GENERAL INTRODUCTION:

The Origin Of Membership Site:

(Membership Site) I think it’s quite necessary to understand the origin of something before getting involved in such an event.
Then let’s look at the origin of the membership site.

Membership site was coined in the early days of the internet when online communities began to emerge.
As the internet became more accessible and user-friendly in the early 20th century, individuals and organizations started to recognize the potential of creating exclusive online spaces where like-minded individuals could connect and share information.

This can be recognized in the emergence of early forums and discussion boards which created a sense of belonging to users who are interested in niche topics.

Then with the advancement in technology, the idea of offering premium content became crucial which is done behind the paywall.
Within a short time, the advent of online publishing and digital products further fueled the growth of membership sites, providing content creators with a way to monetize their expertise directly.

The early success of membership sites can be attributed to the emergence of online learning platforms.

This is a result of the high demand for educational diversification to digital formats, so educators and entrepreneurs saw an opportunity to create membership-based websites offering specialized courses and training programs.

This we were able to witness on where platforms like Teachable, and Udemy are.
They exemplified this trend allowing instructors to build communities around their expertise and offer exclusive educational content to a global audience.

With this, within a short period, other sectors saw the importance and the concept expanded beyond education to encompass various industries such as media, business, and fitness which enabled them to diversify into an array of membership sites taking care of specific interests and needs of people.

So having known about the origin of a Membership site let us simply define what a membership site is all about.

What is a membership site?

This is an online platform or website that restricts access to its content or features to individuals who have subscribed, registered, or paid for a membership.

As a user, you have to create an account and gain exclusive privileges such as accessing premium content, participating in member-only forums, receiving specialized services, or enjoying other benefits.

This is a model commonly used by businesses, organizations, or content creators to build a community, to enable them to generate recurring revenue, and equally provide more personalized content for their audience who are dedicated to what they offer.

I hope we have gathered enough definitions and analysis on what a membership site is, now is the time to introduce us to the FREE WordPress plugin we will use to generate this membership site called WP Membership.

1). Introduction to Simple Membership Plugin:

a). Overview Of The Simple Membership Plugin:

This is a membership plugin designed to help website owners easily set and manage membership functionality on their WordPress website.

b). Why Choose Simple Membership Plugin For a Membership Site:

The purpose of a simple membership plugin is to enable website owners to create a membership platform within their WordPress website.
Which will eventually allow them to control access to specific content, pages, or sections of their website based on the creation of user roles and membership levels.
Then let’s look into the key features of simple membership plugins.

c). Key Features And Benefits:

–> Membership Levels: The plugin typically allows you to create multiple membership levels, each with its own set of privileges and access rights.

–> Content Protection: You can protect certain pages, posts, or content types so that only members with the appropriate access level can view them.

–> User Registration: The plugin includes features for user registration, allowing visitors to sign up for memberships on your site.

–> Payment Integration: Some membership plugins, including Simple Membership, may support integration with payment gateways. This allows site owners to charge for membership access.

–> Customizable Registration Forms: Users can be required to fill out specific information during the registration process, and you may have the ability to customize the registration forms.

–> Email Notifications: Automatic emails for account activation, password resets, and other membership-related notifications are often included.

–> Dashboard for Members: A member dashboard where users can manage their accounts, view subscription details, and update their information.

2). Preparation and Planning Of Your Membership Site:

a). Defining Your Membership Site Goals:

For you to have a successful membership site, there is a need to define a clear goal for the project.
This goal will help provide you with direction, help measure progress and guide decision-making.

Let’s examine some common goals for a membership site, and you should keep in mind that these specific goals will depend on the nature of your site and your target audience:

–> Identifying Your Target Audience(How to identify your target audience in membership site):

Identifying your target audience for a membership site is a crucial step in developing content, marketing strategies, and user experience tailored to the needs and preferences of your intended users. Here are some steps to help you identify your target audience:

.. Define Your Membership Site’s Purpose:

• Clearly outline the purpose and goals of your membership site.
• Understand what value you intend to provide to your members.

.. Conduct Market Research:

• Research your niche or industry to identify potential members.
• Understand the demographics, preferences, and challenges of your target audience.

.. Create Buyer Personas:

• Develop detailed buyer personas representing your ideal members.
• Consider factors such as age, gender, location, job title, interests, pain points, and goals.

.. Analyze Existing Audience (if applicable):

• If you already have an existing audience (e.g., email subscribers, social media followers), analyze their demographics and behavior to identify common characteristics.

