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In time, establishing a free yet robust online community has the ability to bring in all the top of funnel leads you'll ever need. Does it sound too good to be true? Maybe. It's a difficult question, as you don't want so much value in the community for free that non-paying participants have no incentive to sign up for your paid-membership community.
And if there is already an active, non-profit group in your sector Do you have your own unique selling point to make people leave the place they're already comfortable with - and where they know people and have an established reputation to be part of your community?
If yes, good for you. If not, consider what you could do to be part of this vibrant community to become a valued part of it. We'll discuss that in a moment. Two common platforms for creating an open community include Facebook Groups and discussion forums. If you choose to use Facebook, we recommend the use of a closed Facebook Group where non participants are able to see the group is there and can join in without having been approved by the Group's administrator. If you have a completely open group, the discussions are usually centered around the lowest common denominator and devolve quickly. It is important to establish a welcoming, friendly environment to encourage people to participate just like within your paid membership. Facebook also offers completely hidden "secret" invitation-only groups, but you don't require this because you're using it for a top of funnel source, and must be easily found.
The most significant drawback for users of Facebook is the fact that you're playing with the sandbox of someone else. If they change the rules, as they've previously done the community could disappear overnight. Having more control and assuming lesser risk is crucial, given the amount of time and energy that is required to establish an effective community. A free to join discussion forum could also be an effective alternative for a community. Check if the software for forums that you're using in your membership permits you to set up an independent community outside of the wall.
Whatever way you choose, make sure to post the community's rules and be ready to moderate discussions as required. If there are moderators in your paid community, expand their territory to include patrolling the free community as well.
In conclusion, I would strongly recommend creating a formalized free and paid. paid content strategy. Once you have one, you may start a the discussion within your free community with your free content and, in turn, promote your paid membership in a non-pushy way.
Regardless of where you host a free community it is going to be necessary to devote a considerable amount of time into participating there particularly in the beginning. It is essential to make yourself the head of the community and also the industry expert. Offer a great deal of value at the beginning and respond to questions in depth and quickly. But as time passes forward, and you're sure to have the necessary number of people, you should pull your participation in the group that is free. In particular, you should inform your members know that you'll be there on Fridays and Tuesdays to answer questions and participate. If they want to talk to you faster, then you're available every day within your community of paid members forum.
You also need to leave some less specific responses to inquiries as the time passes. Give answers by all means, but don't offer the complete answer as you would to members who pay. Offer a sample and point the free community member towards your paid membership, where they'll find the full solution to this question as well as other questions. It's also helpful for you to provide content within your membership that addresses specific questions asked in your free group. Like any other acquisition channel, you need a way to attract leads as well as bring people to join your funnel, aka download your lead magnet, and then begin receiving your email nurture sequence. Don't skip this step.
Additionally, make sure you're constantly advertising your paid membership in the community you're in. Don't be pushy, obnoxious or overtly announcing it, but putting links to all your free content (which obviously contain lead magnets that allow opt-ins throughout the piece) Podcasts, episodes of podcasts, announcements of new features to your membership that you pay for, as well as specific promotions that will help increase sales.
Only create a free community following careful consideration on your part. It's a long-term investment, much like hosting your own podcast, however, if you're able to gain the momentum going, then you're off to the race for your paid membership!
Be a role model in your current communities.
If there is several online communities dedicated to your area of expertise it is possible to join one of them and regularly contribute, help others, and provide worth, instead of reinventing the wheel by starting your own competing community.
The idea of this could be thought of as an extension of your social plan and it is an integral an element of your daily routine. In other words, you should be able to keep track of all Facebook and Twitter interactions that you wish to engage in during the course of the week. Participating in these no-cost community sites one of the primary points on your list. Make it a priority to add it to your schedule and commit to it since if you're participation isn't consistent, you'll be losing your time since you'll not be seen or get noticed with a significant impact.
If you're persistent with this, you can establish yourself as an authority that individuals will be interested in and seek out within these communities that are free. Please don't believe that you need to overtake a community of another with junky sales, spammy emails. That will get you a one-way ticket to the exit courtesy of the group's organizer. Respect their rules and promote your membership as allowed in your organic influencer strategy The first goal is to be a helpful person who provides a lot of value to your group.
Reddit and Quora
Reddit as well as Quora are two often overlooked gems that serve as a catch-all for anyone looking for anything online. I'd be flabbergasted if you searched those two websites and didn't find anything relevant to your topic.
Responding to questions to questions on Quora as well as Reddit related to your space of membership is the gift that keeps on giving. If you're a useful resource on those sites, people will find your replies repeatedly.
You can add participation on these platforms to your social media strategy list as well. Even if you only check the sites every monthly or every quarter, you should establish a certain amount of visibility if your subject is covered on any website. Take an hour to search these sites to find questions that you could answer or threads you can contribute something valuable to. If you're able to compose a dozen replies in that time, you've planted seeds that eventually will bear fruits as these threads and questions are referenced time and time again later on.
When you're on these sites keep in mind one of my golden principles of marketing: first be helpful, then be even more efficient, then become extremely helpful, providing so much value that you have no choice but that your intended audience give you money to get additional sweet, sweet value.