A membership site is a great way to earn passive income and achieve the freedom to do what you want while still managing a business. However, as your membership business grows, it's wise to start thinking about different ways to diversify your business and increase membership income.

In this post, we'll highlight a few different ways you can diversify your membership business' streams of income and make more money. Let's get going!

1. Affiliate Marketing

Promote Related Products on Your Site

Though not directly related to membership income, a great way to increase revenue on your site is to become an affiliate for related products.

Using your blog, emails, and social media platforms, you can share about the businesses and brands you love while also making some easy money in the process.

Start an Affiliate Marketing Program on Your Site

Another way to leverage affiliate marketing is to create an affiliate program for your site. By doing so, you're basically creating a non-salaried team of salespeople who are out there promoting your product for you all the time. You only pay them when they make a sale.

MemberPress makes this easy, because our sister product, Easy Affiliate, integrates seamlessly with your membership site and has everything you need to create and manage your program.

2. Sell Merchandise

If your membership site starts gaining a bigger, more loyal following, it could be a good idea to start selling branded merch on your website.

Make t-shirts using your company's slogan or branded hashtag, sell mugs using popular phrases or quotes in your company, or sell hats and notebooks using your company's logo. With the right audience, your merchandise will fly off the shelves, making your bank account very happy!

Branded merch increases revenue through direct sales as well as through advertisement, which could lead to greater membership income in the long run.

3. Offer Related Services/Products

Another great way to earn some extra cash through your membership site is to sell services or products that compliment your membership business. Doing so will increase revenue through sales while also adding value to your membership offerings, making them more attractive to potential members.

For instance, if your membership business caters to business owners, consider offering consulting sessions or web design services to help business owners get started.

Or maybe your membership is for plant enthusiasts – sell custom flower pots or a beginner botany class. As long as the product or service goes along with what your customers need or want, there's a good chance you'll make some sales.

4. Offer Online Courses

The world of learning has changed rapidly in the past few years. Now business owners can sell online courses to earn additional cash and attract more members.

The great thing is that you can teach a course on virtually anything. Think about your customers and what they're seeking. Do they want to learn how to be better at marketing? How to navigate Twitter? Or do they just want to brush up on their knowledge of the Civil War?

Consider what attracted people to your membership in the first place and then develop your courses off of that information.

5. Add New Creative Content/Media

If you haven't noticed, a lot of organizations have websites and blogs, but a lot of companies have also moved into podcasts and videos. Did you know you can earn money with this content?

Think about topics and issues that are most important to your members and start creating related content. If your membership is for people who collect baseball cards, consider starting a sports podcast. If your membership business is for lifelong learners, create a YouTube channel where you share tidbits of information about set topics every week.

The possibilities are endless!

The Takeaway

Having multiple streams of income is always great, but that doesn't mean that you have to have numerous streams from various businesses. The beauty of having a membership site is that you can expand and grow it into many different things that will serve your members.

Remember these four revenue generators: