Building a thriving membership site isn’t easy, and you want to crack the code to success. But first, you must consider the incentives for your potential customers to join your membership site and stick around. Enter premium content.

Premium content refers to longer-form, higher quality, or full-featured content that you restrict to customers who pay a fee to access the content. 

It’s not your regular or free content wrapped up in a product. Premium content is the “gold” stuff. Think career-boosting or life-changing content only paying or top-tier members get access to.

There are quite a few reasons why you should use premium content and why it’s essential:

1. High value, high returns
2. Converts free users to paid
3. Simplifies choices
4. Promotes exclusivity
5. Increases engagement
6. Improves brand perception
7. Offers flexibility

Let’s dive in. 

1. High value, high returns

For successful membership sites, premium content provides high value to customers and high returns for you. 

People have specific tastes and needs, whether they’re looking for information, entertainment, or solutions to their concerns. Premium content gives you the edge you need to provide useful and relevant value while cultivating a profitable website at the same time.

If your members already find a lot of value in your free content, they’ll have confidence in trying your premium content. Taking advantage of this not only increases revenue but also strengthens your relationship with your members.

2. Converts free users to paid

With more digital businesses shifting toward content marketing and subscription models, the demand for quality content is higher than ever. Of course, giving away free content is a great way to direct traffic to your site and build a mailing list, but you want to figure out how to retain that traffic and generate sustainable revenue. 

This is where premium content comes in. It enables you to convert free or basic members into paid subscribers by offering them something special that they can’t get elsewhere. 

Offering premium content also makes members feel valued and establishes your site as a trustworthy source of content they need. In an era where people can easily find a sea of free content, it’s increasingly important to nurture these relationships.

3. Simplifies choices

When people are presented with too many choices, they usually experience dissatisfaction. They feel confused and hesitant, and they may give up altogether. 

Keeping things simple makes a huge difference in improving the overall user experience on your membership site. Make the purchase decision more pleasant by simplifying your offering and membership pricing with premium content. 

Premium content is an essential part of a tiered pricing model. It allows you to define your membership levels and entice customers to upgrade in a way that is straightforward and caters to their needs.

4. Promotes exclusivity

Why is premium content so sought-after? People are naturally curious, and they tend to want what they don’t have. This means that when you promote premium paid content, you’re creating a sense of exclusivity–something that’s very effective in driving sales. 

Exclusivity is a fundamental component of the scarcity principle, which equates rarity with value. When presented with something exclusive, the user experiences a sense of curiosity and urgency to obtain what they might otherwise miss out on. If it’s exclusive, it must be valuable! 

5. Increases engagement

If you want a highly engaged audience, premium content is essential for your membership site. 

Paying subscribers are on another level when it comes to engagement–they want to be there, and it shows. If your members are willing to spend money on your content, that means you must be offering something they can’t get elsewhere. Not to mention, premium content also creates a better user experience, and user experience is one of the most important factors that influences engagement and sales.

6. Improves brand perception

Premium content is essential for improving and maintaining your brand perception. Customers are more willing to pay for premium content from a brand that is reputable and trustworthy. 

The way your brand is perceived by your members and potential customers is commonly shown through metrics like return visitors and visitor loyalty. These metrics typically increase with the presence of premium content and its parallel rise in engagement.

Of course, brand perception depends on other factors, but premium content plays an essential role because it sets your quality standard, defines the product you’re selling, and attracts the kind of people who are looking for your content.

7. Offers flexibility

Premium content provides flexibility for your membership site. You can offer any content format you want as long as it’s not easily found elsewhere. You can also offer as much or as little as you’d like and update it when you want. 

Here are some flexible ideas to get you started: 

• Premium downloads. If you’re already selling downloadable products, consider reserving the best of the best for premium, paid members only.
• Private courses or one-on-one tuition. As a tutor, teacher, or expert in your field, you can save your most valuable course material for premium content use only.
• An exclusive newsletter. Are you privy to the latest news and gossip within your industry? Offer an exclusive newsletter that only higher-tiered members can access.
• Podcasts. Share more of yourself and your premium advice with your exclusive members.
• A community. Build a community for your members. Grant access to forums or an online chat service as a premium offering. Allow your members to discuss your content and connect with you and/or your team, as well as other members.

Offer premium content through MemberDash 

Premium content is essential for a successful membership site. It provides numerous benefits for content creators, leading to more revenue and a stronger community. 

If you’re ready to build a successful membership site, consider MemberDash. It’s a flexible membership plugin for WordPress that allows you to restrict anything you want–including premium content. 

Try the free demo to see what you can do with MemberDash!