11 Video Membership Site Mistakes to Avoid with Best Practices

Creating a video membership site is a big deal. It’s an exciting yet challenging endeavor, especially for creators new to the space. Done right, it can become a consistent revenue generator, helping you successfully sell memberships and build a sustainable business.

Get certain things wrong and you’re likely to set yourself back or miss out on the opportunity to build the lifestyle business of your dreams.

Want the best chance at making your journey to video membership site success as simple and predictable as possible? Read on.

This guide covers common mistakes creators make when launching their video membership sites. It also includes best practices you can follow to launch your best video membership site ever.

Video Membership Site Mistakes You Want to Avoid

1. Lack of Clear Target Audience

Many creators assume their content will appeal to everyone, which is a costly mistake. Trying to be everything for everyone usually results in being nothing to anyone. Broad appeal often leads to unfocused marketing efforts and content that doesn’t truly resonate with any group.

That’s why creators like Dude Perfect are able to pull 60.5 million subscribers on YouTube. They’ve niched down to focus on a unique blend of sports content delivered with comedy.

Best practice: Define a specific target audience before you launch. Understand their needs, preferences, and pain points. Niching down helps you deliver targeted content guaranteed to attract an audience.

Tailor your content, branding, and marketing efforts to this audience to create a stronger connection. This focused approach ensures your content resonates deeply with the right people, leading to higher engagement and retention.
Art for Kids Hub is a niche art membership site. It’s filled with tutorials on how to draw, paint, create origami, sculpt, and more.

2. Underestimating Content Demand

A common trap is believing that your new site has all the content subscribers could want. Depending on your business model, you could get away with a collection of on-demand videos that can be watched several times, but that’s only possible if they are education-based. Using OTT apps can help deliver this content efficiently across multiple devices, meeting the expectations of your audience.

Entertainment videos, once consumed, aren’t rewatched as much as a complete glute workout or a tutorial on how to build an open-back book shelf. Membership platforms thrive on new and regularly updated content. Without consistent releases, members may lose interest and cancel their subscriptions.

Best practice: Develop a content calendar with regular updates and fresh content. Consistently release new videos, live sessions, behind-the-scenes material, or interactive Q&As.

Membership sites thrive on a continuous stream of content, so plan ahead to avoid lulls that might cause members to lose interest.

The Bloom Method is a fitness membership site for new and soon-to-be moms. It has well over 100 fitness videos and founder Brooke Cates hosts regular live Q&A sessions to support her community.

3. Pricing Missteps

Setting the right price can be tricky. Some creators undervalue their content and charge too little, while others charge too much and drive away potential members. Either way, getting membership pricing wrong can stunt your business growth.

Best practice: Research competitor pricing and analyze your target audience’s willingness to pay. Introduce membership tiers to cater to different levels of engagement and commitment. Tiered plans are common and offering access at different levels or payment models helps appeal to a broader audience while maximizing revenue potential.

Your pricing strategy doesn’t have to be complex either. MeansTV, the world’s first worker-owned streaming service, figured out its pricing and learned that members are inclined to subscribe monthly or annually. Here’s what their sign-up page looks like:

4. Overlooking the Importance of Branding

Branding is not just about logos and colors. It’s about how your audience perceives your content and what makes you stand out. Many creators neglect this crucial step and as a result, struggle to build a loyal member base.

Best practice: Invest in cohesive branding from day one. Your visuals, messaging, and overall voice should be consistent across your site, emails, social media, and content. Strong branding fosters trust and helps you stand out in the crowded membership space, encouraging loyalty from your audience.

Collective Kula is a yoga membership site with a clear and distinct brand look and feel. From the font on its site to the color scheme, imagery and messaging, visitors quickly associate themselves with the idea of a stress-free experience.

5. Ignoring the User Experience (UX)

Creators often prioritize content but overlook user experience. A slow, confusing, or hard-to-navigate site can drive potential members away before they even engage with your content. To succeed, launch your membership using the best site membership platform that aligns with your business goals and ensures a seamless experience for your audience.

