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This post is part of the series, and is based off the ebook 'Top 21 marketing ways for membership sites published by The Subscription Coach Amanda Northcutt.
The entire collection is available in a book
1. Organic search traffic
Organic search results happen whenever someone searches for you using the internet, such as Google. Their ability to find you is determined by the SEO (search engine optimization).
Your SEO strategy is like a marathon and not a sprint. Therefore, everything you do in marketing (especially the content!) must be optimized in order to make your membership more discoverable in the future. Here are a few suggestions to consider by yourself. No need for an SEO or agency:
First, your overall approach to SEO must be in the direction of "how can I be most helpful to humans who have an interest in the topics that I write about?". If you concentrate solely on new techniques to improve your position in search results, you'll be trying to catch a moving target which isn't helping your customers in the right way. Google (let's admit it, Google is the only one that matters for most uses) explicitly declares that its goal is to present the most useful, informative content. Create excellent content in a manner that is easy for real people to discover and to consume and you'll have success long-term.
In this way, once someone gets to your site , it ought to be easy for them to locate what they're looking for. So, link blog posts, podcasts, webinars, YouTube videos, etc. to related material. If, for instance, you've created 10 free articles that are related to the similar (or closely related) subject, then each of these content pieces must be linked to the nine other pieces. It's not easy, but it works for the Google gods (and it's possible to use WordPress plugins to make it less painful). Continuously publishing content ahead of paywalls is important to improve your SEO. If you're a site that offers membership it's likely that you already create an incredible amount of content to your members. It could be daunting for you to make more content that you can release for free. Find out the free vs. paid content strategy this page to help ease the burden.
Working key industry search terms to be used in blog titles as well as throughout your blog posts is definitely helpful as well. However, you shouldn't under any circumstances make yourself sound like a machine. It's not possible to be made to sound forced. It should be as if that you're writing for another human And Google will be awestruck by you :) Having long-form blog posts or articles that cover a topic comprehensively in front of the paywall helps also. If you can create some ebooks using a combination of with topic-specific blog posts, more power to you.
At the very least you should be reviewing your Google Analytics as well as Search Console accounts every month to track which sources your visitors are coming from, and also the organic results of your search. You can use paid advertising, like Facebook, to promote your most popular pieces of content and more. However, you shouldn't take campaign decisions like that without first analyzing the numbers.
Check out The Beginners ' Guide to SEO from Moz for more information.
2. Marketing of content
In simple terms, it is the practice of ensuring that you provide relevant content to your prospects on various platforms, usually with a mixed media approach (audio, video, written content). It should be planned strategically, targeted, and quantifiable.
Content marketing can include any or all types of content such as blog posts or articles, useful guides videos, images, tutorials and graphics, webinars, your lead magnet, and much more. Each must contain a call to action to get your super helpful lead magnet, in exchange to their email address.
Like I said in the social section the importance of having a free. paid-for content strategy is essential. If you don't have a plan, you'll fail to follow this. Also, I recommend batch-producing content, regardless of the media.
Your social media strategy ties to your content marketing plan. Your social strategy must be guided by your content strategy, but should also include spontaneous, spontaneous interaction. Schedule those premeditated social interactions using Buffer or Edgar, as mentioned before.
If your membership isn't highly visual and your content sharing consists mainly of pictures or short video clips, you need to decide what and how much written content you'll place up front to the paywall. One of the easiest ways to succeed in creating free, continuous written content is to remove information from your subscription and make it available for download.
Callie Willows of The Membership Geeks recommends leaving your content in the "what" and the "why" portions of your website content, but removing the "how." The goal is for your potential customers to think of you as an expert in your field, while yearning for more - that, of course will be what's included in the membership you pay for.
Another option is to create various types of content, such as useful guides, brief videos, courses as well as evergreen webinars other such things, which you promote on a fixed schedule through your social channels, as well as your email list. The content doesn't have to align with exactly what's being taught behind the paywall at the time, but naturally needs to be relevant to the problem people come on your membership website to resolve. It's all about making sure that your content does not get stale. You still need to update those shelf-stable content pieces a couple of times per year.
Shorter content, like blogs, articles, as well as videos that are very brief shouldn't be restricted in any way (you should not require a site visitor's email address for access). They should include two points: links to your other content similar to the one created by you as well as a call-to-action to access your lead-generating lead magnet.
Content that is more complicated, valuable, and complex including courses, comprehensive guides, and forever-green webinars must be protected by requiring an email address to access to them if you're providing them in any way for free.
3. Guest blogging
Guest blogging can be integrated with your content and influencer marketing strategy. The idea of writing an article for an influencer, after you've followed the steps for establishing a relationship with an influencer as described in previous sections and presenting some examples of your writing, is an effective approach for introducing the process of sharing your content with an audience. An influencer is likely to be facing the same constant content production pressure as you do. The ability to have a reliable partner (you!) to fill the need during a brief time can be very helpful.
If you're a good writer and can provide clear benefits to the audience of an influencer You should be an ideal guest article. And if not now, later on. Guest blogging is a good idea for sites your targeted audience frequently visits. If you are doing this make sure to include the CTA (call to action) such as downloading your lead magnet - the contents of which are valued by as well as desired for the readers of your site.
You're highly unlikely to recognize any tangible return from a guest blog article without a call-to-action. Your goal should be to get as many readers on your list of email subscribers, which will then flow into your sales funnel as possible as a direct result of your guest article. The writing of a set of three posts that cover a topic that directly ties to your email list and is highly valuable to the influencer's audience will provide you with additional exposure to that audience and further make it easier for the influencers in creating articles.
It is important to share the post you wrote for the people who read your blog and invite your followers to follow the influencer if they don't already. Simple actions like this help create social capital. And as the owner of your membership site, social capital can be useful to collaborate on a variety of projects and benefits. Take advantage of it!