way to take a crash course or push yourself to learn the basics on a topic. They are usually catered to a specific niche, with the creator/leader being an the expert within that field.

Whether you’re looking to build something or develop a skill, membership sites may be a great way for you to finally commit to accomplishing it.

Question: Is there an area in your life that you could see extra help move you in a positive direction? Which benefit appeals to you most and why?