Have you ever dreamt of sharing your expertise, building a loyal community and even generating some extra income all on your own terms? Well, guess what? A membership site can make that dream a reality, and Squarespace has all the features that you need to create a fantastic one. In this episode of Think Inside the Square, you'll learn about three unique membership-based business models and how to create them using Squarespace. Welcome to Think Inside the Square, a podcast full of tips and tricks to help you create a Squarespace website that you're proud of. I'm your host, becca Harpane, squarespace expert and creator of InsideTheSquareco. This episode is all about that magical recurring revenue model that you can create for your business using Squarespace member areas. We're digging into three real-life examples of membership sites set up using Squarespace, and I'll teach you the step-by-step process of actually creating these on your own Squarespace website. There's a lot to cover. For a transcript of this episode, along with the links to any resources mentioned, visit InsideTheSquareco. Forward slash podcast. The term Squarespace is a trademark of Squarespace Incorporated. This content is not affiliated with Squarespace Incorporated.
Speaker 1:I'm dividing this episode into three different parts. We're starting off by talking about those different membership sites that you can create. Then we'll talk about how to build them using Squarespace, and I'll finish up by sharing some of my best practices answering common questions I've already received that can help you implement this magic for your business. My goal for this episode is to inspire you to think outside the box here inside the square. Okay, that was too cheesy. No more of that. Let's get into the overview, shall we?
Speaker 1:A Squarespace member area? It's essentially a folder of content on your site that can only be accessed when someone logs in with an account that's associated with that membership. This account is created for a unique email and it has a unique password. This is something that the user sets up on their end. You don't have control over what this password is. You can send them reset instructions if they need it, but as far as their account is concerned, it's their personal account. This isn't a password that everyone can use and it's not an account that's used by multiple people. It's one person, one login.
Speaker 1:If you've used the internet, member areas can be free or paid and they can include all kinds of content. This isn't just an online course, which is a collection of lessons inside chapters. This isn't just a video collection that you pay to access. This member area is a folder that can hold any type of page in your Squarespace website. So, no matter what you want to share with your audience, if you want them to log in for exclusive access to your content, I want you to create a member area first. If you're a yoga teacher who wants to share a collection of videos, I want you to create a member area first. If you're a handwriting analysis expert who wants to teach people how to do what you do in a structured, step-by-step course, I want you to create a member area first. If you're a personal chef who wants to share a new recipe every week with your subscribers, create a member area first. Remember these member areas they're folders that can have all different types of content. So for that yoga teacher with the video collection, we add that collection to a member area. Then we can add other pages like affiliate links for recommended gear or a private contact form for student support.
Speaker 1:If you're offering a course, you probably have bonus content or additional resources that go with your lessons. Create a member area and then add a course inside that member area and add your bonus content as an extra page. And the personal chef who wants to share any recipe every week you can add a blog to a member area that has scheduled posts that you write in advance. You can also add a video collection to that member area to share cooking technique videos for your subscribers. I would absolutely need that if I signed up for your content so you can see here these member areas. They are ideal for holding all kinds of content. So, instead of starting with a course, I want you to create a member area first and then add course content to it. I made up those three examples to explain why I think anyone and everyone who wants to share paid content with their members should start a member area, not a course or a video collection. I want you to have the ability to add any type of content that you want at any time.
Speaker 1:Now there's one other style of membership that I want to bring up, and that is a community, like an exclusive forum or a group, where people get to interact with each other. Airspace is not designed for that, at least not at the time of recording this. There are third-party apps or programs that you can embed into Squarespace to make that happen, but in this episode of Think Inside the Square, we're focused 100% on Squarespace-only features, so the best option you've got would be a blog inside a member area. Your members they can comment on this blog to interact with each other, and you can moderate the comments, but that's about all you can do to foster any type of community connection Again, embedding a different program or providing an external link to something like a private Slack channel or Discord totally possible, but you'll need to use a program other than Squarespace to have that level of interaction for your members. So let's recap before we move on.
Speaker 1:No matter what you want to offer for your memberships, start with the member area. This member area acts like a folder of content on your site that can only be accessed when someone logs in with their account. You can have an online course inside a member area and other resources too, like a video collection or a portfolio of projects. That's my setup of choice. You can have members-only blog content with scheduled posts and if you want people to connect and interact with each other and you only want to use Squarespace, your only option is a blog with comments and let's be real here, it's really not that great of an option. So I want you to consider adding a link to some kind of third-party program like Discord or Slack, or embedding that program, because Squarespace isn't built for that kind of membership yet. It's not ideal for a community.
