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How to Adopt a Membership /Subscription Business Model

Dec 9, 2022

Contents

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    It's a lot cheaper and easier than you'd think!  

This guide will provide you with tips to aid your business make the transition to a membership-based model.

We'll first go over some of the benefits of the membership model before looking at some businesses that are well suited to moving to membership. Then, you'll be given ideas on how you can change your business.

If you're looking to end trading your time in exchange for cash and add a new income stream for your company or move your company away from the current structure and set up a membership site and this article can assist you.

Let's begin...

Benefits of the Membership Model

One of the greatest benefits of transitioning to a membership model is the possibility of recurring revenue.

Recurring Revenue

If you are able to sign for members through a subscription model, you'll be receiving payments in regular intervals in a regular manner.

Predictable Income

Recurring revenue is a guarantee. If you're an individual freelancer, or perhaps running an agency you'll be aware of the cycle of feast and famine.

One month you might be overwhelmed with work that you are able to handle. Other times you experience a drop in your income. Membership models can create a predictable income stream , which makes financial planning more efficient.

Passive income

Another big benefit that comes with membership is the possibility of an income stream that is passive. Although your venture will likely need a significant amount of effort in the beginning, as well as ongoing maintenance and upgrades in addition to administrative tasks that come with a growing list of members and their families, the possibility of the passive income can be greater than when you're merely an ordinary service provider.

If you decide to take a few days, or a week or perhaps a longer time off from work, depending on how you've set up your membership company, the funds will still come in from your existing members and sign-ups from new members.

Scalability

If you're used to running an organization where you're the main asset and the person responsible for all of the tasks, then another benefit of the membership model is the greater opportunity for expanding and outsourcing.

If you're planning to offer an online training program (more membership site ideas will be discussed later in this article) You can employ staff to work on the administration of your course as you concentrate on creating content.

For those offering access to assets, like stock images or code snippets that are available on a subscription basis like, say hiring experts to create these things.

The model of membership offers plenty of opportunities for automated processes, making it easier to outsource and grow over a normal freelance gig.

Recycle and reuse your Content

Instead of designing a single excellent WordPress site for one clientand moving to your next client, you could instead produce an excellent WordPress theme, and then make it available to all of your clients.

This is also true for many other items that you might be producing for your clients on a one-off basis. If you're providing services for coaching or consultation to clients, you can reuse your expertise in the form of videos or other instructional content you make available on your membership website.

Instead of working on a one-to-1 basis with people you serve, the membership site model allows you to reuse and reuse your talents or knowledge assets into the context of a one-to-many connection.

So now that we know some of the primary benefits of the membership model Let's look at what kinds of businesses can make the switch.

Businesses That Can Transition to the membership model

It's a good thing that with a bit of imagination, the majority of firms can make the switch into a membership-based model in some manner or other.

Coaching and Consultancy

People who are specialists in their field or who have enough knowledge that people pay them for their time, are ideal candidates for embracing the membership model.

Sharing your knowledge and experience by making it accessible behind the paywall of your site can be a great method of helping more users while earning regular earnings in the process.

Service Providers

Professional service providers like freelance graphic designers and coders can transition their business to the model of membership.

Designers and illustrators could start a subscription service where their customers have access to a set quantity of images from stock or editable templates per month, in exchange with a regular fee.

Developers could create products similar to the ones they develop for their clients and make these available to members of their group.

Product Businesses

There is also the possibility for makers of physical items to transition their products to a membership model. Boxes for subscription are becoming more well-known.

Instead of selling items that are available for purchase for a single purchase it is possible to switch to letting your customers register, join who then get products on a regular basis.

This has worked for beverages, clothes, coffee and even books to mention only a handful. There is no need to create the products, just someone who knows how to design a beautiful subscription box each month.

If you're unsure what your company can do to transition to a membership model the final section in this article provides suggestions on how to use your talents and knowledge to create a new membership project that's distinct from the current company.

Ideas for Transitioning to the Membership Model

Offer Productized Services

A possible alternative is switching from offering bespoke services to offering a standardized service. An example would apply to freelance writers.

Instead of approaching every client with a different approach and providing them with an individual service that is tailored to their specific needs, try creating just one offer and promoting it to your target audience. This could for example be a subscription package which includes four blog posts of 500 words each month, at a predetermined fee.

When you have a productized solution that your clients sign up, join the member program. Although you write unique content for each member, everyone is provided with the same content in the same format each month. This eliminates the negotiations, as well as other duties that go with giving every customer something unique.

A further benefit of providing productized services as part of your membership plan is that you'll be working using strict guidelines and protocols, rather than treating each assignment as an individual task. Because of this, outsourcing and scaling is much easier as your staff will be able to follow these procedures in order to provide the same service for all your members. Like companies such as Design Pickle have shown, this approach works well with graphic design. There's the possibility that it can be beneficial for your services.

Create Educational Content

As mentioned earlier, if people are paying you to learn, you are able to make money off that expertise and make it available to your paying members.

Develop a Community

Your role could be managing or hosting online events or something less hands-on like facilitating the interaction between your members. Transitioning fully to a membership-based model using this method could require adding more content and features to your membership, so that it can be more beneficial and allows you to charge more for access.

Begin a Whole New Venture

There may not be a way for your current company to transition but you'd still like to enjoy the benefits of the membership model like recurring income and serving a wider audience.

If so then it's time to begin your own business completely in a field that's unrelated to your current business, or at least separate from the business. Do you have hobbies or fields of expertise you think people might be willing to spend money to get connected to you or gain knowledge from your expertise?

Maybe you're an experienced piano player and would like to monetize this hobby through the creation of online instructional materials that teaches others to play. You might be a fan of fitness and enjoy inspiring people to be healthier and fit.

There's a possibility of creating an online membership website that is separate from your company, but that helps others learn how to begin working in the field you're currently working. If, for instance, you're a freelance photographer instead of converting your business into a membership model, you could create a separate membership website that teaches others how to start a career in freelance photography. Or maybe a membership site to help your customers to take better pictures can be a better way to monetize your skills.

If you have the proper equipment and a commitment to producing relevant content and the desire to promote your venture to your intended customers, developing a lucrative membership site is possible for lots of people.

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 who you're aiding.

Final thoughts

I hope that this article on how your business can transition into a membership model convinced you of the advantages of doing so and given you some suggestions on what you could do.

It's not easy and will drain you from your time that you spend on your existing business. However, the benefits can justify the investment, especially in the case where the concept of recurring earnings and regular income as well as the ability to expand and earn passive income, are appealing.

 Is your company ready to move to a membership-based model? Let us know, and ask us any questions you may have in the comment section below.

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