When you embark on the exciting journey of monetizing your coaching and course content, one of the first things you'll find yourself exploring is the perfect way to create a paywall.

Once you've nailed that aspect down and got your members happily paying for your valuable content, you might even take it a step further and offer different levels of access to cater to their unique needs and preferences.

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After that, you must build loyalty and ensure sustainable growth without constantly chasing new clients. How can you accomplish this? You guessed it - another plugin. You’ll need a forum plug-in to create an in-house community.

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But it won't stop there. Once your members actively participate in your online community, immersing themselves in the space and acquiring knowledge, keeping their engagement levels high will be essential. To do that, you’ll need to add yet another plug-in for gamification.

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A lot, right?  In A Superior Alternative to WordPress, we introduced SocialGlow as the ultimate solution that covers all three crucial components for you. You will no longer need to fret over the overwhelming task of choosing from countless plugin options, ensuring compatibility between them, and constantly keeping up with various programs in the future. The days of troubleshooting each plugin individually when something goes awry will be gone. Instead, SocialGlow will streamline the process, offering you a seamless and hassle-free experience allowing you to focus on what truly matters—delivering exceptional content and nurturing your community. Bid farewell to plugin headaches and let SocialGlow handle it all for you.

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A generic overview of the differences may not instill complete confidence when considering switching from a long-standing player in the coaching game. That's why we will take a deep dive into the world of membership plugins. We'll explore their features, functions, and, most importantly, how SocialGlow stacks up in this category.

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To help you understand the differences between membership plugins and SocialGlow, we will use MemberPress as our prime reference. So, no more general talk - we're diving into the exciting details to help you make a smart choice.

What is a Membership Plugin?

A membership plugin is a software extension or add-on specifically designed for WordPress websites. It allows website owners to restrict access to certain content or features and create membership-based structures. With a membership plugin, you can set up various membership levels or subscription plans, control content visibility based on membership status, manage member registrations, handle payments and subscriptions, and provide a personalized user experience for your members. A membership plugin like MemberPress serves as the central hub for your membership website and integrates various plugins and features.

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What is SocialGlow?

SocialGlow is a course and community-building platform accessed through a mobile app or the web as an all-inclusive learning experience. Members access your content through protected Groups. Because you can create unlimited Groups, there are endless ways you can use them to structure how your members access your content.

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SocialGlow is a platform where everything is interconnected. It seamlessly combines robust membership features with community functionalities. In SocialGlow, content protection and community engagement go hand in hand.

Content Restriction, Paywalls & Membership Levels

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How to set it up in MemberPress to protect your content:

After purchasing MemberPress, you must upload the plugin to your WordPress dashboard. Once activated, a new "MemberPress" tab will appear. To create memberships and protect your premium content, go to MemberPress > Memberships and click "Add New." Set up your membership tier by specifying its name, pricing, and billing options. After configuring the necessary settings, click "Publish" to save your changes.

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To ensure the security of your valuable content throughout your WordPress website, you can utilize the "Rules" feature in MemberPress. Rules empower you to control access to specific content based on conditions and criteria. Simply navigate to Rules -> Add New Rule and give it a meaningful title. From there, you can designate which content you want to protect and make it available to specific membership tiers.

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Now that you've set up Rules to safeguard your valuable content in MemberPress let's determine which of your logged-in users get the key to access that content. It's up to you to decide the category that perfectly aligns with the criteria you have in mind, whether it's their membership, member status, role, or capability.

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Now, let's add the registration link to your website menu. Return to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to the "Menus" section under the "Appearance" menu. Look for the "Membership" option.

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Within the Membership section, you'll find a dropdown menu displaying all the memberships you've created using MemberPress. Choose the desired membership from this list and click the "Add to Menu" button. The registration link will now appear on your website's menu.

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MemberPress recommends adding the Login then Logout WordPress plugin to create a user-friendly login link for your members. Once activated, the plugin conveniently appears in the Menu section of your WordPress dashboard, where you previously added the registration page.

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Adding the plugin to the menu integrates the login page into your site's navigation. It establishes a connection with your protected content, redirecting non-logged-in users to the login page instead of granting access to protected content.

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Have I lost you yet? That’s a lot of pieces just to protect your content and start earning a living from your expertise. However, you're in luck! SocialGlow simplifies this process, making thriving in your coaching and course business much easier.

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How you set it up on SocialGlow:

All you need to do to access everything SocialGlow has to offer is sign up! There are no downloads or complicated zip files to worry about. Once you’re signed in to your dashboard, you can create a Group where your content and Courses can be available to your members.

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Once the Group is created, you can send your members to sign up through two easy options. Either send them a direct link allowing them to access the Group through the web, or you can send them a code and instructions on downloading the SocialGlow App. When your members upload and join the app, they can fill in the code to be directed to the Group. It’s free for your members to use the app. Whether they use the web version or the app, your members must create an account on SocialGlow.  This will allow you to track who is joining your Groups and for all your content to be protected without any additional steps.

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With SocialGlow, you do not need to worry about creating a separate login or dealing with additional integrations just to grant your members access to your protected content. Instead, SocialGlow takes care of all that for you, making your life much easier.

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But wait, there's more! SocialGlow goes above and beyond by seamlessly integrating Courses with Groups. You can effortlessly assign Courses to specific Groups, making it a breeze for your members to access them. Alternatively, you can grant access to specific members, regardless of their group affiliation. This means you have complete control over who can see your content, keeping it hidden from everyone else.