Speaker 1:Now that you get the concept, let's talk about the step-by-step process of creating this membership site together. A quick reminder before we dive in I've got a transcript of this episode and links to related resources on my blog at insidethesquareco. This is episode 31,. So that's insidethesquareco forward slash podcast, forward slash 31. Okay, cool On with the process here.
Speaker 1:How to set up a member area in Squarespace. We've got 10 steps to go through together. Step one plan your content. We are getting into some details here, but we've got to start with that high-level planning. What kind of content do you want to share with your members? Do you need videos? What about transcripts for those videos? And how about PDFs downloadable content that your members will want to use? I also want you to think about how you'll deliver this content. Do they get it all at once or do you need to schedule things in advance? This kind of information helps you figure out what you need to create and how to share it using Squarespace.
Speaker 1:Step two is to create a folder in the not linked section of your site where you'll be adding all of your membership content In the not linked section. Click that plus sign and select a folder, and inside that folder is where you're going to add all of your membership content. To be clear, we haven't enabled member areas yet, and here's why I recommend we do this. For step two, I want you to be able to access all of the content that's going to go into your membership without actually having to create a membership. That's because you'll need to test this on multiple devices. As a Squarespace designer, I will never actually launch content before I've reviewed it on different devices to make sure my website looks great, and I strongly recommend you do this for the members as well. Now, inside this folder is where you're going to be adding all of your content, which takes us to step three creating your own template.
Speaker 1:Most people who are sharing membership based content will have specific page layouts that you'll need to duplicate Lessons that look relatively the same Articles, recipes, resources. You get the idea. I like to design my own template inside my Squarespace site, but I can then duplicate to use throughout the member area. In my latest training series, I have two portfolios of projects. One of these projects is a video based lesson and the other is resource articles the video based lessons. They all have the same layout. It starts with a title, a description, a video block and a transcript in an accordion dropdown. Then, after that, I have a section with three links the resource guide for the lesson, the secondary resource I include for every lesson and a link to other supporting articles inside the member area. For each one of those articles I've created a different template, a different style of project in that portfolio. This has a title, a download as PDF button, an icon for the resource, then the text based content. Again, I designed this so now I can duplicate it for every additional resource I need to create.
Speaker 1:So I'm using the term template fairly loosely here, but the idea is I want you to design the layout for most of the content you'll be sharing and then, when you're ready to add your content to Squarespace, all you have to do is duplicate it, duplicate the project, duplicate the page, duplicate the posts. It'll save you a ton of time because you're not having to redesign every individual page. Make yourself a template. And while you're working on this template, there is a key question that you need to answer Is there information that you need to link to on every page? This is an important question because of a setup trick of mine that you can totally steal. If there's information you want on every page, like a footer that's unique for your member area, you can add this to your template.
Speaker 1:I have a unique footer For this footer. It has my site title, terms and conditions, privacy policy, a link to the main course and a contact form. Underneath that I have my little disclaimer this content's not affiliated with Squarespace. Blah, blah, blah. This is a footer that I want on every single page inside my member area my main website footer. It has links to different parts of my blog. It has an option for people to sign up for my newsletter. I don't want that inside my member area. So in this unique page section in my template, I design a footer specifically for the member area. Then I add a code block that says hide the regular footer on my website. Now this section is a part of my template for my member area, so I know that unique footer and not my regular footer will be displayed on every page that I duplicate using this template.
Speaker 1:A cool workaround that I wanted to share with you. All right, that was a big step. I've got a lot more to share with you. Step four this is actually the biggest step of them all actually create your content inside Squarespace. You know what you want to share. You've created a folder in the not linked section of your site and in that folder you have your content templates. That was steps one, two and three. So it's time to roll up your sleeves and get to work, my friend. Now I want to make sure that you understand when I say create your content, I mean it. I'm not talking bullet points here, I'm talking word for word.
