Community Membership Sites Are Thriving. Here’s How to Build Yours
A community membership is a paid or free membership where the main thing people join for is each other: discussions, advice, events, and connections with people who share an interest or goal. To build one, pick a specific audience, give it a clear promise, set up a members-only space with profiles and discussions, and seed it with active members before you open the doors.
Creators, coaches, associations, and niche experts all run community membership sites, and many earn recurring revenue from them. This guide explains what a community membership is, how to build one on WordPress, and how to keep your community members engaged once they join.
What Is a Community Membership?
In a typical membership site, people pay mainly for content: courses, articles, videos, or downloads. In a community membership, the content is often secondary. Members pay to belong, to ask questions, get feedback, and meet people they wouldn’t find elsewhere. Common examples include:
- Creator communities, where fans and followers get closer access to a creator and to each other
- Professional and peer groups, such as freelancers, founders, or specialists who share leads and advice
- Associations and clubs, which move member services, directories, and discussions online
- Course and coaching communities, where students support each other between lessons or calls
Many people are moving away from huge, noisy social feeds toward smaller, more focused spaces online. A community membership site gives them that space, and gives you recurring revenue and a direct relationship with your audience that no algorithm can take away. For more inspiration, browse these membership site ideas.
How to Build a Community Membership Site on WordPress
WordPress is one of the most flexible ways to build a community membership site, because you own the site and can combine the plugins you need. Here’s the process, step by step.
1. Define who the community is for
Write one sentence that describes your ideal member and the result they want, for example, “freelance designers who want steadier clients.” Everything else, from your forum categories to your pricing, follows from it.
2. Choose your membership plugin and set up Memberships
A membership plugin handles sign-up, payments, and who can see what. With Ultimate Membership Pro, you create a Membership for each tier (for example, a free tier and a paid tier), choose monthly, yearly, or one-time billing, and take payments through Stripe, PayPal, and other gateways. Use a clear membership pricing strategy to decide what each tier includes.
3. Add the community features
Discussions usually come from a dedicated plugin such as bbPress (forums) or BuddyPress (profiles, groups, and private messages); this roundup of WordPress community plugins compares the options. Ultimate Membership Pro adds a searchable member directory with public member profiles, so members can find each other by name, location, or the custom fields you choose.
4. Keep the community members-only
Lock your forums, groups, and member-only pages so only the right Memberships can open them, and send everyone else to your sign-up page. Ultimate Membership Pro’s content restriction works on pages, posts, forums, and whole categories, and you can leave a public forum or a few teaser posts open to attract new members. Here’s how to set up a membership forum in more detail.
5. Plan onboarding and launch
Prepare a welcome email that tells new members exactly where to start, a thread where they introduce themselves, and a few discussions to answer on day one. Then invite a small seed group first (more on that below) before you open the doors to everyone.
Smart Tactics to Attract & Engage Community Members
If you’re keen on building a community membership site, you know the importance of…community. Sure, many would imagine “community” refers to people helping each other, but in reality, most people join communities to help themselves first and then help others.
Just think of it: did you join that local Facebook real estate group or parenting group because you wanted to help others? Chances are you had questions, and the community gave you what you needed.
Sure, you may have chipped in to help others as well, but essentially, you went there to fulfill a need.
In other words, being an active, engaged part of any community membership site is all about the value you get there, whether that value is based on information, reassurance, or overcoming a struggle. The more of what you need you find in a community, the more likely you are to stay.
How do you reverse-engineer this to attract more sign-ups and engagement on your site? Here are a few smart tactics good community creators use:
Your Community Isn’t for Everyone
It’s important to understand you’re not building a community membership site for everyone. Your community members should have something in common, some sort of interest that binds them together. Your community isn’t for everyone; it’s for people who are genuinely interested in your specific niche.
Include an On-site Forum
An on-site community forum is a great way to encourage community members to engage with each other. Ask your community members questions, give them polls, and share discussion topics. All of this will encourage community involvement.
