5 Membership Website Content Ideas to Engage Your Members
To increase new membership signups a membership website needs to engage users with excellent content that provides value to their membership.
A membership website is a great opportunity to create a content hub full of interesting and valuable information for your members. Not only does this keep your current members coming back for more, but it also helps you to increase your membership organisation through attracting more new members.
In this article, we have identified 5 great ideas for content that will boost user engagement on your website.
Exclusive Membership Content
Exclusive content for your members is one way of offering something special to your members. When deciding what content to share with your members, it helps to remember two content objectives. The first is that content should provide value to your members so that it appeals in an educative or business perspective. The second is that content should promote insider value, so it creates a sense of exclusivity.
Content that provides value educates your members in a particular aspect of your industry that would appeal to them, an example could be creating a bi-monthly list of the best networking events and conferences in your industry. This is content that provides value as it is useful and relevant to your readers. Insider content, on the other hand, provides the user with some insight into your work routine or life. The great thing about insider content is that we as humans are naturally curious and interested in people that we admire. You can turn this curiosity into content for your membership site by hosting a behind the scenes video blog showing a day at work in your organisation.
Discussion Forums
Adding a discussion forum to your website gives your members a safe place to communicate with like-minded individuals that share interests. If your membership website already has a free discussion forum try adding a members-only forum.
When members pay for the privilege it helps to create a sense of privacy and community that doesn’t exist in public chat rooms. If you are going to add a discussion forum to your membership website, it is important that you engage in discussions. Your members will value the exclusive access that they are getting to your time and insights.
Podcasts
Similar to discussion forums, podcasts give your members a chance to gain your industry insights in a way that offers more personal engagement. This will help your members to feel like they are gaining exclusive access to your knowledge and will keep them coming back to your website to see what new instalments are on offer.
Offering your insights in the form of downloadable podcasts also allows your members to make the most of your content while they are on the move, which boosts round-the-clock user engagement. Podcasts are easy to set up and record and you can even set up your own Soundcloud group which effectively creates a private database for your members.
E-Books
E-Books give you the chance to share your knowledge in a more detailed way than a blog post does. As an expert, you have more than enough content and knowledge about your industry to create an E-book that your members will value. This will not only captivate your member’s interest, but it will also boost your recognition as a thought leader in your industry.
When creating an E-book, it helps to choose a specific topic relevant to your industry and offer it as a download on your site. This will allow your members to engage with your business while they are on the go and provide them with a format which is easy to share with their peers.
Email Newsletters
Emails are an effective form of member engagement because they help to bring members back to your website. Sending a regular email newsletter to your members helps your members feel connected to your organisation and helps them keep on top of the latest activity on your website. When sending out an email newsletter you can include the details of any new blog articles or promotions on your website, any upcoming events or giveaways, or send out surveys.
Emails are also useful for you in determining what content your members read the most. Once you have sent an email you are able to look at the statistics and determine which content your members were most interested in. This helps your strategy as you can then create more content based on what your members viewed the most.
If you are looking for more ways to maximise your user engagement, why not read our blog article 5 Ways to Boost Member Engagement Through Web Design.
