- PPF Points
- 2,888
Launching a paid membership site? Wild ride. It’s honestly one of those things that pays off way beyond the money—like, yeah, the cash is nice, but getting plugged into a crew of people who get hyped over the same nerdy stuff? That’s gold.
My first shot at it, I went niche: teaching freelance tech writers how to snag clients that actually pay what you’re worth (instead of peanuts). Kept it bare-bones at first—a couple juicy guides, a locked-down forum, and some monthly live Q&As where we’d all just hang out and swap war stories. Here’s what hit me fast: folks weren’t really shelling out just for PDFs or whatever. They wanted to get in the circle. They wanted actual humans to talk to, and a place where everyone’s rooting for each other. That’s the secret sauce.
Tech-wise? Way less scary than everyone makes it sound. WordPress + MemberPress, or stuff like Podia or Ghost if you want it all out-of-the-box. You don’t have to be some code wizard. The big thing is how you pitch it. I started with a dirt-cheap $9/month plan—just to see if anyone cared. Once a few people hopped in, I built out some pricier “premium” stuff, like direct coaching. Dumbest move I made in the beginning was not bugging my members for feedback. Once I started actually asking, “Hey, what do y’all want more of?”—boom, people stuck around way longer.
Recurring revenue? Ugh, so good. A course or ebook is a one-hit wonder, but a good membership site? It’s like a snowball—just keeps getting better as you pile on more value and the community vibe gets stronger. Forget “go big or go home,” you literally don’t need a massive audience. I’ve seen people killing it with, like, 50 die-hard fans, as long as the niche is tight and what you’re offering isn’t just generic fluff.
If you’re thinking about spinning up your own membership thing—seriously, what’s your weirdly specific superpower that people would pay for? I bet there’s a group out there just waiting to geek out with you.
My first shot at it, I went niche: teaching freelance tech writers how to snag clients that actually pay what you’re worth (instead of peanuts). Kept it bare-bones at first—a couple juicy guides, a locked-down forum, and some monthly live Q&As where we’d all just hang out and swap war stories. Here’s what hit me fast: folks weren’t really shelling out just for PDFs or whatever. They wanted to get in the circle. They wanted actual humans to talk to, and a place where everyone’s rooting for each other. That’s the secret sauce.
Tech-wise? Way less scary than everyone makes it sound. WordPress + MemberPress, or stuff like Podia or Ghost if you want it all out-of-the-box. You don’t have to be some code wizard. The big thing is how you pitch it. I started with a dirt-cheap $9/month plan—just to see if anyone cared. Once a few people hopped in, I built out some pricier “premium” stuff, like direct coaching. Dumbest move I made in the beginning was not bugging my members for feedback. Once I started actually asking, “Hey, what do y’all want more of?”—boom, people stuck around way longer.
Recurring revenue? Ugh, so good. A course or ebook is a one-hit wonder, but a good membership site? It’s like a snowball—just keeps getting better as you pile on more value and the community vibe gets stronger. Forget “go big or go home,” you literally don’t need a massive audience. I’ve seen people killing it with, like, 50 die-hard fans, as long as the niche is tight and what you’re offering isn’t just generic fluff.
If you’re thinking about spinning up your own membership thing—seriously, what’s your weirdly specific superpower that people would pay for? I bet there’s a group out there just waiting to geek out with you.
