193 | Creating paid memberships & communities with Joe Casabona
Hey friends! I know we can certainly all agree that if 2020 and 2021 have taught us anything it’s that we need to get more creative and consider additional revenue streams.
This has led to more and more membership models and subscriptions popping up in not only the service space but the physical product space too. That conversation was prompted in our Proof to Product LABS community and is the reason behind this episode with Joe Casabona.
Joe’s passion lies in teaching his knowledge about website development, podcasting and course creation with other business owners, entrepreneurs and freelancers. In this episode, we dive into creating paid memberships and communities for your customers.
We chat about how artists and creators can use paid memberships to nurture customers. He shares some simple ways to get started with tech platforms and content ideas so be sure to take notes!
ON TODAY’S EPISODE:
How Joe got into web development
How he got into teaching courses and podcasting
How creators and artists can use membership communities to nurture existing customers
The biggest things that hold people back from starting their community
Pros and cons of using platforms like Patreon versus using your own website
His thoughts on reducing the barrier to entry
Joe’s ideas of content that creatives can make to lead people back to their business
His advice on when starting a podcast might be a good idea for you
Why you should ask your audience what they want and what type of content you need to generate sales
The importance of showing imperfection
Download These Quotables to Save and Share
KEY TAKE AWAYS
“I wanted to keep teaching and I realized the best way to do that would be in an online format.” - Joe Casabona
“It's still an issue getting more women into computer science.” - Joe Casabona
“A lot of people are yearning for those communities.”- Joe Casabona
“It's about finding our people. But then also really, I would say pushing deeper into the values and the things that are important to us. ” - Katie Hunt
“If you're going to have bonus offerings, start small, make them low effort, high reward.”- Joe Casabona
“You don't want to overload them and you want to provide.” - Katie Hunt
“You can release things that you're already doing. You don't have to do extra stuff.” - Joe Casabona
“Low effort, high rewards.” - Joe Casabona
“Done is better than perfect.” - Katie Hunt
"We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to create good content." - Joe Casabona
RESOURCES
LABS
Kickstarter
GoFundMe
Patreon
Slack
ConvertKit
Teachable
InShot
Podcast Liftoff
MEET JOE:
Don’t let Joe Casabona’s Master’s Degree in Computer Science intimidate you; he is not only an approachable guy, but a born teacher.
Joe started his career almost 20 years ago as a freelance web developer before realizing his true passion, which is sharing his years of knowledge about website development, podcasting and course creation with other business owners, freelancers and entrepreneurs in need. Joe has a gift for breaking down concepts that scare people into bite-sized, approachable pieces of information they can implement in a matter of days.
Joe’s career trajectory includes 20+ years experience building websites, 16+ years using WordPress, 11+ years teaching at the college level, 7+ years podcasting, plus he is the author of four books, including his latest: HTML and CSS: Visual QuickStart Guide
When he’s not creating courses for LinkedIn Learning, you can find Joe spending time with his family, enjoying baseball, or talking too much about Star Wars.
CONNECT WITH JOE
Website: asabona.org | Instagram: @jcasabona
Connect with Katie Hunt
Katie Hunt is a business strategist, podcaster, mentor and mama to four. She helps product based businesses build profitable, sustainable companies through her conferences, courses and coaching programs.
Website: prooftoproduct.com | Instagram: @prooftoproduct
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