Speaker 1:When I created my latest membership area here at inside the squareco, I knew that I wanted to have all my lessons inside a portfolio to make it easy for my students to navigate from one module to the next. Each lesson has a video, but it also has a transcript of that video. It also has a little blurb introduction and it has a related icon. There's also a PDF guide and a related resource, and this project page has multiple page sections. So I was able to create a unique and flexible design. So I created this and I added every single piece of content for every single lesson, duplicating that project template over and over until it was ready. Now, again, you might be better off creating a blog, especially if you want to schedule content to be released at different times. You might want to create an event or an individual lesson for your content. The only way to know for sure is to get clear on what you have to offer, figure out how to offer it and then create your template. That was already steps one, two and three. We're in step four actually create your content. All right, we've got the content done.
Speaker 1:Let's move on to step five enable member areas To use the membership feature in Squarespace. You have to turn it on. I need you to click on selling, then products, then digital products, and here you'll see three options. You'll see course, listed as a guided series of lessons to teach a skill or educate on a topic. You'll also see video on demand, a full library of videos you can organize in the categories. And then you'll see member site, an area of your site with members only pages and content. Remember what I said at the very beginning of this episode Even if you're creating a course or you're only offering videos, I want you to pick member areas. These member areas inside Squarespace have a lot more options than the other two. And, yes, you can add a course to your member area. You can add a collection of videos on demand to your member area, so don't be fooled by those other two options.
Speaker 1:Member area is what you want to select. All right, we're on to step six Actually create the member area. Now that you've enabled it, you literally need to make it so. In your pages menu you'll see a new section for member areas. Click a plus sign to create one. Inside this member area, you have a few settings that we need to talk about.
Speaker 1:So let's move on to step seven, deciding on the appropriate settings for your membership site. Click on the gear icon next to the member area and pick one of three navigation options. You can replace the main navigation, so when members are logged in, all they're going to see are the links in the member area. You can select show in customer account panel option, and that means people will be able to navigate the pages in the member area when they open their account. Info that shows up kind of like a sidebar. Personally, that's a little disorienting because it's not the way they're used to interacting with the Squarespace website, so I don't recommend selecting that one.
Speaker 1:And then we have, last but not least, you can select don't show member navigation. If you choose this option, you'll just have your regular website header shown at the top of your screen. I actually select don't show member area navigation and then I actually create a secondary navigation myself. But that's some advanced stuff. You want to learn a little bit more about that? Check out the show notes for this episode at insidethesquareco forward slash podcast, forward slash 31.
Speaker 1:All right, so you need to set your price for the member area as well. You can set this to be free, weekly, monthly, one time recurring. You've got a lot of different options there. And if you don't have commerce set up on your site, make sure that you link to Stripe, paypal or Squarespace payments, whatever payment processor you're using, before you launch. All right, that was step seven deciding on your settings.
Speaker 1:Step eight this isn't the easy one Drag all the content you created into the member area folder. You already created it, you already tested it. It's time to move it to the member area and remove the password for all of those pages that you created under the page settings. That way, members can access your content. All right, step nine test it all. You need to test the login process before you launch. You can set the price to free just for a few minutes to see what it's like to sign up, or you can create a discount code for 100% off. That's what I do when I'm testing my member area. I create a discount code and I practice the whole login sign up process to make sure it's easy to access the content and that all of my navigation works. And step 10, add a member sign up block to your site. I recommend creating a sales page focused on getting people to sign up for your new member area, but you do you Wherever you decide to encourage people to enroll in your new member area. You can add a join or enroll button to any page on your site using a content block known as the digital product block. Select the specific member area and then choose to display the title description, the price and, of course, the sign up button, customizing the text and the alignment right there in the block itself.
Speaker 1:Okay, that was a lot of info today. You ready for another recap? Let's do it Super fast. Overview here. Step one decide what you want to offer and how. What type of content are you sharing and do you release it all at once or do you schedule it? Step two create a folder for all of your new content in the not late section of your site. It's gonna make it easier to test your layout and links later on. Step three design your own template Inside that folder. I want you to create a project, a page or a blog post that you can duplicate for your member content.
Speaker 1:I have two portfolios full of projects in my newest member area. One of them is a template for video based content and another is a written article based content, just to give you a little perspective there. Step four actually create the content inside Squarespace, and I mean all of it, all of the things I want you to add all the videos, the buttons, the PDFs, everything. Step five is to enable member areas in your settings. Under selling products digital products you'll see member site. It's listed under course and under video on demand. That's what you want member site, no matter what you're going to be sharing with your membership area.