.. Competitor Analysis:

• Study competitors in your niche. Identify their target audience and analyze what they are doing well and areas where you can differentiate.

.. Survey Your Audience:

• Conduct surveys to gather information directly from your potential audience. Ask about their preferences, needs, and expectations for a membership site.

.. Utilize Analytics Tools:

• Use website analytics tools to gather data on your current audience if you have a website. This can provide insights into demographics, behavior, and interests.

.. Social Media Insights:

• Analyze social media insights to understand the demographics and interests of your followers. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer valuable demographic data.

.. Engage in Online Communities:

• Participate in forums, groups, and communities related to your niche. Observe discussions, identify common problems, and understand the language your potential members use.

.. Identify Pain Points and Solutions:

• Understand the challenges and pain points your target audience faces. Tailor your membership site to provide solutions and address their specific needs.

.. Test and Iterate:

• Launch your membership site with a minimum viable product (MVP) and gather feedback. Use this feedback to refine your understanding of your target audience and make improvements.

.. Monitor Analytics Regularly:

• Continuously monitor analytics to track user behavior and engagement. Adjust your strategies based on the data to better cater to your audience.

Remember that identifying your target audience is an ongoing process. As your membership site grows and evolves, so might your target audience.
Regularly revisit and update your understanding of your audience to ensure your site remains relevant and valuable to its members.

Then let’s look into content planning for your different membership levels.

–> Content Planning For Different Membership Levels(How to plan your content creation for different membership levels):

Below are what to do when planning your content creation for different membership levels of your membership site:

.. Begin by conducting a thorough audience analysis to understand the distinct preferences, interests, and goals of members at various levels.

.. Craft a comprehensive content strategy that ensures basic memberships receive valuable and foundational content, enticing them to upgrade.

.. Intermediate levels should feature more specialized and exclusive content, such as advanced tutorials, insider insights, or early access to new releases.

.. Make sure that premium tiers offer top-tier benefits, including personalized consultations, exclusive events, and premium resources.

.. Regularly evaluate and adapt the content plan based on member feedback and engagement metrics to optimize the value proposition for each membership level.

Now is the time for us to talk about the installation of the plugin and the setup to enable us to begin implementing its features in our membership levels.

3). Installing Simple Membership Plugin:

a). Accessing And Downloading The Plugin:

To access and download the simple membership plugin, open your browser session, type in “simple membership” on the search button, and hit the “enter” button on your computer keyboard. Image description below:

Then the page will open as follows, click on the first content that appears and you will be taken to the simple membership plugin download. Or copy this URL and run it on your browser (URL:- https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-membership/)

Hit the download button on the right-hand side to download the file to your computer directory. Image description below:

UPLOADING THE DOWNLOADED FILE TO YOUR WORDPRESS PLUGIN DASHBOARD:

To upload the downloaded file into your WordPress dashboard, log in to your WordPress dashboard. I know by now you must have known how to do that.

By the extreme left-hand side menu bar locate and hover your mouse cursor on “Plugins” then click on “Add new plugin” and you will be taken to the “Add plugin directory” Then click on the “Upload plugin” button and click on the “chose file” to upload the file from where you saved it on your computer directory.
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After choosing the file from the computer click on the “install” button to install the button. Image description below:

Then after the successful installation click on the “Activate” button to activate the plugin immediately. Image description below:

The plugin will be successfully activated.

INSTALLING THE SIMPLE MEMBERSHIP PLUGIN THROUGH YOUR WORDPRESS PLUGINS DIRECTORY:

To install the plugin from the WordPress plugin directory, go to the extreme left-hand side as usual and locate “Plugins” Hover your mouse cursor on it and select “Add New Plugin“.

Then on the right-hand side locate the search form and type in the name of the plugin for example “Simple membership” A variety of plugins will appear, select the required one and click “install” to install the plugin. Image description below:

After the installation hit the “Activate” button immediately to activate the plugin. Remember to enable “auto-update” Go straight along the plugin installed and locate “Enable auto update” click on it to enable auto-updates. Image description below:

4). Configuration and Settings of Simple Membership Plugin:

a). Email Customization:

Go back to the WP Membership menu hover your mouse cursor on it and click on “settings” It will take you to the settings page, then click on “Email Settings” and you will land on a page like the image below:

Fill in your “From Email Address” and tick-mark the “Send Notification to Admin” to receive a message when someone signs up, then I advise you to leave the rest of the forms like that. Go through them to identify which one you can configure. After that, scroll down and click the “save changes” button.

