How to Create a Free Member Website

Get your ticket to a free member website.

Build a free online member website to create a community for sharing information, promoting your product, service or brand, supporting a worthy cause or providing interactive education. Take the right steps to make your member site successful by choosing the best tools from the wide variety of online membership website resources to effectively target your potential members, continually attract new ones and keep them signed up.

Things You'll Need

• Broadband Internet access
• Domain URL registration
• Web hosting account (if needed)
• Wordpress or other membership website software (optional)
• Membership plugin for Wordpress (if Wordpress is used)
• Membership website online service (optional)

Instructions

Research Your Topics and Tools

1. Look carefully at the topics you're considering for your free member website so members join your website and return regularly to make it a success. Use web-based search engines, such as Google, to evaluate the popularity of subjects you're considering by searching for them as your potential members would.

2. Evaluate the total number of other websites about each topic, their position in the search results and the number of member websites in the first 10 pages of results. Pay particular attention to the websites on the first page of results. Get useful information for building your membership website by reviewing their design and content.

3. Locate relevant and popular keywords for your topics with free services, such as the Wordtracker Keyword Suggestion tool (see References). You'll obtain a variety of keywords and phrases being used by people searching for information in subjects you're considering. Note that the total number of global searches for the keyword is the most important statistic you need to consider.

4. Combine the keyword information with your search investigation to narrow down possible topics to those that can give you a pool of potential members.

5. Research membership software options. You can use a free and relatively easy program, such as Wordpress, if you have a limited budget, a basic understanding of website structure and time to devote to building your member website. Be sure any software you use is well supported and offers additional online resources for its users. You can use one of the many turnkey member site providers if your website skills and time are limited but you can afford professional services.

Create Your Free Member Website

1. Download and install your chosen membership website software after reviewing its user guides and other documentation.

2. Design your site to be as attractive, appealing and functional as possible using your previous research on popular sites in your subject area as a guide. Review the many free templates and other graphic elements available online for websites and blogs to create a striking visual image. Find ones that reinforce your content and help you achieve a winning look for your member site.

3. Make your site functional with good navigation, clear information layout and most importantly, be sure signing up is simple and easy. Ask for the minimum amount of personal information necessary when a user signs up because identity security is now a serious concern.

4. Develop your content strategically. Revisit the popular member websites you've researched to have a reference for creating your content, so it's relevant and timely but specialized, perhaps with a different point of view or more "insider" information from your personal experience. Add value your offerings by doing more and deeper research, interviewing experts or other thought leaders in your subject, finding useful tools or applications to share with your members and using new avenues, such as current product reviews or pre-release "trailers."

5. Expand your content by using a variety of media formats for your information, such as tutorial videos or other free movies, podcasting, webinars, ebooks and presentations. If you're using a standard website format for your member site, you can add a forum or blog function to add interactivity between members and even have a mastermind group. Retain and grow your member roster with high-value quality content.

Network Your Free Member Website.

1. Use social networking to promote your member site. Set up pages on Facebook and MySpace giving an inside look and showing the advantages of joining your site. Send a Twitter message with a catchy announcement and a link to your site when you have new content or are starting a membership campaign.

2. Participate in the blogosphere. Comment on relevant blog postings about your topic. Mention your member site and include a link, but avoid blatantly advertising it. Add value to the post you're commenting about. Offer to guest post about your subject on relevant blogs and interview the blogger for your membership site. Establish relationships with other website editors or bloggers to exchange content and increase visibility.

3. Share content freely. Create specific podcasts, videos or other presentations on your topic for sharing on media sites. Set up your own YouTube channel to promote your videos. Use interviews, discussions or live event narration to record podcasts that you can present on iTunes, Podcast Alley and other podcast sharing sites. Write quality relevant articles with author's links to your free member site for article directories and e-zines. Keep abreast of growing social network possibilities to find and communicate with more potential members for your site. They're out there waiting to hear from you.

Tips & Warnings

• Offer free games so users can have fun on your membership website. You can also offer original free music by cooperatively promoting the work of musicians, bands and songwriters.

References

• Membership Site Advisor: How to Start, Run, Promote and Profit From Your Own Membership Website
• Wordtracker: Free Keyword Suggestion Tool

Resources

• Wordpress Blogging Software
• Wishlist: Wordpress Member Management Plugin
• Weblink: Member Management Software