A membership site is a website that has a protected member-only area. In other words, access to some or all of the content on the site is restricted to registered members only.
Creating a membership site is a powerful way to generate online income and scale a service-based business. By having members pay a monthly (or other periodic) fee to get access to a password-protected area where exclusive content is made available, you can transform a site into a RECURRING income-generating business and bring a regular flow of income from the same customer base.
Members, on the other hand, can enjoy a relatively lower price than what the full product would cost if sold as a whole. Now that's a win-win business model, isn't it?
Another benefit, which many online entrepreneurs do not even consider, is that you don’t need to create the whole product before launching it. You only need to create a small portion of your actual content, and complete it only after you get your first member during his membership - that means you get paid IN ADVANCE of actually creating your site content. It also means that you can modify your content based on LIVE feedback from paying customers. More importantly, this is a great way to VALIDATE your site and ensure you create a product based on what customers want, not just what you think they want.
You see, the biggest risk in developing a new product is not related to how it’s designed or written. The risk is spending months developing something that customers don’t really want.
