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Selling subscriptions is a great way to grow your business or start earning money from the content you create. On top of selling individual pieces of content, you can earn recurring revenue by selling access to digital products. These can help you develop a steady flow of income and build connections with your audience.
Content subscriptions can take many forms, including:
Downloadable worksheets, guides, or ebooks
Premium video access
If you’re interested in setting up a content subscription, read on to learn about a few things you should consider before you begin.
1. Set up your subscription content
As you think through how to package your writing, videos, podcasts, or digital downloads as a subscription, consider these questions:
How often can I commit to delivering new content or products?
How much time would this require?
How would I describe the theme or the value of my subscription to potential subscribers?
Answering these questions can help you determine what content your subscription service should include, as well as help you estimate your income targets.
Content subscription examples
The benefit of a digital subscription is that you can sell almost any type of subscription you want through a website, online store, or Membership Site. Consider the following examples:
Wellness practitioners could deliver a monthly live workshop, workbook exercise, and audio meditation bundle.
Creatives can offer behind-the-scenes videos and live AMA sessions.
Online store owners can share early access to new product launches.
Graphic designers can sell design templates or a design course.
Event planners can sell tickets, downloadable checklists, or budgeting spreadsheets.
Choosing the right content for your subscription-based business is about sharing content your audience wants. Consider what services your current audience or clients respond well to and start there.
You can also repurpose content you already have to get set up faster. For example, a podcaster could paywall old bonus episodes or Q&As. An event planner could offer budgeting worksheets that they provide to their clients as paid downloads.
2. Choose your pricing
Your pricing should be comparable to businesses or individuals with similar experience. And your subscribers should feel like they’re getting value from their subscription fees. Do some research into your competitors and ideal customers before setting a pricing model.
When setting your pricing model, you’ll want to consider:
What you’ll charge for different types of content
Whether you’ll have pricing tiers
If you’ll offer a free tier or free preview option
How often you’ll charge (one-time, monthly, annually)
If you have time to make regular updates, a monthly subscription makes more sense. For someone selling lifetime access to a product or event, a one-time purchase fee is probably best. Many people offer different types of content at different price points to be as accessible as possible for their audience. For example, a yoga instructor might sell:
Affordable workbook, ebook, or guided meditation downloads
Weekly live classes, paid monthly or annually
Video library access to past classes for a one-time fee
One low-cost or free preview class per month
Or they could create subscription tiers, with a Starter tier for just preview classes and digital downloads, Intermediate tier for downloads and library access, Premium tier for access to all content, and an Elite tier that includes all content plus community connection or in-person classes.
Subscriptions work well as replacements for—or add-ons to—existing one-on-one client work. Make sure you offer some content for those who may not be able to afford your full services. Building customer loyalty with subscribers can pay dividends in word-of-mouth marketing.
3. Set up a way to sell subscriptions
It’s helpful to have a website to sell and manage your content subscriptions, if you don’t already. With the right website building tool, you can sell in multiple formats and tiers. A recent Squarespace study found that 79% of those surveyed consider their website important or very important for their business.
For example, on Squarespace, you can:
Start a members-only webpage for exclusive events and content
Add paywalls to video libraries and blogs
Create a subscription option for digital content
Add subscription tiers, including free tiers
Consider ways to continue to draw non-paying members of the public to your content. People who find you through web searches or social media may eventually become paid subscribers. On Squarespace, you can set up free preview content or highlight membership benefits on your signup page.
Once you have your subscriptions options in place, make sure to connect a way to take payments. Choose a payment tool that gives subscribers multiple ways to pay. Seeing a payment method they trust makes visitors more comfortable signing up.
4. Post new material on a regular basis
If you promise your paid subscribers that they’re buying access to a regular stream of new videos, stories, emails, or podcast episodes, make sure you deliver on that promise. Set clear expectations for when and how often new content will appear, and try to hit your deadlines. You may find that breaking your work down into shorter, more frequent segments helps you maintain that steady rate.
That said, the benefit of having a relationship with your audience is that they’re more likely to be understanding if you need to change your frequency. Just make sure to communicate candidly and note whether their subscriptions will change as a result.
If you plan on posting all of your content to a public platform, you may want to give paid subscribers advance access to each episode so they feel like they benefit from their subscription.
5. Engage your community of subscribers
There’s something more intimate about subscribing to a content creator’s work rather than purchasing a one-off piece of content. Perhaps it’s the fact that your followers see your name in their email inbox on a weekly basis. Or that, by making small monthly payments to an artist, they feel a sense of pride in supporting your work.
Your subscribers are the people most likely to market your work through word of mouth. Nurturing your relationship with subscribers is key to growing your audience—and network—as well.
Here are a few suggestions for how to support that relationship:
Set up a membership section of your website. You can use a member website to share exclusive updates with your subscribers via blog, email, or video updates.
Send a subscriber-only email newsletter. Create a separate mailing list just for your subscribers. Use it to update them when you have new classes or content out.
Create private groups on social media platforms. Use these platforms to create space for your subscribers to communicate with you and with each other. If you’re interested in the same things, a deeper sense of community may emerge.
Offer subscribers additional perks. You can create live online events exclusive to followers and offer them sneak peeks at upcoming projects or special discounts and other perks. Test different perks to figure out what excites your audience most.
6. Promote and grow your subscription
Once your subscription is set up and your content is mapped out, it’s time to promote it. Start by talking it up in the places where you already have an audience.
Social media accounts: Get your followers involved early in the process if you can. Ask for feedback on what content they’d be interested in or pricing tiers. They’ll feel invested in what you’re building from the start. Once you’re live, share teasers of your content and link to the signup or product pages.
Website copy: Boost your visibility in search by optimizing your website SEO. Consider what search terms might send someone to your website, like “online yoga class” and work those into your page titles, descriptions, and page text.
Offer a trial: Include a one-month free or discounted trial in the sale of any workshop or service you’re already selling. These customers already trust your work. Inviting them to join your subscription gives them an idea of how it works and makes them more likely to stick with it.
This post was updated on November 13, 2024.