HOW I CHOSE MY ONLINE MEMBERSHIP

By Leticia Taylor

A few people have asked me about my chosen online membership platform, so I figured I would write about it.

The Gumroad platform doesn’t necessarily cater to fitness like many of the other platforms out there, but it has all the functionality I require.

Plus, it has free resources from experts and people who’ve found financial success using Gumroad to help me grow my business. It's free to sign up, no limits on storage/uploading, supports embedding videos into my website, offers secure purchasing, the interface is user friendly, and there's a mobile app in addition to desktop access to content.

I like the philosophy behind the platform, it’s meant to empower creators of all kinds to make money creating what they love (rather than for the platform to get rich). I became familiar with Gumroad through music discovery several years back, and turns out I had some items in my library already.

I’ve started to become a bigger fan of Gumroad because of their blog and podcast which helps creators with their business. They interview people who’ve started a side hustle selling digital or other items and gone on to create full-time incomes through the platform. The connection between the business and personal insights are interesting.

Another option I considered briefly was Vimeo OTT. They offer you a suite of tools and a website that can be personalized to your brand. It feels more like your own "virtual studio" because you can view videos without leaving the page (mind you I’m unsure if this has changed since I last looked). Initial setup is free, but you will need to pay for storage space. Their plans include live streaming, branded apps with in-app purchases, app development and management, and support for subscribers. This was too much for the stage I was in. It could be perfect for a larger studio or coach/teacher with a significant following that needs a more streamlined and personalized online experience for their students.

There are other platforms providing all-in-one software solutions to studios, like the popular and widely used MindBody. Their offering may be more appropriate for a studio or individual with a large enough following to make the fee worth it. If you have the budget and it makes sense for your business, it's a lot easier to have marketing, client management, virtual on demand classes, and live streaming all in one place so you can focus on teaching or scaling.

There are definitely plenty of other options out there. New ones are emerging quickly to serve the fitness space with some specific to yoga and Pilates, so do your research.

Remember to consider your budget, what works best for you and your students, and in what direction you'd like to grow your business.

Learn more about Leticia and check out her articles and membership videos.