four examples of the content you could develop for your membership website |

Creating the content you want to publish on your membership site might be a daunting task at beginning, but it doesn't have to be. You can simply give the templates that have been tested.

And then, at the dark of night, you get up with a cold sweat and realize:

If you're like me, you need at least two cups of coffee to get out of the panic and formulate a plan.

But since no one should need to consume that amount of caffeine that late at evening, unless they're writers with a deadline and students approaching the dreaded finals season and finals season, I've decided that I'll share my ideas -- with some examples the types of content that you could develop for your membership site.

#1. Resources that can be downloaded

How often do you browse for templates on the internet for when you want to make a new workbook or throw together an official form?

Pretty frequently, right? It happens all every day. I'm in the theme gallery of Typeform anytime I need to design something elegant without investing too much cash or my day into it (or more importantly, causing trouble for my designer).

Not a template person? No worries. Downloadable resources don't strictly have to mean templates and forms, though those are among the best examples.

Ebooks are especially helpful if your demographic skews towards women actually. Nearly twice as many women read ebooks as men.

And the success for making short ebooks using Google Slides -- part of the free suite we recommended in the first section -- was shown. One entrepreneur uses the software to design every one of his lead magnets (short tasty ebooks that allow him to create his own email list).

Open Jazz Studio includes audio downloads and lead sheets, transcriptions, and workbooks, as part of the services they offer for their Piano Access Pass membership program.

Guides and worksheets are an essential element of downloadable goods on membership websites.

It is possible to see an example of this through the " Quick Wins " bonus included in the Smart Insights' membership program.

In terms of topics that you could be addressed with your download documents, return to the drawing board , and look at your audience personas. What type of resource can help them reach their goals with your membership?

Do they need to keep track of their progress? Put together a checklist for them or an exercise book.

Does your association offer consulting services for businesses? Create an editable spreadsheet so that they can input their information and analyze the most important indicators.

You get the idea. If it's helpful for your customers, then it's content you should create..

#2. Tutorials and mini-courses

In terms of helping, is there anything better than a step-by-step guide that backs up the advice of the guide with facts and directs your steps in the right direction?

(Probably However, I'm bias about data. It's sort of my thing.)

Blog Biz School's Chantel Arnett is the expert of combining this kind of content and downloadable materials. Find out more about her offerings:

In the event that her content isn't useful in the form of templates, she's able to use it through a short and precise education about material relevant to her audience.

The good news is that short tutorials and mini-courses don't have to be major time drains to produce.

It could be as simple as videos that screen share that guide members through specific tasks -- such as learning a new skill using an application or learning how to prepare for an interview -- or unique how-to blog posts that outline processes in detail.

But for the best results, incorporate videos as often as you can. Video learning provides on-demand training as well as improves retention for learners among other benefits .

Plus, it's much more user-friendly than a wall of text, which is important when you consider that the majority of students make use of phones to get access to learning resources.

Chantel isn't alone that has had success using this type of material via a membership. MarketingProfs uses tutorials and video learning as a mainstay of their content for their members, too.

Did you notice how they've also included other items on the document's content? If MarketingProfs has a best-selling book that's been two times and marketing mastermind Ann Handley has been doing this, you know you're in the right direction.

And as a bonus, now lets you track a customer's advancement through your online courses that's another reason to make use of this particular form of content whenever you consult the research behind using and assessing the effectiveness of video-based learning.

The topics of content and the inspiration will (again) boil down to what's relevant to the users accessing the information.

It is a blessing to be able to monitor your tutorials' progress and mini-course success with many metrics that include not only the comments and feedback from participants, but also the development of students as they move through documents -- knowing what's helpful is easier than it ever was.

Not all content has to be static. If you'd rather engage members in a more direct way, think about the third kind of content to be included on your site for members.

#3. Interactive content

The issue with downloading resources and mini-courses is that they're inherently passive. No matter how charming you are, they're still inert material where the user's principal interaction occurs through observation.

