Lesson 2: Building the Group
Membership – Required or Not?
In Lesson 1 we took a long look at the different membership levels and the benefits that each level offered. Now it is time to make the choice – what kind of membership should your group have?
Lets start by revisiting the different possible membership levels:
- Open membership – anyone can join, no fees
- Paid open membership – anyone that pays the fee can join
- Restricted membership – the group owner or moderator approves all members
- Paid restricted membership – membership requires approval and payment of fees
- Closed membership – membership is by invitation only
- Paid closed membership – membership by invitation and payment of fees
Before we go any further, we must look at the feasibility of membership fees. You should start by asking yourself this "Would I pay a membership fee to join my own group? Why or why not?" For all of you that answered "No" you now have your answer about the feasibility of charging prospective members. If you answered "Yes" or "Maybe", are you sure that you are being honest with yourself? What are you going to offer to your paying members that other 'free' groups are not offering? If you have something that no other group has, and you think someone will pay you for it, then feel free to charge a membership fee.
When charging fees for membership, make it plain to all visitors that membership is not free! Post your personal contact information along with accepted payment methods where all group visitors can see. When someone requests membership to your group, an email outlining the group's membership fees along with payment information should be sent to the applicant immediately.
Remember, when making the choice of what kind of membership restrictions to have, consider what you would want. How much privacy do you need for your topic? If you had to 'ask' to join your group, would you? Will your group be better with more members or fewer members? Revisit Lesson 1 to look at the details of each membership type.
Once you have made the membership level choice, don't be afraid to go back later and change it. If you find that an open membership is causing you to spend more time deleting spam posts and offensive content than you are spending communicating in your group, then a restricted or closed membership might be the better choice.
