5 reasons for video content creators to build a membership website.

Being a content creator seems to be all the rage these days with literally everyone from young children to grandmothers and grandfathers getting in on the action.

With that being said, there are the go-to platforms like YouTube, Patreon, Instagram, and Facebook where there’s already an enormous and still growing audience, it makes the most sense for you to get started there in the beginning.

As great as these platforms can be for your exposure and building a brand, most of the time they shouldn’t become the only places your fans/followers can find you on the web.

In this article, we’ll list the top 5 reasons you should consider building a membership video website as a Video content creator.

You’ll have full control

When it comes to being a content creator, the first place you’d think of to post your newest content is probably one of the more popular social media outlets Instagram or Facebook. If you have a little more experience you may be already within the Patreon sphere.

As great as these platforms are, content creators must keep in mind that, you have no control over the content once you publish it to said platforms. Your content can be removed at any time for the vaguest of reasons and you can be banned from the platforms within the blink of an eye, spending months trying to negotiate with what can seem like terrorists.

One of the most recent instances of how important having full control of your intellectual property/content was the social media company OnlyFans blindsided decision to ban adult content.

Many content creators on the platform saw the decision as to the beginning of the end of their businesses as that was their only place of business so to speak. Luckily for them, the decision was reversed but it should highlight a very important issue and ring a bell in the content creator’s community about the power of having your own platform. Full Control.

When content creators have their own Membership video website, they are no longer beholden to the giants of big tech and take the power into their own hands.

As long as you abide by the terms of your hosting plan, you make the rules and decisions as to what’s appropriate and what’s not on your website to keep you in full control of your brand.

You’ll make money faster!

One of the main reasons becoming a content creator is so popular, well it’s the amount of money you can make from doing something you love.

In respect to a new content creator on YouTube, (the top video-sharing platform) for you to be able to monetize your videos, you must first fit a certain criterion of 1000 subscribers and over 4000 hours of watched video content. Not to mention you’ll need to have a minimum balance of $100 before you can cash out.

Now I don’t know about you but that seems like almost an impossible feat for someone just starting off in the industry or doesn’t have an audience but is looking to make some cash right away.

With your own membership video website, you have the ability to have your fans/subscribers pay a monthly subscription to your website from day 1. Your payment processing is directly connected to your bank account so you cash out yourself whenever you want.

You’ll look Professional while building the Brand

With content creators or within any profession, professionalism and branding play a big part in your success believe it or not. We as humans live our lives making decisions based on not only how we feel but how people make us feel, especially when inviting us into their own homes or website in this case.

As a consumer, seeing a content creator with their own website is one of the biggest tells that they are at the very least trying to present a sense of professionalism towards their brand and the consumer.

If you don’t have your own website, the only way people can find you is through social media, which is great and all but god forbid we have a Facebook crash like we had a few months ago, then what? For somebody with a huge following a shutdown like that can prove to be insanely costly for them, hence the dangers in relying on these platforms for long-term success.

Make no mistake, there is no shame or guilt to be felt because one is utilizing those platforms but as you begin to grow and if you want to grow as a creator your brand must grow along with you as well.

A simple solution for a content creator already in the game who is looking to transition to their own website would be as follows:
Instead of only posting videos to your YouTube page and fighting the algorithm for views and exposure, give yourself the chance to win at both ends by posting only exclusive content for your subscribers on your website while leaving the free content on the free platforms.

This way you’re still building your YouTube page, getting the ad revenue all while having the ability to create another revenue stream from your website subscriptions.

Avoid random censorship.

As great as YouTube is it seems to be amongst the most notable when it comes to censorship issues amongst the content creator community on its platform.

I’m sure we’ve all heard the stories about someone’s innocent YouTube video being taken down for apparently no reason, then a back-and-forth inquiry with the content creator and YouTube ensues sometimes over months to get the content back on the platform.

Censorship, is a gift, and a curse when in the wrong hands, but the gift is that it makes the internet safe for everyone like you and me. The internet is covered in content and information, a lot of it is good and a lot of it many of us don’t want to see. That’s where censorship comes in to prevent that.

As previously mentioned in this article, having full control should be at front of every content creator’s mind with your own membership video website, you’re the head of the censorship department and all requests go through you, so you can forget to worry about YouTube guidelines and shadow banning.

Algorithms won’t block your shine.

Everyone is always talking about algorithms this algorithm that but sometimes people aren’t sure just how they work.

In the simplest of terms from a YouTube perspective, an algorithm is a computer-generated calculation based on artificial intelligence that’s built into YouTube’s system which helps viewers see more content that interests them instead of always having to search for it.

Wonder why whenever you pull up YouTube the homepage just seems to always have something you’re interested in? Well, that’s the algorithm doing its work.

The more videos you watch on YouTube while logged in, the more YouTube’s algorithm learns about your likes and dislikes in order to serve you an almost personally catered version of YouTube.

For content creators on YouTube, as you can imagine algorithms play a huge role in terms of your growth and monetization on the platform. You may be producing the best content in your eyes and your audience seems to like it, but If the algorithm is not in your favor chances are you’re not getting the views you deserve.

With your own website, you can fight back against the YouTube algorithm because you’ll be directing your already established audience there, essentially keeping users with your infrastructure as opposed to YouTube’s.

Another way to counteract this is through simple good old SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or tools like Google ads. With these techniques implemented, you can now really start to target new subscribers and when they visit your website there is no competition to distract them from your content.

In Conclusion

Now with all this being said don’t think that you need to abandon these platforms and just go all out on your own website. Building traffic to your website can be a tough process especially if you have no previous audience, to begin with.

This is why those platforms are so great to start off with because they already have an audience waiting for content like yours. Do continue to use these platforms to expand as their reach to various audiences is like no other but always keep in mind that over time you are converting them over to your personal platform.

Next time someone asks “Hey, where can I see some of your videos?” wouldn’t it be great for you to tell the “check out my website”.

Are there some other reasons you may have thought of?

Let us know in the comments.