{"id":9261,"date":"2021-06-08T10:00:39","date_gmt":"2021-06-08T18:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.digitalaccesspass.com\/blog\/?p=9261"},"modified":"2021-06-08T11:26:07","modified_gmt":"2021-06-08T19:26:07","slug":"how-to-build-and-launch-a-membership-site-the-easy-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digitalaccesspass.com\/blog\/2021\/06\/how-to-build-and-launch-a-membership-site-the-easy-way\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Build a Membership Site – The Easy Way!"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to Build a Membership Site – The Easy Way!<\/span><\/h1>\n

Putting together a membership site can be quite overwhelming but many times it’s because people make it way more complicated than it needs to be.<\/span><\/h1>\n

Your ability to simplify your requirements will go a long way in determining the long term success of your membership site. Otherwise, you’ll end up spending a lot of time on tech hassles and less time on what’s truly important – creating and releasing content that solves problems for your audience.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Building and launching a membership site is actually quite easy. You just have to follow the right steps. I’m going to break it down for you and show you how to build a membership site – the easy way, in this post.<\/span><\/h1>\n

About Me<\/span><\/h1>\n

My name is Veena Prashanth. I’m the Co-Founder\/Co-Developer of <\/span>DigitalAccessPass (DAP)<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a> – a membership plugin for WordPress. Over the years, I’ve created several software products and courses, each designed to help online business owners grow their leads and sales.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I’m also the founder\/developer of SmartPayCart.com (SPC) – a shopping cart plugin for WordPress, and <\/span>SmartQuizBuilder.com<\/span><\/a><\/span> (SQB) – a one-of-a-kind quiz and survey plugin for WordPress.<\/span><\/p>\n

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We launched DAP back in 2008. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

DAP powers all of our own membership sites (including DigitalAccessPass.com). <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

As we use it ourselves, it helps us understand what\u2019s working well and what we need to do better. We also pay close attention to the feedback from our customers. <\/span>This data helps us prioritize, execute and deliver things in the right order. We’ve worked tirelessly to make DAP not just the greatest and the most powerful membership platform, but also an easy-to-use platform.<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Get it out there…<\/span><\/h1>\n

<\/span>When you are starting out, focus on eliminating everything that delays your launch and does not add any true value. <\/span><\/h1>\n

Simplify! <\/span><\/h1>\n

Get it out there first. There’s always a phase 2 for additional customizations and features. Purchase a <\/span>membership software<\/span><\/a> that will allow you to implement what’s in your must-have list and also allow you to scale as you needs grow. <\/span><\/h1>\n

Common Mistake<\/span><\/h1>\n

Recently, I was interviewed for a Podcast and one of the questions the host asked me was, \u201cWhat\u2019s one common mistake that you see people make when it comes to a Membership Site?\u201d. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And my answer was, \u201cendless content production\u201d! <\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve seen so many people just endlessly delay their launch because they are not satisfied with the amount of content they have already created. So first they spend months on platform research, and then many more months just creating content!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

No one is joining your membership because you’ve 50 or 100 videos. You are the expert and you are helping them solve a big problem. Your users are not looking forward to be overwhelmed with a lot of content. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Also, the cool thing about a membership site is…all of y<\/span>our content does not have to be ready on day 1 of your launch. You can drip out your content! <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my advice for anyone looking to start a membership site:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1. Create more than you consume.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

2. But more importantly..<\/span><\/span>. <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span>release <\/span><\/span>what you have already cre<\/span><\/span>ated<\/span><\/span>! Get it out there.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Don’t wait!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

You don’t need 100 videos to launch a membership site. <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Create your content calendar. If you can do 1 video a week, put that on the calendar. If you can do 1 group call a week, put that on the calendar. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Stick to the schedule. Be consistent.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Publish your content calendar and use it to set clear expectations for your members. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I truly believe that the best way to learn is by “doing”. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Every product you launch will teach you more about launches than any content you consume online about launches.<\/span><\/p>\n

Execution is Everything<\/span><\/h2>\n

Recently, a new user signed up for DAP Elite Membership. He didn\u2019t have any prior experience with WordPress. He didn\u2019t have a massive list of items on his to-do list. He wanted to use our membership plugin – DigitalAccessPass<\/a> (DAP) to deliver a simple video series, and sell it for a one-time fee. <\/span><\/p>\n

He was clear about what he wanted from DAP.  He was not looking to learn all of the DAP features. And he didn\u2019t have to! <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In just 4 days, this user was able to complete his membership site setup and launched his first paid product! And this despite having no prior WordPress experience.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

