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In time, establishing 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 real? It might be. This is a tricky one since you do not want such a high value from the community for free that members who don't pay have no reason to join your paid membership community.

And if there is already an active, non-profit group in your sector, do you have your own unique selling point to attract people from the community they're currently with - and where they know people and have an established reputation to be part of your community?

If so, power to ya. If not, think about ways to join this vibrant community to make yourself a respected part of it. We'll discuss that soon. Two popular platforms to create communities for free are Facebook Groups and discussion forums. If you decide to go with Facebook it is recommended to create the use of a closed Facebook Group where non participants will be able to view that the group exists however they aren't able to join without having been approved by the group's organizer. If you've created an public group, discussions which take place tend to revolve about the least common denominator , and rapidly degenerate. You want to create an inviting, welcoming environment to encourage people to participate as they do in your membership. Facebook is also a place where you can find completely unnoticed "secret" groups, which are invite-only group, however, you shouldn't need this since you're using it for an end-of-the-line source, and must be discoverable.

One of the biggest problems with Facebook is the fact that you're being a part of someone else's sandbox. If they alter the rulesas they have done in the past and your group could vanish overnight. Controlling the situation and taking less risk is important, given the amount of time and energy that is required to establish an effective community. A free to join discussion forum could also be an effective community option. Find out if the software that you're using in your membership permits you to set up a spin-off community in front of the paywall.

In any case, be sure to clearly state the rules of your community and prepare to moderate discussion as needed. If you have moderators within your paid community, expand their responsibilities to include guarding the community that is free as well.

In conclusion, I would strongly recommend creating a formalized free or. paid content strategy. When you've got one in place, you are able to start the discussion within your free community by sharing your content for free and thus promote your paid membership without being pushy.

Whatever the location you choose to manage a community that is free it is going to be necessary to put a lot of time into participating there, especially in the beginning. You must be the one to establish yourself as the chief of the group and an industry professional. Provide a lot of value in the beginning, and answer questions thoroughly and quickly. But as time passes forward, and you're sure to have a critical mass of participants and you are able to do so, then withdraw your participation from the group that is free. As an example, inform your members know that you'll be there on Fridays and Tuesdays for questions or to participate. If they'd prefer to talk to you faster, then there's always a person available to talk with them in your paid membership community forum.

You also need to leave more specific answers to your inquiries as the time passes. Give answers by any means, but do not give away the full information as you would members who pay. Offer a sample and guide the member of your community towards your paid membership, where they'll find the full answer to that question and other questions. It's also beneficial if you can point 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 it is essential to have a method to capture leads and get prospects into your marketing funnel. This means downloading your lead magnet, and then begin receiving your email nurture sequence. Make sure you do this.

Also make sure you're regularly advertising your paid membership in your free community. Be respectful, not pushy or obnoxious about it. Instead, you should include links to all of your free material (which of course contain lead magnets that allow opt-ins across the content), podcast episodes, announcements of new features to your paid membership, and promotional offers to encourage the conversions.

Only create a free community after very careful consideration on your part. It's a long-term investment similar to hosting your own podcast, but if you can get momentum, you can start the race for an annual membership fee!

Become a leader in existing communities

If there are several communities online that focus on your area of expertise You can join them and frequently contribute to, assist others, and contribute the value rather than making a fresh start by creating your own competitive community.

The idea of this could be thought of as an extension of your existing social plan and it should form part of your weekly process. Also, you should keep a list of the Facebook and Twitter interactions that you wish to achieve over the course of a week. Participating in these no-cost community sites one of the primary things on the checklist. Get it on your calendar and stick with it, as if your involvement is spotty, you're in the wrong place as you'll not be noticed or stand out significantly.

Over time if you're consistent with this, you can build up a reputation as an authority that individuals will be interested in and join in with these communities that are free. Please don't believe that you shouldn't infiltrate another's community with spammy, salesy junk. This will earn you an unintentional ticket to end of the road, courtesy of your community's coordinator. Follow their rules, only advertise your membership in the manner that is permitted in your natural influencer plan the first priority is to be a helpful person that adds a lot of value to the community.

Reddit and Quora

Reddit and Quora are often overlooked sites that can serve as a compass for people seeking information online. I'd be shocked if you searched those two websites and didn't find anything relevant to your topic.

Responding to questions in Quora and Reddit related to your membership space creates the gift that keeps on giving. If you're a valuable source on these sites you will be able to find people's answers repeatedly.

It is possible to add participation in these websites in your social media strategies checklist as well. Even if you check the sites every month , or even once per quarter, make sure you have some sort of visibility if your area is mentioned on either site. Spend an hour searching those sites to find questions that you could answer or threads you can add something of value to. If you can write up more than a dozen responses within that hour, you've planted little seeds that eventually will bear fruits as these threads are referred to time and time again 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: be first helpful, then be even more useful, and then you'll be extremely helpful, giving so much value there's only one option left for your target audience to pay you money for additional delicious, sweet value.