In membership sites, members pay a monthly subscription for access to valuable information. These are a form of a continuity program. These programs have been around in many forms long before the Internet was even thought of.

Marketers have sold gym memberships, book of the month clubs or wine of the month. They all are designed to supply a long term recurring cash flow to the business owner. In membership sites, subscribers pay a monthly access fee in exchange for specialized information. This information helps them reach a goal or solve a need.

Membership sites can take many forms

1. Home study course: deliver content over time that trains people on a given skill. This can be delivered by auto responder.
2. Coaching and mentoring: Supply regular support and guidance to a target niche.
3. Social sites: This includes friendship and dating websites.
4. Private label content: Gives member access to content that can be repackaged for use in newsletters, ebooks and articles.
5. Paid newsletters: Advice and insights for an industry or market such as stock tips.

How to create a membership site

1. Topic: Find a niche topic that solves a problem that your potential clients are searching for that deals with a long term need. Examples could include exercise workouts, recipes and meal planning or organic gardening. These all have a continuing need rather than a onetime solution.
2. Latest info: Spend time regularly researching to provide the latest trends, insights or interviews with other experts. Scour the blogs, forums and press releases that deal with your niche so you can be the authoritative site dealing with your targeted niche.
3. Quality: Maintain a very high content quality that will keep your customers coming back. Provide solutions to real problems that will improve the quality of your subscriber’s lives or help them reach their pre-set goals.
4. Collaborate: Interview other experts and record these interviews. Choose subjects that are timely with questions that represent what your audience wants to know. Post these interviews so subscribers can listen or watch them (if you used video).

For a membership site to be successful, you need to provide real value that will keep your members coming back month after month.