The Hidden Bonus Within Subscription Based Offers: Paid Communities

When I launched my online training course, Start Up School for new entrepreneurs over 50, it hit a nerve with hundreds.

Why?

Ageism in companies resulted in releasing thousands very accomplished 50+executives, leaving these talented folks without a clear path to their next chapter.

My program was designed to help them recreate themselves as consultants, coaches, trainers, fractional executives in a 10 week system paid in 3 installments - a 90 day subscription.

What emerged, however, was a surprise bonus: these folks were eager for someone to provide community, support, tools, and coaching for them after the course was over. That led to the Momentum Community, a subscription based offer which added handsomely to my business while fulfilling important needs for our new entrepreneurs.

We have seen the massive appeal and growth of communities in so many sectors of business.

The tech world is filled with platforms such as MeetUp, Mighty Networks, Circle, Slack Channels, and many others answering the call for online platforms to serve these communities.

As you build out your productized service - whether it be a subscription based offer as your core product, or a program, or a playbook,

you have the seeds for a powerful community that can become your back-end subscription offer.

This can provide even greater rewards for both members and your business because an engaged community will be a captive audience.

This community is also your laboratory for new product ideas and offers, as well as the perfec testing ground for vetting them.

When you launch subscription-based services, they're not just creating recurring revenue streams – they're building vibrant communities that can become powerful assets for growth, innovation, and long-term success.

Understanding this community aspect reveals numerous opportunities for both business development and customer engagement.

Creating Value Beyond the Core Offering

A subscription service naturally groups together people with shared interests, needs, goals and problems. This community foundation can be leveraged in multiple ways:

1. Knowledge Sharing and Peer Learning

Members of subscription communities often possess valuable expertise and experiences. By facilitating knowledge exchange through forums, discussion boards, or member spotlights, businesses can create additional value without directly increasing operational costs. When subscribers help each other, it strengthens both individual relationships and overall community bonds.

2. Data-Driven Insights

The ongoing relationship with subscribers provides rich behavioral data and direct feedback that can inform product development and service improvements. This continuous loop of information helps businesses stay aligned with customer needs and adapt quickly to changing preferences. Being the source of this data gives you enormous power to leverage.

3. Enhanced Customer Support

Community members often become unofficial product ambassadors, helping new users navigate features or troubleshoot issues. This peer-to-peer support can significantly reduce customer service costs while creating a more engaging experience for all members.

4. Network Effect Advantages

As the community grows, its value to each member increases exponentially. New subscribers gain access to more resources, perspectives, and potential connections, while existing members benefit from fresh insights and expanding networking opportunities.

5. Additional Monetization Opportunities

This is where it gets even more fun.

Beyond the core subscription, communities open up additional revenue streams through:

- Premium events and workshops featuring community experts

- Exclusive merchandise that reinforces community identity

- Special access to new features or content based on member voting

- Partnership opportunities with complementary services

6. Building Greater Lifetime Client Value

The name of the game for all subscription based business is increasing Lifetime Client Value (LCV).

Community creates practical and emotional investments that go beyond traditional customer relationships. Members develop connections not just with the service, but with fellow subscribers. This multifaceted attachment leads to:

- Higher retention rates

- More frequent feature usage

- Increased word-of-mouth marketing

- Greater resistance to competitor offerings

We help Product WYZE clients design and develop these communities because opening the doors to a community is one thing; keeping members engaged and the value up takes special know-how and skill.

Your subscription-based offer is the gateway to many additional opportunities to be appreciated by your clients, prospects, and enabling your business to scale up in a variety of pathways -

without having to hire full-time staff, and more importantly, allowing you to enjoy earning even when you are not physically working.

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Nancy Fox is the CEO of Product WYZE™️, guiding consulting & fractional exec firms to grow and scale up through recurring revenue & subscription productized services - signature systems, playbooks, courses, books, webinars , and customized networking plans. You're invited! Come learn how to create, launch, and grow a successful subscription-based offer to add to your growing ready-to-scale fractional or advisory business. The Product WYZE Subscription Success Bootcamp is FREE - sign up now.