Whether it’s from other membership sites or from blogs/and or sites giving “the same” type of information away elsewhere.
So why would someone pay to access your content?
Here are 3 good reasons…
3 Reasons Someone Will Pay
1) Convenience
Yes they can access similar content somewhere on the web for free.
BUT…
They’ve got to spend the time researching and sorting through the millions of results that show up in Google.
When we want to find out something, we want the info… NOW!
That’s why membership sites are so convenient – they have compiled information on one subject all in one place.
It’s convenient.
People like convenience and that’s the first reason they’ll pay.
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2) Unique Content or Delivery
If you’re like me, you’ve probably read several books on the same subject. But one probably stands out in your mind over the others.
Am I right?
What made it different than the rest?
Was it the subject matter?
Probably not if the books covered the same topic – so what was it?
In most situations it’s the way the content was presented or delivered. For some reason, it just made more sense coming from one author than it did the others.
9 times out of 10 this boils down to unique stories, illustrations, diagrams or a delivery style that you resonated with.
Here’s an example…
I like to read all kinds of business books but I have a TERRIBLE time getting through books with long chapters. I don’t know what it is, but for me, books with long chapters are always “half read”.
Can you relate?
However, I seem to FLY through books with small, bite-sized chapters. Even though they are often the same number of pages, the smaller chapters make the content easier for me to consume.
In fact, I actually feel better while reading these types of books because I feel like I’m accomplishing more (ex. 10 chapters of 2 pages each vs. 1 chapter of 20 pages – it just feels better you know?).
So books like Rework, Crush It, and The Little Big Things are just easier for me because they are packaged in a way that makes it easier for me to consume.
The same principle applies to your membership site.
People will pay for your membership if the information is packaged in a way that’s easier for them to consume.
So find out how they like it.
Articles, videos, podcasts?
2-3 minutes or 20-30 minutes?
300-400 articles or 10-20 page PDF documents?
Also, NEVER EVER forget to inject your personality.
That’s ultimately what makes your content unique from everyone else. Not only the way you package and deliver it but the way your information is filtered through you.
Your members trust you and your unique viewpoint. So as much as possible, express it in your content.
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3) Relationships
A short while ago, my wife and I delivered a VERY important presentation in front of the the President of Scholastic Canada and her 3 top Directors.
The reason we were there was to pitch Scholastic to get involved in a campaign that we are running for our charity called Write To Give (www.WriteToGive.com).
As you can imagine, prior to the meeting, my wife and I were a bit nervous but we had spent a LOT of time preparing for this meeting and we were very confident that it was a perfect fit for their organization.
Despite that, the meeting started off “slow”.
We were plugging through our slides and I really felt like we were doing an excellent job. The only thing was, we weren’t getting an enthusiastic, thumbs up, “all smiles” kind of reaction.
So what did we do?
We started telling stories.
Stories of the kids in Africa that are getting the chance to go to school for the first time.
Stories about King William, a young man we met during our first trip to Ghana who has since made thousands and thousands of bracelets for our charity and now has a thriving business.
Stories of the kids in Canada who beam with pride seeing their names on a published book that they wrote and illustrated.
These top executives almost immediately began to let their guard down. We had touched their heart and showed them how this was relevant to THEM and THEIR organization.
It didn’t take long before these “decision makers” began opening their hearts and the connection between our organization and their corporation began to take place.
Before we knew it, our 30 minute presentation blossomed into a full 90 minutes of questions, brainstorms and genuine interest. That’s when we knew they’d want to get involved.
What does this have to do with your membership site?
People are people.
It doesn’t matter who you’re targeting whether it’s top executives, Mommy bloggers, or a cut throat salesman.
We all have emotions, feelings and a sense of “belongingness”.
In the beginning you need to take a proactive approach to really connect with your members.
Just like our meeting with Scholastic, you have to find a way to connect with your members beyond just your content.
Once you do, you’ll begin building relationships with your members. And if you do it right, they’ll want to build relationships with your other members too.
That my friends is another reason people will pay to belong to your membership.
We all want to belong.
Write this one down…
“They come for your content, but they stay for the community”.
People will pay to belong to a site where they feel like others “know them” and they can “relate” to everyone there.
It’s hard finding people “like us”.
But when we do, we don’t want to leave :)
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I’m interested to know your thoughts. Why else do you think people will pay to belong to a membership site?
Let’s see if we can add to this list of reasons by adding your ideas in the comments :)
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