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As time passes, creating an online community that is free and robust community has the ability to provide all the top of funnel leads that you'll ever require. Does it sound like a good deal to be true? It might be. It's a difficult question because you want to avoid putting to provide so much value through the free community that your non-paying participants have no incentive to join your paid membership community.

And if there is already an active, non-profit community in your industry, do you have your own unique selling point to attract people from the community they're currently with - and where they've met people and built a reputation - to become part of yours?

If yes, good for ya. If not, consider ways to join that existing thriving community and make yourself a respected participant. We'll discuss that in a moment. Two common platforms for creating a free community include Facebook Groups and discussion forums. If you choose to use Facebook, we recommend a closed Facebook Group where non participants are able to see the group exists, but can't participate without being approved by the Group's administrator. If you've got an open group, the discussions are usually centered about the least common denominator , and devolve quickly. You want to create a welcoming, friendly environment to encourage people to participate just like within your membership. Facebook has also hidden "secret" invitation-only groups, but you don't need this since you're using it as an end-of-the-line source that must be discoverable.

The biggest pitfall for users of Facebook is that you're essentially being a part of another's sandbox. If they alter the rulesas they have been known to do in the past, your community can vanish within a short time. Having more control and assuming lower risk are important given the amount of time and energy required to create such a community. A free to join discussion forum can also be a good alternative for a community. See if the forum software that you're using in your membership allows you to create a spin-off community in front of the cost of the paywall.

Either way, clearly post the rules of your community and prepare to moderate discussions as required. If you have moderators inside your paid community, expand their responsibilities to include guarding your free community, too.

Again, I highly suggest establishing a formalized free vs. paid-for content strategy. When you've got one in place, you are able to start discussion in your free community with your free content and, in turn, promote your paid membership in a non-pushy way.

Regardless of where you run a community for free, you're going to need to devote a considerable amount of time into participating there, especially in the beginning. You need to make yourself the head of the group and the expert in your field. Provide a lot of value in the beginning, as well as answer any questions quickly. However, as time goes on, assuming you have an adequate number of members, you should remove yourself from the free group back. For instance, let your group know you'll be around on Tuesdays and Fridays to respond to questions and take part. If they want to talk with you earlier, there's always a person available to talk with them within your community of paid members forum.

Also, you should leave less detailed answers to inquiries as the time passes. Answer questions, through any means, but do not offer the complete answer as you would to members who pay. Try a small sample, and then point the free community member toward your paid membership where they'll find the full answer to that question and numerous others. Also, it's helpful when you are able to point them to the content in your membership that can answer specific questions that are asked by your group for free. As with any acquisition channel, you need a way to capture leads and get people to join your funnel. This means downloading your lead magnet and start receiving your email nurture sequence. Do not skip this step.

Make sure that you're consistently advertising your paid membership in the community you're in. Be respectful, not pushy or overtly announcing the matter, but do include hyperlinks to your entire free content (which naturally have lead magnet opt-ins scattered across the content) Podcast episodes, announcements of new features to your membership that you pay for, as well as special promotions to help drive conversions.

Create a community for free with careful thought by you. It's a long-term investment similar to creating your own podcast but if you can get momentum, you can start the race for an annual membership fee!

Participate as a leader within the existing communities.

If there is one or more free online communities dedicated to your field of expertise it is possible to join one of them and contribute regularly, aid others, and provide value, rather than making a fresh start by creating your own competitive community.

It could be viewed as the extension of your social strategy and participation should be included as an aspect of your routine. In other words you must keep a list of the Facebook and Twitter interactions that you wish to have throughout the week. Make participating in these free groups one of the top points on your checklist. Put it on your calendar and commit to it because if your participation isn't consistent, you'll be in the wrong place as it's unlikely to be seen or get noticed in a meaningful way.

If you're persistent in this manner, you'll establish yourself as an authority who individuals will be interested in and join in with these communities that are free. Please don't believe that you need to overtake a community of another with junky sales, spammy emails. That will get you an unintentional ticket to departure of the group's organizer. Respect their rules and make your participation known as permitted in your organic influencer strategy, goal #1 is to become a positive person that adds a lot of value to the community.

Reddit and Quora

Reddit and Quora are often overlooked gems that serve as an all-in-one resource for those seeking information on the internet. I'd be flabbergasted if you searched those two sites but found nothing relating to your membership topic.

Answering questions on Quora or Reddit that pertain to your area of membership creates the gift that keeps on giving. If you are a helpful resource on those sites, people will find your answers repeatedly.

You can add participation on these sites in your social media strategies and checklist. Even if you check these websites once per monthly or every quarter, you should establish a certain amount of engagement if your business subject is covered on any website. Take an hour to search these websites for queries you could respond to or threads where you can add something of value to. If you are able to write a dozen replies in that period of time, you've planted seeds that eventually will bear fruit as those threads are referred to often in the future.

If you're visiting these websites be sure to remember one of my golden principles of marketing: First, be friendly, then you can be more useful, and then you'll be so unbelievably helpful by providing so much value that there's only one option left for the people you want to reach pay you money for even more sweetness and value.