What is it?
A paid community is an exclusive group where members get access to special perks. This might include things like in-depth tutorials/masterclasses, access to events (either online or in-person), or the opportunity to ask questions and interact with you directly.
There's an awesome network effect that happens here - because your community members are of course all interacting with each other, too. A lot of the value provided by a paid community comes from the relationships and networking opportunities that get built in this way.
The Good and the Bad
- Recurring revenue for predictable cashflow.
- Your community helps each other.
- Networking opportunities for yourself.
- You have to be available to interact with community members.
- If the community feels quiet, people will churn.
Examples to Steal
Creator Science is a weekly newsletter from Jay Clouse designed to help content creators become more successful through actionable strategies and shared experiments.
One of the ways Jay monetizes is through his paid community - The Lab.
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Inside, members can discuss the steps they’re taking to hit their business goals, and learn from what’s working for others.
Members also receive direct feedback on their content from Jay himself, alongside regular workshops from other relevant experts.
Sam Parr, founder of the Hustle, is also amazing at building paid communities.
As an offshoot of the Hustle, he was also able to grow Trends to 16,000 subscribers - who were each paying $299 per year!
Part of the value prop was deep dives into (you guessed it) emerging trends in business, but a big factor in all these high-ticket conversions was the paid community.
Alongside the newsletter, Trends promised a private community for top entrepreneurs to "network, discuss, and ask for advice".
All of a sudden, that $299 pricetag become ROI positive if you're likely to unlock the answer to high value-problems in discussion groups with likeminded people.
The pricetag is a form of self-selection. You know ahead of time that you'll be mixing with people on roughly your level, lending some FOMO on the value happening inside you're missing out on.
This interview from Newsletter Operator does a great job of breaking down the strategy in more depth.
P.S the newsletter has shifted to a free model since they were acquired by HubSpot, but it's still an amazing example of how paid communities can help you reach acquisition level pretty rapidly.
This fun soccer podcast/newsletter monetizes by offering a paid discord server for fans to chat and share their opinions.
They've cleverly identified a gap in the market for informed sports debate and discussion that's still fun. Like a group chat among friends, on steroids.
And because it's a paid community, you only get people who are true soccer nerds in there. Which means the conversations are deeper and more engaging than what you'd get at the local bar.
This quality of engagement means people stick around and are more likely to recommend to their friends, too.
The Playbook
