A Paid "Members Only" Section for Your Blog or Forum

[Jason]

How might this bring some profit? Has anyone tried it? Who is using it now? What are some pros and cons? Would anyone introduce a free element to the members area to give a taste of things?

 

[Ravenfreak]

I suppose if your community was based around a specific niche, you could share exclusive information say if you had a forum where you talked about books and if you were an author you could share some of your work in the paid section.

 

[Jason]

I suppose if your community was based around a specific niche, you could share exclusive information say if you had a forum where you talked about books and if you were an author you could share some of your work in the paid section.

The big hurdle is being someone that has something real to offer. I mean, unless you're a "big name" who is going to trust you without being convinced?

 

[Nomad]

Well, I have put ebooks and tutorials on sell on my blogs, however, I have never created section on my blog or forum reserved for paying member. This is a good method to monetize your site but to get paying members, your site must offer something valuable. Since these days information comes free, not many people are willing to pay for accessing sites, especially blogs and forums.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I'm the community manager for Copyblogger which is a copywriting blog that has been around for decades.

We've created an entire paid community around the copywriting niche. For a blog, I would recommend that. Create a paid community but make sure you deliver value. We have courses, weekly premium articles, daily discussions and chat, and monthly webinars. Value for the buck.

For a forum, I'd go with a premium membership and have a hidden section for premium and staff members only.

But like with a paid community for a blog, it's better to offer features and benefits that make it worth paying for.