Membership sites are lucrative endeavors for content creators. They can help you share your passion with a community, build passive income, and provide a hub for people with similar interests. 

There are a few common elements involved when creating a membership site. Successful membership sites deliver on the promise of their membership by providing consistent, quality content. 

If you’re looking for inspiration to see how that’s done, take a look at these 10 effective membership site examples:

1. Better Sheets
2. Komando Community
3. Rassa
4. Nepean Liquor Accord
5. The Complete Boutique
6. Brand.Me
7. AppSumo Plus
8. Growing Vine Community
9. Superstar Blogging from Nomadic Matt
10. Startup Society

Let’s jump in. 

1. Better Sheets

Better Sheets helps folks master Google Sheets by providing templates and formulas for expert-level sheets. The site boasts that over 7,000 business owners use Better Sheets, which provides some social proof of its value. 

What’s great about this membership site is that the pricing is clear and the value is communicated up-front. Better Sheets tells you right on the sign-up page what you’re getting for the price: a whopping 500+ tutorials and over 30 courses. 

In addition to clear pricing and features, Better Sheets smartly breaks down how much each individual component of their membership would typically cost. They wrap this all up by heavily discounting lifetime access, showing the extreme value of their membership. 

2. Komando Community

The Komando Community is a membership site for The Kim Komando Show, a three-hour weekly radio show airing on 425 stations across the USA and on demand. Kim has created a membership community for fans of the show to make friends, stay informed, and get exclusive access to past episodes.

Kim lets potential members peek behind the paywall by providing clear information on what a membership entails, as seen in the sidebar of her site and on the “Join” page: 

When you click any of the left sidebar icons, you’ll be prompted to log in to continue access. Interested folks can sign up from this pop-up and get immediate access, like this Chat Cafe, where fans of Kim’s show can stay connected and talk about episodes. The Kommando Community is an excellent example of how to create a dedicated fanbase around your content.  

3. Rassa

Rassa is a membership site focused on empowering creatives. Their programs are centered on the belief that real-world knowledge and application are key to learning, and they’ve created a collaborative education program to do just that. Many courses focus on cooking, sculpting, or creating in some way, providing guidance for your real-world practice. 

When you click on a Rassa course, you’ll be greeted with “what you can expect” from the course right away to make sure it’s a good fit. This helps folks make an informed decision before jumping in. For example, in this plant-based class, Rassa gives clear takeaways and mentions ingredients you should stock before getting started. 

To help further instill confidence, course sign-up pages include a “Is Rassa right for me?” section to help pinpoint who their target audience is. This section helps Rassa retain the right kind of members – those who will be actively engaged and that will make the membership model successful. 

Just before purchasing, you’ll get a reminder of what you’re getting. In this plant-based class example, it’s four dishes, along with recipe development and personalized feedback. 

4. Nepean Liquor Accord

Nepean Liquor Accord uses MemberDash to create a memorable and successful membership site. This site is for businesses that sell liquor to work together to reduce alcohol-related crime. 

On the member sign-up page, the ethos of the accord is displayed, with a strong message of a network of professionals working together to prevent and reduce crime. This compels those who fall into their target audience to want to join and do their part. 

When you click “signup,” you’re prompted to join with more information about the membership: the yearly fee, resources you’re gaining access to, and how to cancel and upgrade. The clarity around the signup helps instill confidence in those interested in a membership. You can also view members and browse the organizations who’ve already joined, knowing you’ll be among good company. 

5. The Complete Boutique

For retail business owners looking to connect and see explosive growth, membership with The Complete Boutique promises to deliver. Before signing up for membership, The Complete Boutique provides a comprehensive look at the benefits of membership: downloadable kits, coaching calls, live support, and execution plans!  

For those unsure if these resources have results, The Complete Boutique smartly includes testimonials from real members on their sign-up page, providing the social proof a retail business owner might need before making the commitment. This is a great example of giving a peak of benefits with words from members to help folks commit. 

6. Brand.Me

Brand.Me is a site that provides social media support to members, with multiple membership packages available by using MemberDash. On the main page, Brand.Me makes it clear who benefits from a membership, helping target their primary audience. 

One of the best aspects of this membership model is its flexibility – knowing that different creators will have different needs, multiple tiers are offered. Beginners can choose three different social packages, or experts can hire a dedicated team to handle all branding work. 

This is one of the benefits of using a plugin like MemberDash: The flexible membership feature lets you choose multiple subscription types to allow different levels of membership access with tiers. 

7. AppSumo Plus

AppSumo is a popular site that offers top software deals for entrepreneurs. Just by joining, members receive 10% off on every purchase they make, which in no time can pay for the $99/year membership fee. 

To make membership more enticing, the site tallies up some impressive numbers to show what you could be saving with a membership. There’s also an extensive community behind the portal, which promises members more than just discounts. 

As always, hearing from actual members shows that your membership has value beyond your sales pitch. This quick look at multiple members’ testimonials gives confidence in the benefits that the membership provides. 

8. Growing Vine Community

Growing Vine uses MemberDash to provide an online nutrition community to help people create healthy habits. The membership site is run by Denise Barratt, a registered dietitian, who offers a warm and welcoming message on the membership page. This personal touch helps members feel like they’re joining a community with expert support. 

Down the page, the membership price, renewal rate, and benefits are clearly labeled to help potential members make an informed decision. Each vine contains recipes, action plans, downloads, and Q&As. The annual price lets members pay once and enjoy benefits for an entire year; there’s also a sample section of the site for folks to browse before committing. 

9. Superstar Blogging from Nomadic Matt

Nomadic Matt’s Superstar Blogging is a membership site that offers courses and support for budding travel writers. One look at the landing page and folks can tell that Matt’s membership offers extreme value. The benefits are listed in a scannable checklist within a personal note written by Matt, before introducing the courses and ending the page with student success stories. Talk about a compelling lead!

When you navigate to one of the course pages, the social proof doesn’t stop. Each program offers a generous look at what the program offers, with testimonials from students, experts you’ll work with, and more. 

The prompt to purchase is clear and actionable, with a risk-free trial promise. To end the page, you’ll meet your instructor, who has strong credentials in the field. Any promising travel writer will feel compelled by the value of this membership. 

10. Startup Society

Startup Society provides on-demand business training courses with action plans to help startups grow their business. Their sign-up page provides information on what’s included in a membership. They’ve broken it down into action plans, support, and community. 

Beyond simply mentioning the benefits, though, Startup Society guides a user through what a one-month action plan looks like behind the membership. This is an incredible way to instill confidence in potential members and to show the extreme value. Members can feel confident that they’re receiving what they paid for. 

Create an effective membership site with MemberDash

Creating an effective membership site takes some effort, but with key elements of a membership site in place, your members will see the value in your work. By showing future members the truth of their benefits, with clear, actionable pricing and testimonials, you’ll be set up for a successful site and lucrative membership community. 

Plus, you can do all of this on WordPress with a membership plugin like MemberDash. Building a membership site on WordPress means you own your content and can build a site how you imagine. If you want to see what a membership site could look like with MemberDash, try out the demo today.