Member Area for Online Courses: What It Is and How to Create One
How will your students receive and consume your content?
When you're building a digital business, that's a question you need to ask. And you can't answer it quickly or without a strategy. That's because the way your online course is consumed will directly affect some very important points in your customers' journey. Just to illustrate, these include their long-term connection with you and your products, and whether shared access is possible or not (in other words, people pirating your course). Not to mention the sales opportunities through inside sales that you could lose depending on your choice.
So, if your answer involved uploading the material to the cloud and sharing an access link, keep reading and rethink that choice. In this article, the team of specialists at Cademí, Brazil's first Member Hub, will explain:
- What a member area is
- Benefits of a member area
- Types of member areas available on the market
- How to create a member area for online courses
What is a member area for online courses
Those who choose to create a member area get a fully customized platform with their digital business's own visual identity. In short, we're talking about the exclusive space your students go to in order to watch your lessons. With access through a username and password.
On top of that, you can put all of your content on this platform, from lead magnets to e-books, masterclasses, and full courses, and unlock access based on what each person buys and also on your own criteria. For example, only those who watched the first lesson can watch the second, or the second module only unlocks after seven days.
The space can be fully customized to your business and strategies.
Benefits of a member area
Before member areas, the most common approach was to access content in the cloud or directly on video platforms with a password or exclusive links. The thing is, among other issues, that format made piracy easier and data collection harder.
Those were the main reasons the biggest players in the market moved their businesses to membership platforms.
But another benefit of member areas for online courses is being able to organize content in a more eye-catching way. With the Netflix style, created by Cademí in 2020, for example, your catalog looks just like a streaming service. Split into courses, modules, or lessons. A format users already know and one that increases engagement.
Besides that, you can show the student's progress. That makes the experience more dynamic and visual. A member area will also help you:
1. Build your authority
When students log in to your platform, they'll see your entire course catalog. As a result, they'll see you as an expert they can trust and learn even more from.
On Cademí, for example, you can upload all of your material (video, PDF, MP3), both for paying students and for lead magnets. The price doesn't change, no matter how many students you have. This usually drives sales through the diamond funnel (click to learn more).
2. Get more information and data
When you create a member area, you get access to data on how your content is consumed. You can use it both to improve your digital product and to get insights for creating other products for upsells and downsells.
3. Get more security
Since access requires a username and password, content is less likely to be shared among friends. That gives you confidence that your courses won't be pirated and also opens the door to new purchases through referrals.
4. Schedule your content
If your students have seven days to request a refund, the ideal is to limit access during that period. That way, no one can consume 100% of the course and then ask for a refund.
+ What can Cademí's member area offer you?
With a member area, you can upload all your content at once and set up any restriction you want. For example, only showing a module starting on a certain date or after the previous module has been completed.
5. Issue certificates
Offering a certificate of completion is a strategy for boosting engagement. And with a member area, certificates are issued automatically. On Cademí, you can either have a custom template or go with the default one.
Types of member areas available on the market
Convinced you should create a member area?
Since this business model arrived in Brazil, there have been countless options available to digital entrepreneurs. But, generally speaking, they fall into two formats: independent member areas and free ones.
Basically, the free ones are offered by payment gateways. So if you choose to sell on Hotmart or Kiwify, for example, you can create your member area with them. What to watch out for is the limit on the number of students and the need to always sell through the same gateway.
Two issues that don't exist when you choose an independent member area, as is the case with Cademí. Those who go with a Cademí-style Member Hub get a platform with no limit on the number of students and complete freedom when choosing a payment gateway. You can bring your lead magnet students into the same space as your other students and, with that, make internal sales through the exclusive diamond funnel.
How to create a member area for online courses
The first step is choosing where you'll build your platform.
The whole process that follows is pretty intuitive, but those who choose Cademí get human support at every stage. Our specialists are with you every step of the way and even check that everything is set up right and what could be improved. In short, the process is:
- Customize the platform;
- Create and structure the courses;
- Upload the content;
- Set up deliveries and access;
For every stage, you'll find step-by-step video tutorials in Cademí's support. On top of that, the team is available to do it with you or answer questions in a meeting. Click here to learn more and talk to one of our specialists.
