I quietly launched a membership at the end of 2025. One of the things that I noticed about Creators Getting Paid was that there was a very clear community aspect to the work that I was doing. The issue that I was having was that I wanted to host that community in a place where I had more control over how I interacted with my community. I spent a lot of time testing out different types of software to host the community and then I quietly reached out to a few of my top fans to join the platform that I initially chose. Then I changed my mind and picked a completely different platform. If you’re starting a membership in 2026 here are some tips and things to consider.
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How to Start a Membership in 2026
One of the most important trends happening in 2026 is a shift to building “real” community. You’re not influencing people to buy your favorite lipstick. Instead, you’re fueling the growth of impactful spaces, access to knowledge and opening doors for other people. A membership in 2026 is a place where you can kee-kee with your favorite people, celebrate their wins and share resources to elevate their work, interests and projects.
Know Who You’re Serving
(Tip #1)
One of the most annoying things that I’ve worked on is how to clearly identify who I’m serving. I know in head and heart who I would like to work with. But, it can be difficult to share in 50 words or less. Here’s who The Creator Income Collective is focused on.
Helping empathetic and mission driven creators build impactful and healthy brands through list building.
It has taken me FOREVER to get to this description because I’ve changed my project and the approach to it in tiny ways throughout the year. The use of the words empathetic and mission were deliberate. You can also signal who you’re serving through the content that you share on your platform(s), the collaborations that you work on and the images that you share on your feeds. There are several ways you can communicate who you would like to work with.
Start Where You Currently Are
(Tip #2)
I spent almost 5 weeks testing different platforms trying to figure out where I would host my community. I actually landed on using Circle.io which is a fantastic platform. It’s also expensive at $129 a month for a community that didn’t exist-the investment didn’t make sense. I also noticed that the Circle App was crashing out for hosts of memberships and I didn’t want to navigate around that issue as I learned a new software. I shifted to using Slack because I have a friend who runs a wonderful community on Slack and I saw how straightforward things could be. It was active, people were engaging and it was fun. I do see Circle.io in my future-just not right now. Let’s prove the concept first. I’d forgotten that this was how I started my podcast initially on Free Conference Call (dot) com, wrote my first books using Google docs and started my first blog on Blogger a free platform. I upleveled as I proved to myself that I would continue working on the project(s)
Where you start isn’t where you finish
- Launch a Facebook group
- Host a Meetup group (I’m doing this in 2026)
- Use Slack
- Don’t like Slack or a similar tool? Use a Google Doc and Google Meets
Then as things grow, you make adjustments.
Be Clear About The Value Add
(Tip #3)
Memberships are great…but…what is the point in being a member? It might take you some time to figure out and identify the value add for your community. I’m going to share what that looks like for The Creator Income Collective.
- Aligned community
- List building as the core focus-Growing our lists with cross-posting and newsletter swaps as well as aligned collaborations
- A growing list of aligned email lists or newsletters that you can swap with. It’s called SUBSCRIBED. When new members join The Creator Income Collective they’re invited to add their details to SUBSCRIBED.
Here are some other examples
- Latinas in Podcasting is a community for Latinas in Podcasting and shares opportunities, content and experiences with its members (just to highlight a few things) as well as hosting a virtual summit.
- Black Podcasters Association is a community for Black people in podcasting. and shares opportunities, content and experiences with its members (just to highlight a few things) as well as hosting in person events such as the Summer Picnic. I was the keynote speaker in 2024.
- Email Writing Made Easy-Now that you’ve grown your lists how do you email them? Liz Wilcox has an inexpensive monthly membership that helps subscribers work through that issue. She shares email templates on a weekly basis with her members.
Should You Charge for You Membership?
(Tip #4)
My membership was free in 2025 but you better believe that I had a monetization strategy connected to the free experience. I have three products that I identified through 2025’s data that I offer subtly and not so subtly in conversations, content and when I’m in front of my audience. I’m also testing out a quarterly crowdfunding approach that I’m working on right now. However, the downside to doing this is if I decided to charge later those members might drop off. I’m thinking of growing and adding a pay what you can option to the membership. You absolutely can charge a membership fee from Day #1 and often this is the better way to approach monetizing your membership. Just know that you will continue to test things out and make adjustments as things grow and evolve over time. I should mention that I will begin to charge for membership in 2026 and have decided to have The Creator Income Collective be a low-ticket offer.
Market Your Membership 10x More Than You Think You Should
(Tip #5)
How are people supposed to know that you have a membership if you don’t tell people about it ALL THE TIME. Seriously, all the time. Reference your membership in your content, in your podcast ads, in your newsletters, livestreams, etc. And as you’re doing this have people opt onto your list in order to get the membership details that they’ll need in order to join your community.
The Creator Income Collective
Are you looking for a high impact resource for your online brand building as you manage the cost of living during wildly weird times. Are you an empathetic, mission led creator who is building beautiful work and is wanting to find more people to be a part of and support the work that you’re doing? Are you looking to be in community with other creators doing the work and who understand the stress of what you’re doing? Join The Creator Income Collective today. It’s ridiculously inexpensive on purpose. I want this to be the easiest professional development tool and space that you say “yes” to this year. Go to: https://creatorsgettingpaid.com/membership All community members of The Creator Income Collective also gain access to the resource: SUBSCRIBED a growing list of different mission lead content creator newsletter and email lists that compliment the type of work or communities that you’re building.