5). Creating Membership Levels:

a). Creating FREE Membership Level:

Go to the left-hand side menu bar of your WordPress and locate “WP Membership” Hover your mouse cursor on it locate and click on “Membership levels” Image description below:

Locate the “Add New” button and click on it. You will be taken to the next page where you will create your membership levels. Let’s call this membership level “FREE” On the form that bears “Membership Level Name” type in “FREE“.

The default WordPress role should be left on “subscribers” then for “Access Duration” leave it at “No Expiry” then click on the “Add New Membership Level” button. Image description below:

And the FREE membership level will be added successfully. Image description below:

b). Creating The First Paid Membership Level:

Once again click on the “Add New” button, then on “Membership level name” let’s add the name “Bronze” Then let’s make it a run-off payment that will expire after two weeks.

On the “Access Duration” select the check button and add 2 in there. Click the “Add New Membership Level” button to complete the process. Image description below:

The final result is as follows in the image below:

Because this is a paid membership level we need to add a payment button for people to pay before they can access this level.
So if you hover your mouse cursor on WP Membership then locate “Payments” and click on it. Then click on “Manage Payment Buttons” and click on the “Create New Button” button. Image description below:

We want this to be a “PayPal buy now” button then click on the “Next” button. Image description below:

You will be taken to the next page where you will fill in every payment information. Fill the button title with the membership name level then click on the “Save Payment Data” button at the bottom. Image description below:

The completed payment process will look like the image below:

Very important is your button shortcode. You need this to enable you to create a button link to your registration form.
The button shortcode is located at the extreme left-hand side corner.

Highlight the button and copy it because you need to paste that onto your page.
Go to pages click and locate “Join Us” hover on it to display its items and click “Edit” to edit the page.

This is the page that you can display to people who want to join your membership. You can customize the page and use it as your Sales Page.
Copy the payment “shortcode button” and place it on the page. After that hit the “Update” button at the top right-hand corner.
Image description below:

Then if you view the page this is what you will likely get as depicted by the image below:

Then if you click the button, you will be taken to a PayPal page with the price description where you can pay and have access to the protected pages. Image description below:

6). Content Restriction and Protection:

a). Restricting Access To Premium Content:

Go to your “Posts” and edit one of your articles. Let us learn how you can be able to restrict access to premium content.

To restrict a particular content, scroll down to the bottom of that particular content Edit page. You will see “Simple WP Membership Protection.”

On the section that says “Do you want to protect this content?” select and highlight any of the protection radio buttons you want.
Then after that select the membership level that can access that particular content.

After that, locate the “Update” button at the extreme right-hand side of the page and click on it to update your page. Image description below:

Then let’s try to access that particular post and see what will happen. You will be prompted to log in or register before you can be able to access that particular post. Image description below:

7). Conclusion and Future Developments:

a). Reflecting On The Success Of The Membership Site:

Reflecting on the success of the membership site involves a thoughtful examination of its achievements and impact. This process entails assessing key performance metrics, such as member engagement, retention rates, and financial growth.

It also involves analyzing feedback from members to understand their satisfaction and identifying areas for improvement. Successful reflection goes beyond quantitative measures, delving into the qualitative aspects of the site’s influence on the community it serves.

Evaluating the strategies and initiatives that contributed to the site’s success provides valuable insights for future decision-making and ongoing optimization, ensuring continued growth and a positive user experience.

b). Discussing Potential Future Developments And Expansions Of Your Membership Site:

Discussing potential future developments and expansions of your membership site involves engaging in a strategic conversation about prospective enhancements and growth opportunities for the platform.

This may include exploring new features, services, or content offerings that can enhance the value proposition for existing members and attract new ones. Additionally, considerations may extend to technological advancements, community-building initiatives, and marketing strategies to broaden the reach and impact of the membership site.

The discussion aims to chart a course for the site’s evolution, ensuring its continued relevance, competitiveness, and ability to meet the evolving needs of its audience in the dynamic landscape of online memberships.

c). Encouraging Ongoing Community Involvement And Growth On Your Membership Site:

Encouraging ongoing community involvement and growth on your membership site entails implementing strategies that foster active participation, collaboration, and expansion within the community.

This involves creating a supportive environment that stimulates member engagement through discussions, shared experiences, and collaborative projects.
Employing features such as forums, webinars, and interactive content can contribute to sustained community involvement.

Additionally, initiatives such as member-driven events, feedback mechanisms, and referral programs can play pivotal roles in fostering a sense of belonging and motivating existing members to invite others, thereby contributing to the overall growth and vibrancy of the membership site community.

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