You may have read a lot recently about the various forms of membership sites. A membership site in any niche can indeed be a very profitable home business venture as long as you are willing to put in the time and effort (something that is true of any home business.)
The basis of a membership site is attracting people willing to pay money to access certain content that belongs to you. Of course you have to choose a niche for your website that is likely to attract paying customers and get your hands on content that interests them.
This can quite simply be a site containing material you have created yourself if you are particularly knowledgeable on a certain subject. The real secret to a successful membership site is encouraging a lot of user participation, so that effectively members generate most of the content themselves.
First, you should research whether or not the niche or topic you are considering is likely to be profitable. A little time spent with the Google keyword tools can be a great help. Come up with a list of keywords and key phrases you yourself would use to find the kind of offerings you intend to make. Plug those keywords into the tool and Google will tell you how many searches they garner every month as well as how many sites already target those keywords. A good indicator are the relevant Google Ads. They show what people are paying to advertise on the subject.
How many members your site needs to be profitable depends upon what you expect from it. Many successful home business owners maintain a number of different niche sites with only a few hundred members a piece. However if they are all paying $20 a month and the site only takes a few hours a week to maintain it may very well be that a membership site is a good way to generate a steady income.
