Building an online community takes time and dedication. Content creators often have to spend months or even years curating content, engaging with members, and building relationships. The challenge then becomes monetizing your online community so that you can reap the rewards of all your hard work. The competition can be fierce, with established community builders dominating the market.
But mastering the art of online community monetization is essential, no matter the challenges ahead. Turning your community into currency means you get to make a living from your hard work. And with a top-notch tech stack and a robust foundation, you can get there more quickly. Such an approach ensures a sustainable flow of income, allowing you more time to focus on what matters — content creation.
To help you get started on your monetization journey, we round up four of the best tools and tactics creators can use to make money from their online communities.
Diversify and Define the Value of Free vs. Paid Content
The first step toward monetizing your online community is to determine which content should be free and which should be paid. You can do this by offering a mix of both, using the free content as a ‘teaser’ to get people interested in your offerings. Next, create value-based tiers for different levels of membership. This allows you to offer different products and services at various pricing points. This way, members can choose the content that fits their needs and budget.
For instance, a platform like Black Girl Magik offers online experiences like Instagram lives that users can access for free. The platform also plans to launch a podcast that helps build its credibility among members. The podcast will also showcase the value of what Black Girl Magik offers. This encourages members to sign up for the paid community, where they can access such offerings as courses, IRL retreats, and private chat rooms. Members of the paid community gain a higher level of knowledge sharing, personalization, and more.
There are lots of resources that help content creators define their paid content and pricing strategies. One of them is Cubicle to CEO, an exceptional platform committed to boosting female entrepreneurs' economic footprint. Turn to these platforms to help you make more informed decisions about how to monetize your online community and the strategies to achieve it.
Build Your Tech Stack
As soon as you've clearly defined what offerings your community can access for free and which will require payment, you will need a top-grade tech stack. A reliable tech stack can come in handy when you need to do things like:
- Creating and scheduling your content
- Promoting your offerings across different marketing channels
- Hosting experiences
There are a ton of tools out there that you can use to accomplish the tasks. Here are some of our top picks:
Geneva
Geneva is a group chat app that owners of small businesses and content creators can use to build conversations with their customers and members off social media. It's a highly organized platform that features different rooms for different topics. Users can gain access to chat rooms, forum rooms, audio rooms, video rooms, and broadcast rooms. What's more, Geneva takes privacy seriously, ensuring groups can't be infiltrated by third-party members.
Teachable
This online course platform is one of the most valuable resources content creators looking to build a thriving business can have. The platform helps you convert your knowledge into currency by teaching you the art of creating and selling online courses.
Norby
Norby is an all-in-one community marketing toolkit that offers an array of marketing features. It's a great way to gain audience insight and optimize your marketing campaigns. With Norby, you get to build exceptional landing pages and add top-quality content and links. This can prove immensely helpful in marketing your brand. The audience insight tool helps in providing valuable data about your members so you can segment them, understand their user journey and personalize your messaging. Norby also provides analytics so you can measure the performance of your campaigns.
Streamline Your Team Collaboration and Community Management
It's not enough that you have valuable content. If you're to reap financial gains from your online community, you need to provide a personal touch that further legitimizes your brand and strengthens the rapport with your community. It's what marketing for SMBs is all about.
But managing a team and an entire online community on your own is no easy task. Thankfully, there are tools you can use for that purpose. A platform like Mighty Networks can help with community management. Others like Notion and Miro are perfect for project management and can help you outline your organizational processes.
For help with content planning and scheduling, try tools like Later and Canva. These tools are also perfect for asset creation and many of them are free.
Identify and Pitch the Right Financial Sponsors
The next step is to identify the right financial partners. Here, you'll need to do your research and gain a better understanding of which sponsors will make good fits for your community's goals and interests.
There are plenty of opportunities for you to pursue and get financial help from the right sponsors. Platforms like #paid and Clara, for instance, are excellent for community builders looking to explore financial investments and brand deals. They can help you when it comes to sponsorship pitching, as well as with pricing strategy. For deck building, try a platform like Pitch.
Turn Your Online Community Into Money Today
Monetizing an online community is no easy feat, but it is possible with the right tools and strategies in place. Strategically defining which content should be free versus paid will help you define value for your members and attract new ones. Building a reliable tech stack also makes a world of difference, as it ensures that your members can access premium content without a hitch. Take advantage of platforms that help you access financial sponsorships, and remember to flex your creative muscles with content-creation tools. With such strategies in place, you'll be on your way to turning your online community into a profitable business.
Ready to start earning money from your online community? Join the Norby community today and start the journey.
