The Thousand Solutions Blog

How do you adopt a membership / Subscription Business Model

Dec 9, 2022

Contents

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    It's a lot simpler and less expensive than you imagine!  

This guide will give you information to help your business transition to the membership model.

First, we'll cover some of the benefits of the membership model prior to looking at some businesses which are well-suited for making the transition. Finally, you'll get some ideas on how you can move to membership.

If you're trying to stop trading your time in exchange for cash, add an extra revenue stream to your business, or transition your business away from the current structure and establish a membership website, this guide can help.

Let's begin...

The benefits of the membership model

One of the most attractive advantages of switching to a membership model is the potential for recurring income.

Recurring Revenue

If you are able to sign members up by subscription that means you'll receive payment in regular intervals with a steady flow.

Predictable Income

In recurring income comes the certainty. If you're a freelancer or even operating an agency, you're familiar with the cycles of feasting and feasting.

One month you might face more tasks than you're capable of handling, while other months , you may see a decrease in income. Membership models can to create a steady income stream , which makes financial planning simpler.

Passive Earnings

One of the major benefits of membership models is the possibility of an income stream that is passive. Although your venture will likely take a considerable amount of work in the beginning, as well as ongoing maintenance and upgrades, not to mention administrative tasks that come with the growing number of clients, the potential for an income stream that is passive is higher that if you're simply operating as a service company.

If you take just a couple of days, or a week or more time off, depending on how you've setup your membership business, the cash will continue to come from existing members and new sign-ups.

Scalability

If you're used to running a business where you're the principal asset, and also the one responsible for all of the tasks, then another benefit of the membership model is that it offers more opportunities for expanding and outsourcing.

If you're offering an online training course (more tips for creating a membership website can be found later on in this article) You can employ employees to assist with managing your training course while you focus on content creation.

For those offering access to certain assets like stock images or code snippets, on the basis of subscription such as, for instance, you could employ individuals to assist in the creation of those things.

Membership models offer plenty of potential for automation and processes, making it easier to outsource and grow as compared to a typical freelance job.

Recycle and Repurpose Your Content

Instead of creating one great WordPress site for just one client, then moving onto another project it is better to create an excellent WordPress theme and make it accessible to all your clients.

Similar to other items that you might create for clients in a single-time basis. If you're providing coaching or consulting to your clients, then you could reuse your knowledge in the form of videos or other educational content to make available on your membership website.

Instead of working on a one-to-one basis with those that you assist, the membership site model let's your repurpose and reuse your abilities or knowledge assets to work in the context of a one-to-many connection.

We now know some of the primary benefits of the membership model, let's see what types of businesses can make the transition.

Businesses that are able to transition to the Membership Model

It's a good thing that with a bit of imagination, the majority of companies can move to a membership model, in one way or another.

Coaching and Consultancy

Experts in their area or possess enough expertise to ensure that customers are already paying them for their services, are ideal candidates for embracing the membership model.

Sharing your knowledge and experience and making it available behind the paywall of your site is a good way of helping more users while earning regular revenue.

Service Providers

Service providers such as freelance designers, coders or graphic designers can transition their business to the membership model too.

Designers and illustrators could start an online subscription program where subscribers have access to a certain amount of stock photos or editable templates each month in return for a recurring fee.

Developers could create products similar as those they create for their customers and then make these available to members of their group.

Products Businesses

There is also the possibility for makers of physical products in the future to switch to a subscription-based model. Subscription boxes are becoming increasingly popular.

Instead of offering products that can be purchased in one time, you could switch to inviting customers to sign up, become members, and then receive products in a consistent manner.

It has been successful for beverages, clothes, coffee as well as books, to mention the few. You don't even have to have the idea of creating the items, but simply someone who is able to design a beautiful monthly subscription box.

If you're still not sure how your business can transition to the membership model, the conclusion in this article provides advice on using your skills and experience to begin the new initiative of membership separate from your current business.

Strategies for transitioning to the model of membership

Offer Productized Services

Another option is to shift from providing bespoke services to offering a standardized service. One example of this could apply to freelance writers.

Instead of approaching every client in a different way and giving them customized services based on the individual requirements of each client, try creating just one offer and marketing that towards your intended audience. This could for example be a monthly subscription with 4 blog articles with 500 words per month, for a set cost.

With a productized service that your clients register, sign up for the subscription program. Even though you create unique content for each member, everyone is provided with the same information with the same format every month. This removes a lot of the negotiating and other time-consuming duties that go with giving every customer something unique.

A further benefit of providing productized services within your membership plan is that you'll be working using strict guidelines and protocols instead of treating every work as a distinct job. Due to this, outsourcing and scaling is much easier as your staff will be able to follow these procedures in order for the same level of service for all your members. Like companies such as Design Pickle have shown that this method works well with graphic design, so there's the possibility that it can work for the services you provide.

Create Educational Content

If, as mentioned previously, people are paying you to learn, you are able to make money off that expertise and make it available to those who are paying for it.

Build an Community

The role you play could include managing online and hosting events or something less hands-on, such as moderating the interaction with your members. Completely transitioning your company towards a membership model this method could require adding more content and features to your community, so that it can be more beneficial, allowing you to charge more to access it.

Begin a Whole New Venture

There may not be the way to allow your business to make the transition however you'd like to benefit from the membership model such as recurring revenue as well as serving a larger audience.

If this is the case it's possible to start a completely new venture in a field that's unrelated to your company or at least separate from it. Do you have any hobbies or specialties that you think people might be willing to spend money to get connected with you , or to learn from you?

Perhaps you're an expert piano player and would like to monetize this hobby through the creation of online instructional materials for others to learn how to play. Maybe you are a fitness enthusiast and enjoy inspiring people to be healthy and fit.

It's possible to create your own membership website which is distinct from your business but teaches others how to start working in your current field. If, for instance, you're photographer who is freelance, rather than moving that business to the membership model, you could create a separate membership website teaching others to start a career in freelance photography. Maybe a website for members that helps your audience take better photos can be a better way to make money from your talents.

If you have the proper tools and the determination to create valuable content, as well as the desire to promote your venture to your intended customers, developing a lucrative website for members is feasible for a lot of individuals.

Remember you don't have to be the best in your chosen field It's just important to understand more about the people you're helping.

Final Reflections

I hope that this article on how your business can transition to a membership-based model provided you with the advantages of doing so and given the possibility of the best way to go about it.

This won't be an easy task, and it'll take of the time you could spend on your existing enterprise. But the rewards can justify the investment, especially when the notion of regular earnings and regular income and the potential to grow and create an income that is passive, appeal to you.

 Can your business transition to the membership model? Please let us know and ask us any questions you may have in the comment section below.

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