This also puts more pressure to you as a content creator to produce more in-depth materials.

Eighty percent of experienced marketers say that interactive content distinguishes their company from competitors.

Contrary to the other courses However, it is important to be careful not to overly scholastic when it comes to interactive content. Although a test on the topics covered in your mini-courses might actually be beneficial, your audience chose an online course to take because of reasons.

At the minimum, they probably don't have enough time to recreate a classic class environment, even if they really wish to.

Therefore, it is best to ensure that you keep your interactive content- particularly quizzes -- on the light side, similar to what you see below .

If your group is made up of new marketers, as an example you could make the following tests:

What are your top burger toppings? describe your top advertising channel.

Choose five colors and I'll show you how marketing amazing you are.

Are you a Don Draper or Walt Disney? Find out in just two minutes.

This tongue-in-cheek kind of content might not resonate with your target audience. But therein lies the issue.

Because it's interactive the audience can inform you if this is true and then you'll be able to change direction.

In the serious aspect of things, live webinars are another type of content that you could create for your customers. Like the title suggests, it's content that you make in real-time However, preparation must be planned ahead.

Entrepreneur Tiffany Williams offers regular webinars to her clients in the Rich Girl Academy program.

Each month, she selects an interesting topic that is relevant to her viewers and a person from her "team that includes Oprah" is engaged with her viewers via live seminars.

Live webinars can be extremely time-consuming, this schedule is an ideal one to emulate for people looking to dive the depths of engaging content, without weighing down their workload.

Polls and quizzes, on the other hand, are more forgiving they can be made and released at any point. A weekly schedule of once a week is a solid starting point, however, if members begin slowing down or showing poor engagement, consider spreading the quizzes and polls out more.

And then, finish your content with a dash of the spoken word.

#4. Podcasts and audio files

This last form of content is a partially interactive and part-downloadable , however it's this is a completely different form of content as what we've covered in the past, it merits an additional mention.

That's a pretty far cry from blog posts that average 37-second read time  regardless of how long they are.

This is, however, the most important thing about this type of material:

Amy Porterfield makes the most of them too, implementing several of the strategies which Justin utilizes to keep her listeners amused with informative interviews covering relevant trends and topics within her field, as well as providing actionable advice for listeners.

Final word:

Podcasts, audio files and live streams are a cost-effective, simple form of content you could create for your membership website ahead of time and frequently, and with such the high level of audience engagement, they're definitely worth adding to your repertoire.

For the best results from the opportunity, you should invite speakers from industry as well as other experts to discuss trends in your industry, as well as jam-packing a presentation that is action-oriented for your listeners.

Lips that are loose could sink ships, but for membership website content, they're the perfect way to stay on top of the customers' satisfaction wave.

Your content cornucopia

The process of creating content for your site can be daunting on the first pass, but it doesn't have to stay that way.

Keep these points at the forefront when scoping out content:

It should be backed up to cloud storage systems. Data loss can have detrimental negative consequences for small companies, and, with the abundance of options, there's no reason to put your business in danger.

Although you must develop some material before getting going, you don't need to be prepared from day one. You probably don't. How your audience members react to and feel a connection with will inform the content strategy you develop as you progress.

Once you do dig in begin with free sources like workbooks, templates eBooks, infographics, and ebooks.

It is likely that they are signing up for your membership as they are eager to learn about something. Give them that knowledge with mini-courses as well as tutorials that offer rapid wins during the day.

Mix things to create interactive content such as surveys, quizzes, or live webinars. Your membership site will go from dime-a-dozen to an engaging one-of-a-kind.

Let loose your mouth and record audio files as well as podcasts.

Podcasts, specifically, have proven to be extremely successful on other websites that offer membership and they are relatively simple to create compared to other kinds of media.

Be encouraged. Though it can be overwhelming in the beginning, once you get rolling with content and content, you'll discover your style and your team members will blend perfectly with you.