Best practice: Deliver an exceptional user experience by making your platform intuitive, ensuring high-quality videos, fast-loading pages, and a hassle-free sign-up process. Regular testing and professional optimization can elevate usability. Payhip simplifies launching memberships—it’s forever free, with just a 5% fee per transaction. You only pay when you get paid, ensuring zero upfront costs. As your membership grows, you can switch to an affordable monthly plan, eliminating percentage fees and keeping more of your hard-earned revenue.

6. Neglecting Marketing and Promotion

As well-intentioned as the saying “if you build it, they will come” is, it’s just not true. Launching a membership site isn’t enough—consistent marketing is needed to attract and retain members. Often, creators are so focused on building their sites that they forget about pre-launch and post-launch marketing.

Best practice: Start promoting well before launch. Build excitement through social media, email lists, and collaborations. After launch, keep up marketing momentum with referral programs, promotions, and regular engagement with your audience. Consistent marketing is key to both attracting new members and retaining existing ones. You can use Payhip to set up your lead magnet by setting your product price to $0 or pay-what-you-want to give your audience a chance to donate to support your membership.

Next Up Comedy was founded in 2016. Since then, it’s consistently published promotional content on social platforms to stay top of mind and attract new members.

7. Failure to Offer a Free Trial or Preview

Sales isn’t always an exciting talking point. Truth is, it can be tough convincing people to pay for something without giving them a taste of what they’re buying. Unfortunately, many creators skip offering free trials or previews, an oversight that can dramatically slow your video membership site’s growth.

Best practice: Offer a free trial or sample content to potential subscribers. Giving people a risk-free way to experience your content firsthand builds trust and significantly boosts conversions, as they can see the value before committing. And your trial doesn’t have to be more than 7 days long. It’s enough time for new customers to test the water.

Etchr Studio is an online art membership site. It offers a free 7-day trial giving art enthusiasts ample time to browse a complete catalog of content before committing to a monthly subscription.

8. Underutilizing Community Features

A membership site should be more than just a place to watch videos—it should foster a sense of community. Unfortunately, many creators miss this opportunity to interact with members, and people seek connections with others who share similar interests.

Best practice: Build a sense of community by incorporating discussion boards, live chats, and member-only events. Strong community features increase the value of the membership and provide a reason for members to stay engaged and loyal over time. Regular interaction between members and you as the creator also strengthens this bond.

Crochet with Tiffany is a Crochet membership site with a thriving community. Founder Tiffany understands the value of driving membership engagement. Members have access to weekly live events, games and challenges, can participate in charity projects, and more.

9. Not Collecting Feedback

Creators sometimes overlook the importance of understanding what their members want. Without feedback, you’re shooting in the dark when it comes to future content and improvements. You’re also missing out on the chance to create new products that your customers want.

Best practice: Regularly collect feedback through surveys, emails, or community discussions. Use this input to refine your content, user experience, and overall offerings. Continuous improvement based on real feedback keeps members satisfied and engaged, and it helps you adapt to their evolving needs.

Tiffany uses community posts to learn more about her members’ interests, even if it’s just to gauge how they feel using a poll.

10. Ignoring Production Quality

Content quality is a big deal. It’s directly linked to how audiences perceive your brand. You may be able to get away with one or two poor-quality videos, but anything more and people may start to complain. They are, after all, paying customers who expect value for money.

Best practice: Invest in quality production equipment, such as good lighting, clear audio, and a decent camera. While content is the primary driver, high production values enhance the viewing experience and demonstrate professionalism, which justifies your subscription fee.

11. Focusing Only on Acquisition and Not Retention

There’s always a rush to attract more members to grow your business. But creators who only focus on acquiring new members forget to nurture their community. And this is often worse than struggling to find new customers.

There’s an adage about the ease and affordability of retaining customers. It’s true. Customers don’t need you to spend more money to recapture their attention. But they do need to know that you still care about them.

Best practice: Pay equal attention to membership retention. Offer ongoing value through consistent updates, exclusive events, and personal engagement. Fostering a supportive and interactive community keeps current members subscribed longer, reducing churn and increasing long-term revenue.

Deliver your best

Launching a video membership site can be incredibly rewarding if done correctly. By avoiding common mistakes like neglecting your audience, underestimating content demand, and failing to market effectively, you can set your site up for long-term success.

Mastering how to build a membership website with regular updates, community building, and feedback ensures a thriving platform that keeps subscribers coming back for more.