Do you know one of the biggest keys to a thriving business?
A highly engaged community.
When your customers are engaged with your content (and with each other) they’re more likely to become your true fans and stick around for the long haul.
And one of the best ways to create a highly engaged community is with a paid private Facebook group.
Why?
It gives you a place to host and deliver your content
It allows your community members to easily engage with that content and with each other
It allows you to limit access to qualified members
It allows you to moderate and control the group
What’s more, when done right a paid private Facebook group can be a great source of monthly recurring income.
So, in short, paid private Facebook groups can be powerful. But how do you actually create one and get it up and running?
That’s exactly what we’ll talk about today.
How to Create a Paid Private Facebook Group
Choose a Group Title (and a Purpose)
Before you can pick the title, you need a purpose for your group.
To figure that out, ask yourself: “How will my Facebook group help my customers?”
Will it support them and guide them on their way to starting an online business? Will it provide a place for them to get answers about their Facebook ad questions?
This question will help you determine the main benefit of the group (i.e. why people will want to join) and also help you decide on a group title.
Once you have a purpose in mind, you can choose a title related to that purpose (and/or related to the name of your company).
Keep in mind: you want the group title to be something people think of and are proud to be a part of. So, leave the cheesy titles at the door, and pick something that your customers will strongly relate to.
Here’s a title-picking process you can use:
Write down 10-15 potential group titles
Narrow it down to your top 3
Test the titles with Facebook ads and/or ask friends and customers which title they like best
Set Up the Group
Now for the basic step-by-step of actually creating the group on Facebook. Here’s what to do:
Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups
Click the green “Create Group” button on the top right
For group goals, click “Connect and Share”
Add the group title as well as any early adapter members (more on this in a minute)
Select the Privacy Setting (closed or secret) and click the “Create” button
Once the group has been created, upload a group profile image, and select the option to have only admins be able to approve members.
Set the Price
How much will you charge for your group, and will it be a recurring fee? Remember: you can always increase the price later on, but it’s a good idea to let members be locked in at the original price for which they signed up.
For example, if you start by charging $17/month then increase the rate to $27/month, the members who were in at the original $17/month will be locked in at the lower price.
Set Up the Payments
You have several options for setting up recurring payments. We recommend platforms like Paypal, Stripe, or Square.
With each of these tools, you can automate monthly payments. That way, your Facebook group members are charged automatically each month, and you don’t have to put an extra thought into it.
To learn how to set up recurring payments on Square, check out the how-to on their website here.
To learn how to set up recurring payments on Stripe, check out their how-to here.
To learn how to set up recurring payments on Paypal, check out their step-by-step instructions here.
Create a Landing Page
To get people to sign up and pay to be a part of your Facebook group, you need a landing page.
It doesn’t have to be crazy long. But it should cover these 5 main elements of a high-converting landing page:
Strong headline and subheadline
State their problem
Tell them about your solution (i.e. the private Facebook group)
Describe the benefits (use strong bullet points)
Use social proof (in the form of testimonials)
End with a strong call to action to sign up for the group
You can take the information you collect from the landing page and use it to cross-check people who try to join your private Facebook group. That way, you can be sure that all members have paid and signed up through the landing page.
Get Some Early Adapters and Active Members
When people pay for your Facebook group, you want them to have a great first impression. You definitely don’t want them to click through to the page and see that it’s empty.
So, before you open the group up and have paid members start to join, add in 10-15 friends and dedicated customers to the group. Have them each write a post introducing themselves and discussing their goals as they relate to the group.
That way, you get some early discussion going, so when customers start to join, they feel like they’re already a part of something.
Conclusion
Paid private Facebook groups can be a powerful tool for your business. They can be a source of recurring monthly income, and also provide an easy way for your customers to engage with your content and with each other.
Have you tried to create a paid private Facebook group in the past? What was your experience with it? Let us know in the comments below!
P.S. Stay tuned for part 2 of this post in the coming weeks, where we’ll show you how to run your paid private Facebook group effectively!