How to create a coaching membership site with WordPress

Are you, as a coach, trading your time for money? 

There are only a certain number of hours in a day, and you can only serve a certain number of clients.

What if there was a way you could serve many more clients within that time frame? 

Scaling your coaching business from one to many is a lucrative choice for coaches. A coaching membership site is one of them.

Coaches can leverage the power of membership to scale their businesses for more income, and flexibility.

Ready to know more about it? Let’s dive in!

1. What is a coaching membership site?

A membership site can be viewed as a platform where you run your membership program. 

A membership program is where a group of people has access to your programs and content. 

They can use their separate login to the membership site to access your membership program.

They can communicate with other group members and among themselves.

It is like a community of people at the same level who are trying to grow with each other’s support under the guidance of the coach.

Users pay the coach a monthly recurring fee to use the membership site.  

2. What should a coaching membership site include?

You can include the following on your membership site to help your membership program succeed and retain existing customers:

-> Exclusive blog post

-> Webinars

-> Live calls

-> Online courses

-> Community Area or Forums

-> Networking Events

The coach can choose to add one of the above types of content to their membership site weekly or monthly, to keep providing value to the users and retain the membership.

It is easier to retain members than to gain new ones. Trying to keep providing value can seem like a daunting task at the start, but with time, as your content grows, it will have a compound effect.

To reduce the overwhelm of providing value, keep it coming in different forms, such as live calls, digital products, merchandise, and so on. 

You can also collaborate with other coaches through expert calls or webinars to make your membership site more interesting.

With time as the content on your membership site grows, so does its value. 

3. Two main types of the coaching membership model

a. Front-End Model

The front-end model is where you provide a membership program as your main offering. 

Group coaching, subscription boxes, and accountability memberships are examples of front-end models.

b. Back-End model 

The back-end model is where the coach provides a membership program as your back-end offer ie. additional support after course completion, and ongoing support after service.

This type of membership is like an upsell to your main offer. It is easier to convert and get clients because the client already knows you and like your services.

4. How to create a coaching membership site with WordPress

Numerous third-party software providers offer membership services to coaches. 

Due to the flexibility and full control, my choice of platform is WordPress.

Creating a coaching membership site WordPress can give you a lot of freedom to scale your membership program that generates recurring revenue for your business. 

Let’s see how to create a membership site on WordPress:

1. Membership plugin: 

As you know functionality can be added to WordPress through the use of plugins. 

With a vast library of plugins, there is one for every need. There is not only one but many popular options when it comes to membership plugins. 

MemberPress, Paid Membership Pro, Restrict Content Pro, and WooCommerce Memberships are the most popular ones. You can select any of them that suits your requirements and budget.

2. Membership levels: 

Membership levels are like the tiers in your membership program. You need to decide whether you would like to have a basic membership or a tiered membership. 

Basic membership is where the contents and support are available for all the members. 

Tiered membership is where you have levels and restrict content according to the member’s level. 

You can have tiers like standard, premium, and VIP members. The level of value, support, and cost will vary with the level of membership the user buys.

A tiered membership helps you cater to many members at different stages of their life and it is easier to convert members from one tier to a higher tier if you provide value and they like the program.

3. Payment system

Once you have decided on the levels of your membership program, it’s time to decide the pricing of each level. 

The pricing will vary according to the tiers and the level of value in each tier. 

You can use the payment gateways that most membership plugins include, such as Stripe and PayPal, or you can install another payment plugin that meets your needs.

4. Setup user accounts

Most plugins have an option for a user registration page. The registration page is a login page where the user can enter their credentials to log in to their member’s area or signup for new users. 

The signup page is like a sales page for your membership site where you list all the details of your membership program and how to join it. 

The payment is integrated on the register page. Once payment is done, the users can send their login details in the email which they can change once inside.

5. Content Creation

Once decided on your membership levels, it is now time to start creating exclusive content for each level. 

The content can be in the form of mini-courses, tutorials, ebooks, articles, or any other type of content that your members will find valuable.

6. Protect content

There is a level of access option in most membership plugins. This option protects your content from being seen by non-members and members across different levels.

When starting with your membership site it is highly recommended to have beta users to get feedback on your membership program and the experience of your membership site.

7. Promote your site

With all the technicalities taken care of, and the membership site being through its beta users, it’s time to promote your membership site.

You can promote your membership site in various ways.

a. Sell it as an upsell to your one-to-one clients who would like to benefit from your support at a reduced cost.

b. Sell it as a group program with added benefits of continuous support even after the end of the group program.

c. Use your current members as an affiliate to bring new members. You can incentivize them at a reduced membership fee. 

d. Last but not least social media, email marketing, and other marketing platforms to reach more targeted customers.

5. Tips for a successful membership site

1. Benefits over features

People are interested in the transformation. Focus on the outcome that the user will get on joining your membership program. 

Tell them about the benefits of your program and how it will impact their lives.

2. Creating valuable content

You will be able to retain members only if you continue to provide value to your membership site. 

Contents that will help your members grow. Survey them and ask them what help they want and what type of content would be helpful is the way to keep them engaged and interested in your membership site.

3. Efficient Customer Service

Customer service is an important part of the membership site. Solving the grievances of the members and seeing to it that they feel heard is a prominent factor in retaining members. 

Make them feel special and appreciated by asking for their opinions and suggestions. 

Implementing necessary changes to make it easy for them to access your membership program.

The onboarding and off-boarding process to ease the transition will go a long way in maintaining a relationship with your members.

Conclusion

WordPress is a great platform for your membership program as it allows you to run your entire coaching business eco-system from your website. 

Sell courses, membership, and digital products all from your website.