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With SocialGlow, managing and providing access to valuable content becomes a seamless and personalized experience for you and your members.

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The difference in Content Dripping on MemberPress vs. SocialGlow

Picture this: content dripping is like serving a delicious multi-course meal to your site users. However, instead of doing the entire feast at once, you release each course gradually, keeping your users engaged and eager for more. It's a personalized and captivating experience that ensures higher user engagement and leaves them craving the valuable content you have in store.

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Drip Content through MemberPress

With content dripping in MemberPress, you can apply it to any Rule, allowing you to release protected content gradually. When creating a new Rule, select the pages you want to drip and specify who gets access.

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Manually setting the drip schedule for each page or section is required if you want specific content to be available on certain dates rather than an automatic scheduling feature. Let's take blog pages as an example.

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To set up content dripping for different blog pages, you'll assign the drip schedule individually for each page. When enabling the drip feature, you can choose the number of days, weeks, months, or years after specific events such as member registration, a fixed date, or membership purchase for this Rule.

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It's important to note that MemberPress doesn't currently offer a feature to control multiple pieces of content with a single rule or drip setting. Each unique drip feature needs to be associated with a distinct Rule.

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Social Glow Content Dripping:

In SocialGlow, unlocking the Content Drip Feature is as simple as accessing the Course settings. But hold on, don't think of Courses as just courses! Instead, they can be your go-to tool for sharing content with your valued paid members.

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When creating a Course and diving into the settings section, you'll find three content drip options: "off" if you prefer immediate access, "student enrollment date" for when they start their journey, or a specific date you can choose.

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Now comes the exciting part in the "structure" section. You’ll notice a nifty feature at the bottom as you craft engaging chapters and lessons. This lets you decide when each lesson or chapter becomes available to your members. For example, you can set it based on a certain number of days after enrollment or pick a specific date that holds significance for your content.

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With SocialGlow, you can schedule all your content in one central location as you create it.

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Scheduled Content and Templates:

One of the incredible features that set SocialGlow apart is our Templates. It's a game-changer for keeping your members engaged and connected like never before. Remember how we talked about the importance of drip content? Well, SocialGlow takes it to the next level by offering a unique scheduling system within our Groups. With Templates, you can schedule posts weeks, months, or even years in advance, ensuring a steady flow of captivating content that keeps your members returning for more.

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Imagine having your content strategically drip-fed into the Groups your members frequent the most. They'll receive notifications, stay connected, and anticipate what's coming next. It's like having a virtual oasis where your members can gather, interact, and support each other.

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Our Group setup is designed to resemble popular social media platforms like Facebook Groups. This means your members can easily engage with your content by liking, commenting, and chatting alongside it. It creates a vibrant and interactive space where your members will want to be, checking in regularly to connect with you and your fellow members.

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But that's not all. Templates also come with a nifty feature called "Replacement Tokens." It's a clever design that lets you personalize your scheduled content for each Group. You can even schedule Templates to be posted across multiple Groups simultaneously, saving you precious time to invest in building and nurturing your community.

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When you're scheduling a Template, it's a breeze. You simply choose a start date for the posts within the group. And as you create the content within the Template, you can select the day and time for each post. The days are relative to the start of the Template, like Day 1, Day 2, and so on. This means you have the flexibility to start your Template at any time without the hassle of constantly adjusting dates. Once you've set it up, SocialGlow handles the scheduling like magic.

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And here's the cherry on top: you can schedule comments within your Templates! This ingenious feature allows you to be present and engage with your members in their dedicated spaces, even when you can't physically be there. It's like having the superpower to be in two places at once.

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With SocialGlow and our incredible Templates, you have the tools to create an immersive and interactive membership experience that keeps your members hooked and excited about what's to come.

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SocialGlow’s Content Calendar

Need help determining the best timing and strategy for reaching your audience with your content? Look no further! SocialGlow offers a built-in content calendar that eliminates the need for extra plugins or complicated tools.

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With SocialGlow's Content Calendar, all your scheduled content is conveniently organized in one place—no more confusion or guesswork about where each piece of content should go. In addition, the calendar provides a clear overview of what's posted in your different Groups, allowing you to stay on top of your content distribution.

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Reminders & Push Notifications

In MemberPress, you can schedule email notifications called "Reminders" for your members. These reminders come with customizable email templates that you can edit to fit your needs. However, when it comes to other reminders like Push notifications, MemberPress only has that functionality if you add another plug-in. But don't worry; with SocialGlow, we've got you covered!

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With SocialGlow, push notifications are already built into the platform, making it easier for you to keep your members informed and engaged. Here are the notification options available for you and your members:

• Mobile App recommended
• Internet Browser / Push Notifications
• Email
• SMS Text (optional paid feature)

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In conclusion, SocialGlow outshines traditional membership plugins like MemberPress to create a thriving online community for your coaching business. While membership plugins provide the basic framework for exclusive content and benefits, SocialGlow takes it a step further by offering a comprehensive platform that revolutionizes engagement, connection, and user experience. By embracing SocialGlow instead of relying on traditional membership plugins, you can elevate your coaching business and provide an exceptional platform for your community. It's a game-changing solution that empowers you to build a thriving coaching community, deliver a seamless web and app experience, and unlock the full potential of your coaching business. So make the smart choice with SocialGlow and witness the transformation as you soar to new heights of success.

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