Speaker 1:Step six is to create the area. Click into your pages menu and select the plus sign next to the new member area section. This is where you name the member area. Step seven is selecting your navigation settings and setting up the pricing player that you wanna go with. Step eight is the easiest step of them all move all of your content into the member area. You already created it inside the folder and you're not linked section, so now all you have to do is drag that content to the member area inside your pages menu. Step nine test it all. I want you to test the log in process. Make a coupon code that's a 100% discount and interact with your content on multiple devices. Click every button, submit every form, go from lesson to lesson, test it all. And step 10, create a place for people to sign up. I like to make a sales page specific for the member area that any place you can add a content block to, you can add a digital product block, which is how people will sign up. And there you have it, this step-by-step process of creating a member area in Squarespace.
Speaker 1:I've been talking about this feature for a while, so I actually have some common questions that I wanted to answer before we call this episode a wrap. First question that I get asked the most often how do I share PDFs inside a member area? You can upload them to Squarespace, but I don't, and I'll tell you why. I host my PDFs on Google Drive and I set them up so that anyone with the link can see the PDF. Now I add that link inside Squarespace and I set it up to open in a new tab. I do this because I make spelling mistakes all the time. Squarespace changes all the time and I know my content is going to need to be updated. Inside Google Drive. I can upload a new version of the PDF and the link stays the same. It's the easiest way for me to manage updates.
Speaker 1:Usually after that question, people ask me is sharing a PDF link via Google Drive super secure? And the answer is no, it is not. My students could totally share the PDF so that anyone they wanted to. But you know what? They trust me to teach them cool stuff and I trust them not to give my stuff away. Mutual respect is a pretty awesome thing, so I don't worry too much about my students sharing my content.
Speaker 1:Another question people ask me a lot is what about Kajabi or Podio or any other membership website out there? The truth is, those programs are great. They're designed for memberships and they have a ton of different metrics and other bells and whistles that you can use to launch a great membership site. But I don't need that stuff. Plus, I thought it would be super weird to teach people how to create and customize Squarespace using a program that isn't Squarespace. So yeah, I'm a little biased when I stick with Squarespace because it has all. I need A way to deliver my content to people who log in to access it.
Speaker 1:Does Squarespace member areas integrate with Squarespace campaigns? Yes, they absolutely do. You can set up an auto email sequence right inside Squarespace campaigns. That's members only Pro tip. Do this. It is a great way to reach out to new members with important information once they sign up. Then you can all use a third party email program to reach out with more ongoing content, which is what I do. I do a mix of both.
Speaker 1:Another question I get asked often is how do you collect payments? I use the Squarespace payment integration on my site. I've also used Stripe in the past. They do charge a transaction fee both of them do, depending upon what pricing plan you go with and sure a percentage of every sale it adds up. But they handle the security of the site and the security of my membership information and I am A-okay with them charging me a fee to handle that kind of security. That's the price of doing business and I will gladly pay it.
Speaker 1:The final question that people love to ask me about setting up a member area in Squarespace is if they can import data from a different membership site. Let's say you've already run your website on Thinkific or Teachable or one of those other platforms. Can you import that data into Squarespace? And the answer is no. At the time of recording, squarespace doesn't have that feature. But I don't work for Squarespace and that's subject to change. So definitely check out the support articles at supportsquarespacecom or reach out to their support team to see if they have an answer for you. That might change in the future, but as of right now, we don't have the ability to import member data into Squarespace.
Speaker 1:Well, there you have it, my friend, probably my longest episode to date how to create a membership site using Squarespace. I have some rad resources for you. In the show notes I've got my free guide for creating a course, a tutorial on making a sales page or a landing page. So much good stuff. Insidethesquareco forward slash podcast. This is episode 31. So inside the squareco forward slash podcast forward slash three one.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for tuning into this episode of Think Inside the Square. I hope you learned something new and that you're inspired to set up your own membership site using Squarespace. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave me a review. I'm still learning how to do this podcast thing, and I heard that reviews can help me reach even more Squarespaceers, so I'd really appreciate your support. Now I've got a lot more tips and tricks to share with you about making an amazing Squarespace website that's uniquely yours, so be sure to subscribe to this podcast wherever you happen to be listening to this episode. Thanks again for listening and, most importantly, have fun with your Squarespace website. Bye for now. I'll see you guys next time.