If you run an online community or are thinking about starting one, you might feel like you
have no choice but to hold your nose and launch a Facebook group.
But with constant changes to the algorithm, privacy concerns, and a platform that just
isn’t designed with the creator in mind, there’s got to be a better option out there,
right?
Well I have great news for you!
There is!
It’s called Podia, and in this video I’m going to show you how Podia can give you everything
you need to run a successful online community and so much more.
Let’s get into it.
– We surveyed more than 600 creators who run
online communities, and while nearly three quarters of them use Facebook groups, the
vast majority of those, about 9 out of 10, wish there was a better option.
Both Facebook Groups and Podia let you build a free online community, share live streaming
content or webinars, add teammates to help you manage your community, and let you message
your members directly.
But that’s where the comparison ends.
In addition to those features they have in common, with Podia you can also:
Offer free and paid membership tiers and charge your customers right from your Podia site.
You can sell unlimited digital products to unlimited customers, including online courses,
digital downloads, coaching, and webinars.
You get a free full website with an easy to use site builder
You get access to powerful marketing tools like email marketing, an affiliate program,
and embeddable buy buttons.
And you get the best customer support in the biz.
You can actually live chat with a real person 7 days a week.
When we talked to creators who’ve made the switch to Podia for their online community,
here were some of the top reasons they gave: More control.
Unlike Facebook groups, Podia lets you choose how you design your online community and engage
with your members.
You can offer free and paid memberships, create unlimited discussion topics, and set up notifications
so that your members never miss a new post.
More features.
With Podia, you can do so much more than just host a community.
You can build a beautiful website, grow your email list, and sell your first digital download,
all on Podia’s free plan.
More convenience.
Podia’s all-in-one platform makes life simpler for you and your audience by replacing several
disconnected tools and bringing all of your products, customers, and marketing to one
place.
More support.
The number one reason people cite for loving Podia?
Our customer support.
We’re always here to help with real people offering live chat support seven days a week.
A more detailed look So far we’ve given you a basic overview
of the similarities and differences between Facebook Groups and Podia.
Now we’re going to have a more detailed look at some of the features that make Podia
the best choice for creators running an online community.
Membership plans If you want to create a paid community on
Facebook, it’s nearly impossible to charge new members for access directly on their platform.
Instead, you’ll need to create a private group, take payments on a separate platform,
then manually admit those who paid to the group.
With Podia, it’s just easier to make money because members can pay for access right from
your Podia site.
Inside your membership tiers, you can offer perks like exclusive content, private community
areas, digital downloads, and online courses.
You can even accept one-time payments.
For example, Podia creators Jonathan and Ashley Longnecker of Tiny Shiny Home offer five different
membership tiers, each of which comes with different perks.
They also accept one-time donations.
Offering both free and paid membership plans can help you connect with more members while
making money from your community.
Freedom from the algorithm In addition to the limited functionality on
Facebook, the unpredictable algorithm is one of the top reasons creators decide to switch.
Updates to the social network’s algorithm have led to a decrease in organic reach, meaning
fewer users see content from creators and fellow group members in their newsfeeds.
Podia gives you complete control over your online community, from the content you share
to how you interact with members.
You can create unlimited discussion topics and set up notifications so that your members
never miss a new post – no distractions, privacy concerns, or algorithms to worry about.
Sell digital products, courses, and coaching Monetizing your community isn’t the only
way you can earn revenue for your online business.
In our recent study of more than 900 creators, we learned that creators sell an average of
10.95 digital products.
Another survey of more than 600 creators revealed that the most important community platform
feature is the ability to connect their work with their community in one place.
If you use Facebook groups and want to sell online courses or other digital products,
you’ll need to use an additional platform, like Kajabi, Teachable, or Thinkific.
That means more tools to learn and manage, plus additional monthly costs.
With Podia, you can create and sell online courses, digital downloads, webinars and live
streams, and coaching from the same place you run your online community.
Entrepreneur and course creator Casey Richardson started her community, the Blaze Women’s
Network, about a year ago.
She launched the group on Facebook, but she didn’t like how customers had to log in
to different places to access their courses and products.
So when Podia launched the community feature, she moved her community over.
Here’s what Casey has to say about how she uses community with her other digital products:
“I use the community as a lead magnet into all of my courses.
People can join the Blaze Women’s Network absolutely free….
We do virtual coworking sessions, I host webinars, and then that funnels people into the paid
courses which are live cohorts for about six weeks, as well as self-paced cohorts.”
Having everything in one place is more convenient and makes for a better experience for you
and your members.
Create your own website If you use Facebook to host your community
and want to build a website, you’ll need to use an additional website builder, plus
pay for a domain name and web hosting.
Tools like WordPress can have a steep learning curve if you’re not code-savvy, while platforms
like Squarespace can cost more than $50/month for the simplest features.
With Podia, you can build a complete website with unlimited pages for your online business.
Our user-friendly website builder makes it easy to set up a beautiful homepage, about
page, landing pages, sales pages, and beyond.
In this video, Emily Mills explains how she uses her Podia website, Sketchnote Academy,
to share her online courses, community, and resources with her audience of aspiring sketchnote
artists.
Building your website on the same platform where you run your community and sell products
means that all of your essential tools are connected by default.
No need to deal with outside plugins, themes, or checkout tools for your membership site.
Marketing features Besides paid ads, Facebook doesn’t have
many options for marketing your online community.
Connecting marketing tools with Facebook can be complicated and frustrating.
Podia comes with email marketing, affiliate marketing, upsells, embeddable buy buttons,
and customer messaging features to help you grow your business.
If you’re looking for a platform with integrated marketing features, Podia is the way to go.
Pricing plans and transaction fees Now that we’ve gone over the features, there’s
one more thing to consider.
Price.
Facebook is free to use, and you won’t pay a flat monthly rate.
However, if you want to do more than just run a free community, you’ll need to factor
in the cost of additional tools and services, including email marketing tools, online course
platforms, website builders, and hosting.
For many creators, Podia can replace up to six separate tools, saving you money and time.
Podia has a free plan that includes a free website, full online community, many of the
marketing tools we mentioned, and the ability to sell 1 coaching product and 1 digital download.
There is an 8% transaction fee that’s only paid when you make a sale.
There are also 3 paid plans with zero transaction fees that offer various levels of access to
additional features.
Check out this video if you want a full breakdown of our plans and pricing.
Bottom line: Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced
entrepreneur, Podia has the features you need to build a thriving community that you and
your members will love.
If you’re looking for a user-friendly, all-in-one platform to run a successful community and
online business, we built Podia just for you.
Sign up for your free Podia account today at podia.com/signup.
If you have any questions you can live chat with our support team seven days a week, or
email hello@podia.com