How cool is that?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The best way to learn is by doing!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He is using DAP for membership, SmartPayCart<\/a> (our shopping cart plugin for DAP) to sell his products, and Thrive Architect<\/a> (a page builder plugin) to build his pages (sales page, lesson pages, etc). <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Start with just one product – whether it\u2019s a freebie, or a one-time product or a simple course. Do whatever you need to do to launch this product from your membership site. This will help you get familiar with everything you need to do in your membership platform, cart platform, and also WordPress to set up and launch the product. And it\u2019ll also allow your members to get familiar with the whole membership site experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don’t build without a plan<\/span><\/h2>\n

Building a membership site is easy when you have a plan! All you have to do is allow your ideas to take shape as a product that you can offer from your membership site.  <\/span><\/p>\n

Don’t start building your membership site or shopping for a membership software before creating a Membership Site Plan! A well thought out plan for your membership site before you deep dive into the building process, will help provide structure to your offer, and ensure a consistent flow of content. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Planning will allow you to publish with intent. It’ll allow you to map out your member’s journey through your membership site and clearly outline the steps they need to take, and the order in which they need to consume your content, to get from where they are at now to where they want to go. It’ll also help you clearly communicate with your members what they can expect to learn from your membership site. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve created a simple membership site planning worksheet<\/a> to help you with planning. This worksheet will help you with planning , content packaging & scheduling. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Just make a copy of it and fill it out with your product\/service details. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Once you’ve filled out this spreadsheet, you can then shop for a membership software that has all of the features that are important to you. Before you start building, <\/span>create a content calendar. It’ll allow you to stay disciplined and set expectations for your members.<\/span><\/h1>\n

Release In Phases<\/span><\/h2>\n

While you should follow your plan to build out your site, you don\u2019t have to wait for all of your products to be ready to launch your membership site! <\/span>Plan ahead but release in phases. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

=> Create your first product (say a course) based on your plan.=> Release it.=> Request testimonial from those that have consumed your content. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

I\u2019ve automated this for my courses using the Thrive Ovation plugin. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Here’s what I do:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

I request a testimonial\/review in the last lesson of my course so those that take the course, can quickly leave a testimonial after they complete the course. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Over 80% of users that complete the course, leave a testimonial or their feedback about the course. Just an amazingly effective way to generate testimonials and feedback. This strategy works great when you have a short course – say a course that can be consumed in 1 or 2 hours. It will have a much higher completion rate. And if the content serves it’s purpose, your users will be happy to leave you a review. <\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Here are a few posts that will help you set it all up:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1. <\/span><\/span>How to create and deliver your online courses using our membership software <\/span><\/span>DigitalAccessPass (DAP)<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

2. <\/span><\/span>A simple way to launch your membership site<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Publish testimonials and customer stories on your site. Pretty much all of the testimonials on <\/span>my lab site <\/span><\/a>were generated automatically. I get new testimonials and feedback every week from those that complete the course.<\/span><\/h1>\n

=> Once you start getting feedback from those that take the course, use it to make your product better. Update your plan based on the feedback. <\/span><\/h1>\n

=> Add another product and repeat!<\/span><\/h1>\n

So be sure to download my free planning worksheet<\/a> as it’ll help you plan out your membership site. <\/span><\/h1>\n

I created this worksheet based on my experience working with our customers on their membership site plan and strategy. Once you fill out this spreadsheet, setting it up becomes really easy.So if you are putting off your membership site launch because you are stressed about the amount of work it would involve or the tech, this worksheet will help you get started! And then just follow the steps below to set things up! <\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Membership Sites are Really Not That Complicated<\/span><\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Membership sites are actually quite easy to set up and manage. It only gets complicated when people complicate simple requirements. Think of it this way. There are 2 main types of products – free & paid. For a free product, you need to generate and publish a registration form. For a paid product (one-time, trials, payment plans, subscriptions), you need to generate and publish a payment button.<\/p>\n

For both free and paid products, you need to outline what your users will get when they signup or purchase it. All of this can be easily configured in your membership software<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Your Membership Model<\/span><\/h2>\n

A subscription model is just one application of a membership site. There are a variety of ways you can create and deliver your products & services from your membership site. Most successful membership sites use a hybrid model (more than one type of content model). <\/p>\n

Our membership plugin<\/span><\/a> supports all kinds of membership models. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Everything is a Product<\/span><\/h2>\n

You can use your membership site to create & deliver all sorts of products and services – freebies, one-off products, courses, trainings, community, coaching, webinars, free membership trial, etc. <\/p>\n

In DAP, everything is a product. And setting up products is a very simple process. Give your product a name, setup billing & access details, assign\/protect content and save! <\/p>\n