Keep It Small with the Forum Sections
The community members should not be overwhelmed by the forum sections. Don’t create too many forums, especially at first. Keep it simple, small, and manageable on all ends. Otherwise, community members might feel overwhelmed by the number of forum topics and this might prevent them from actually engaging in discussions.
Use a Seed Group
A seed group is a great way to create community engagement right off the bat. Look for people who are already talking about topics related to your community and invite them in. This will give your community an early boost and make it easier to engage community members from the start.
Be Realistic with Your Expectations
Most communities are a challenge to build. Power is in the numbers, and in how much members are willing to engage with each other. A common rule of thumb in online communities, the 90-9-1 rule, says most members mostly read (lurk), a smaller group contributes now and then, and only a small core posts almost every day. Your exact mix will differ, but don’t be discouraged if most members are quiet: they can still get value and renew.
Use Your Community to Create Content for Your Community
Community-driven content is another great way to get your members’ attention and encourage community engagement. Ask your community members questions, then use that community-driven content to create blog posts and further engage community members as they read it.
Be an Example
Be an example for community members. Lead by example and set the community culture you want to cultivate. Great community creators are humble, generous, and active: the kind of member everyone else can look up to.
Make Sure Community-Building Features Are Switched On
Make sure the community-building features your platform offers, such as the forum, member profiles, the member directory, activity updates, or private messaging, are switched on and easy to find from the member menu. Also, keep all community members informed about announcements and updates.
Get Friends and Staff to Make Some Noise
If you have friends in your community or if you have people working with you, asking them to make a little bit of noise can be a completely acceptable way to get community members involved.
Share Content on a Regular Basis
Share content with your community membership, but don’t make it all about your content. Share articles, blog posts, social media posts, or videos created by other content creators in your niche (or even by members of your own community). Doing this can encourage community members to start conversations and engage in discussions.
Keep a Discussion Inspiration List
Running out of ideas on what to talk about in your community membership site? Keep a discussion inspiration list. This can include topics related to your community, questions you can ask community members, or any other ideas that come to mind. The simplest spreadsheet can be a complete life-saver when you need topics to discuss with community members.
Create a Newsletter
Creating a newsletter is another great way to engage community members. Send members curated content from your community, let them know about upcoming events, and keep them informed and entertained, even when they don’t actively take part. The same goes for your welcome and renewal emails: a well-written membership email can bring quiet members back into the conversation.
Conclusion: Start Small and Build Momentum
Setting up the technology is the easy part. With WordPress, a membership plugin such as Ultimate Membership Pro (see the plans), and a forum or community plugin, you can have a members-only space running quickly.
The community building and engagement part isn’t exactly a walk in the park. It takes patience, effort, and commitment: you need to be active, provide value, and be there for your members every step of the way. Start with a focused audience and a small seed group, keep discussions flowing, and watch who stays and why. Over time, that is what turns a membership into a community people don’t want to leave, which is the best way to boost member retention.
Frequently asked questions
What is a community membership?
A community membership is a membership where people join mainly to connect with each other, not only to access content. Members take part in discussions, ask questions, attend events, and network with people who share an interest or goal. It can be free or paid, and it often sits next to courses or other members-only content.
How do I create a community membership site?
Define who the community is for, then set up a website with a membership plugin that handles sign-up, payments, and access. Add discussion features such as a forum or groups, restrict them to members, and prepare onboarding: a welcome email, an introductions thread, and a few starter discussions. Invite a small seed group before a public launch.
Should a community membership be free or paid?
Both can work. A free community grows faster and is easier to join, while a paid one brings recurring revenue and usually more committed members. Many creators combine the two: a free tier with limited access and a paid tier with the full community, events, or extra content, so members can upgrade when they see the value.
How do you keep community members engaged?
Keep the community focused on one audience, start with only a few discussion categories, and seed it with active members. Lead by example, post discussion prompts regularly, share useful content from members and others in your niche, and send a newsletter that highlights the best conversations for members who mostly read.
Ready when you are
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