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As time passes, creating an online community that is free and robust community could be a great way to bring in all of the top of funnel leads that you'll ever require. Sounds like a good deal to be true? This could be true. It's a difficult question, as you don't want such a high value from the unpaid community that members who don't pay have no reason to sign up for your paid-membership community.
And if there is already an active, non-profit community within your field Are you able to offer an unique benefit proposition that can make people leave their current community they're comfortable with - and where they have friends and have established a name - and become part of yours?
If so, power to ya. If not, consider what you could do to be part of this vibrant community to make yourself a respected participant. More on that soon. Two platforms that are commonly used to build communities for free are Facebook Groups and discussion forums. If you go with Facebook, we recommend an exclusive Facebook Group where non participants will be able to view that the group is there however they aren't able to join without being approved by the Group's administrator. If you have a completely open group, the discussions that happen often revolve on the lowest common denominator and devolve quickly. It is important to establish an inviting, welcoming environment so people actually participate, as they do in your paid subscription. Facebook is also a place where you can find completely unnoticed "secret", invite only groups, but you don't need this since you're using it for an end-of-the-line source and absolutely need to be found.
The most significant drawback that comes with Facebook is that you're being a part of another's sandbox. If they make changes to the rules, as they've been known to do in the past, your community can vanish in a matter of minutes. Having more control and assuming lower risk are important considering the time and effort that is required to establish an effective community. An open discussion forum is also a viable community option. See if the forum software that you're using in your membership permits you to set up a spin-off community in front of the paywall.
In any case, be sure to clearly state community rules and be prepared to moderate discussions when needed. If you have moderators within the paid community, you can expand the area they are in to include the community that is free as well.
Once again, I strongly suggest establishing a formalized free or. paid-for content strategy. When you've got one, you can seed discussion in your free community with your free content and thereby increase the value of your subscription in a way that is not pushy.
Whatever the location you choose to run a community for free it is going to be necessary to invest a significant amount of energy into the community at the very beginning. You must be the one to establish yourself as the chief of the group and the expert in your field. Give a lot of value at the beginning and answer questions thoroughly and quickly. However, as time goes forward, and you're sure to have a critical mass of participants, you should remove yourself from the free group back. For instance, let your members know that you'll be around on Wednesdays and Fridays, to answer questions and participate. If they'd prefer to talk to you faster, then you're always available within your community of paid members forum.
It is also important to provide more specific answers to your questions as time goes on. Answer questions, through any means, but do not give away the full information as you would members who pay. Offer a sample and guide the member of your community towards your paid membership, where they will find the complete answer to that question and other questions. It's also beneficial if you can point to the content in your membership that can answer specific questions that are asked by your group for free. As with any acquisition channel it is essential to have a method to capture leads and get prospects into your marketing funnel, aka download your lead magnet, and then begin getting your email nurture sequence. Do not skip this step.
Also make sure you're regularly marketing your paid membership to the community you're in. Don't be pushy, obnoxious or overtly announcing it. Instead, you should include links to all your free content (which obviously contain lead magnets that allow opt-ins throughout) Podcast episodes, announcements of new features to your paid membership, as well as specific promotions that will help increase conversions.
Make sure you create a free community with careful thought by you. It's a long term play, much like creating your own podcast however, if you're able to gain momentum, you can start the races toward your paid membership!
Become a leader in existing communities
If you are a member of one or more free online communities that are devoted to your field of expertise You can join them and contribute regularly, aid others and add the value rather than making a fresh start by creating your own competing community.
The idea of this could be thought of as an extension of your existing social plan and it is an integral an element of your daily routine. That is you must be able to keep track of all Facebook and Twitter interactions that you wish to engage in throughout the week. Include participation in these groups one of the top things on the list. Make it a priority to add it to your schedule and stick with it, as if your involvement is sporadic, you're just losing your time since you won't get noticed or stand out with a significant impact.
If you're persistent in this manner, you'll earn a name as an authority that is worth the attention of and look out for in these communities that are free. Do not believe me when I say you should go and bombard someone else's community with salesy, snarky emails. It's a one-way ticket to the end of the road, courtesy of your community's coordinator. Respect their rules and promote your membership as allowed and, as part of your organic influencer strategy the first priority is to be a helpful person that adds a lot of value to your group.
Reddit and Quora
Reddit as well as Quora are two often overlooked treasures that function as an all-in-one resource for those seeking information online. I'd be astonished by the results of a search on these two websites and didn't find anything relevant to your topic.
The ability to answer questions in Quora or Reddit that pertain to your area of membership creates an opportunity that continues providing. If you're a useful site on both, people will find your responses over and over again.
You can add participation in these websites to your social media strategy checklist as well. Even if you only check the sites every month or once per quarter, make sure you have some sort of visibility if your topic is discussed on either site. Take an hour to search these websites for queries you could answer or threads you can add something of value to. If you're able to compose a dozen replies in that time, you've planted seeds that will eventually produce fruit as those threads are referred to often at some point in the future.
If you're visiting these websites keep in mind that one of the most important principles of marketing: be first helpful, then be even more useful, and then you'll be so unbelievably helpful by providing so much value that there's only one option left that your intended audience pay you money for additional sweetness and worth.