What Are Membership Sites Anyway?

Membership sites are quickly becoming one of the most popular forms of websites on the web. A membership site is a website that requires people to sign up as members in order to have full access to the site’s content and tools.

Membership sites are built around a common issue or theme. They can take the form of service sites such weightwatchers.com, dating sites such as match.com, and content sites such as The Wall Street Journal’s members’ area at wsj.com.

Membership sites are popular because they offer something of value to their members that can’t necessarily be found elsewhere. With membership sites that focus on social aspects, the members are able to experience a sense of community and belonging that they may not be able to find on other sites online.

For members of content based sites, having a ready supply of information at their fingertips is the reason they choose to pay membership access fees. Despite online video games and celebrity gossip blogs, receiving information is still one of the biggest reasons people are attracted to the internet.

Today, people are building membership sites as a way to bring them a lasting passive and residual income. The members of these sites pay a monthly fee to keep accessing the information. If you build a membership site around a subject people are interested in, and you provide quality content, you will find that many people will find it far easier to pay you a monthly fee to access this information, rather than spending numerous hours searching the web for the information.

Of course, you do not have to limit this “content” or “information” to strictly text. You can get creative and offer your subscribers sewing patterns, scrapbook layouts, and other forms of information.

The service based membership site is another route to take. For example, a virtual assistant could create a membership site, and each month the subscribers would be guaranteed ten hours of work time. The virtual assistant would need to limit membership to the amount of clients he or she can realistically serve.

A product seller could also offer a membership site. Let’s say that you make and sell candles. You could offer a "candle of the month" club, and each month your subscribers could receive a few different-sized candles in a new fragrance.

While the paid membership site is a great business model, it is important to note that the membership site model can vary widely. Not all membership sites are paid sites. There are many sites that offer free membership, such as myspace.com. MySpace has millions of members, and the owners generate income through selling advertising space.

There are many ways to start and grow a membership site. Over time, they have the potential to bring you a very healthy, passive, and residual income.