"Membership or course: which first?"

If you're thinking about selling something online, you've probably wondered whether to start with a course or a membership. Both are great. They just suit different things.

Here's a quick way to decide.

What's the difference?

A course takes someone from A to B. It has a beginning, a middle and an end. People pay once, work through it and finish.

A membership is ongoing. People pay every month (or every year) for continuing help, new content, live sessions and a community.

Start with a course if…

• What you teach has a clear end point. "Learn to knit your first jumper" or "Set up your bookkeeping" are journeys with a finish line.
• You want to create it once. A course is built up front and then sold again and again.
• Your people need a big push, not ongoing support. Some topics only need learning once.

Start with a membership if…

• What you help with never really finishes. Fitness, yoga, creativity, business growth, dog training, gardening: people keep going, and keep needing fresh ideas and encouragement.
• You enjoy showing up regularly. A membership works best when there's something new each month, like a live call, a new class or a challenge.
• You'd like steady, regular income. Monthly payments are much easier to plan around than one-off sales.
• Your people love being together. If your customers enjoy chatting and cheering each other on, a community is a big part of the value.

Three questions to help you decide

1. Will people still need me after they've learned the basics? If yes, a membership.
2. Do I want to create everything once, or a little every month? Once suits a course. A little every month suits a membership.
3. What are people already asking me for? If they keep coming back with new questions, that's a membership waiting to happen.

You don't have to choose forever

Lots of businesses end up with both. A common path is to start a membership for ongoing support, then add short courses for specific topics, either included in the membership or sold on their own.

Or the other way round: a course gets people started, and a membership keeps them going afterwards.

With Membership Unlimited you can run memberships and courses in the same place, so you can start with one and add the other whenever you're ready.

The short version

If it has a finish line, start with a course. If people will keep needing you, start with a membership. And if you're still not sure, ask the people you want to help. They'll tell you.