Are there any Xenforo forums that are "paid membership" only?

[qazwsxedcrfv1234]

Are there any Xenforo forums that are "paid membership" only? If so, how do they get around the idea of "advertising" the content of their members' whilst still implementing a paywall mechanism to ensure that non-members don't get to view their content for free?

Basically, I'd be interested in looking at a paid membership forum that plays well with SEO and Google rankings, whilst also making sure that non-members don't get to read all the content for free.

Does Xenforo allow this (via apps etc)?

 

[TPerry]

I'm sure that they are a few.. and further, I'm sure that gaining traction without an initial "burst" is almost impossible.
Sites don't simply come into being, bringing in fortunes worth of money without a basis.

First you have to set out your foundation to build upon. Then you have to build the structure to draw users in. it's not a simple "I set my site up and start charging for access". You actually have to have content for persons to pay for that they can't easily get elsewhere.

 

[Mendalla]

Are there any Xenforo forums that are "paid membership" only? If so, how do they get around the idea of "advertising" the content of their members' whilst still implementing a paywall mechanism to ensure that non-members don't get to view their content for free?

Basically, I'd be interested in looking at a paid membership forum that plays well with SEO and Google rankings, whilst also making sure that non-members don't get to read all the content for free.

Does Xenforo allow this (via apps etc)?

Leaving aside the viability of it, which @Tracy Perry addresses well, it is doable. Private forums for the content you want to be "Paid subscribers only", default perms for unpaid registered members being read-only and then an upgrade for when someone pays. It would take some work, but I think you could build something out of the box. There might be add-ons which would streamline things or work better, but it would not be impossible. Just thinking it through, though, have not tested any of this.

Keep in mind, though, that content in private forums is not visible to search engines so anything you want indexed must be in a publicly visible space of some kind.

 

[AnjaC]

Are there any Xenforo forums that are "paid membership" only?

Yes, but deriving from a forum with mixed memberships (paid & unpaid). In the main forum, members can obtain a paid membership to experience some advantages. One of these is the login to a private forum (completely independent installation) which concentrates on a more specific aspect of the main forum.

We advertise the benefits of this extra club in the main forum regularly - but this is hard work and the rewards are few. People are more interested in the main forum being ad-free with a paid membership.

 

[Mendalla]

Yes, but deriving from a forum with mixed memberships (paid & unpaid). In the main forum, members can obtain a paid membership to experience some advantages. One of these is the login to a private forum (completely independent installation) which concentrates on a more specific aspect of the main forum.

We advertise the benefits of this extra club in the main forum regularly - but this is hard work and the rewards are few. People are more interested in the main forum being ad-free with a paid membership.

Yeah, this is the more normal model, I think. You have your main forums and content public, only requiring registration to post, and then paid members get additional forums and content, as well as possible perks.

On my one writing site, paid members get access to an extra forum or two, priority in getting their stories modded, and a bunch of other extras but the main forums, chatrooms, and the ability to submit stories are all available just with free registration.

 

[FTL]

What sort of content do you want to host in this paid model?

 

[Mr Lucky]

membership forum that plays well with SEO and Google rankings, whilst also making sure that non-members don't get to read all the content for free.

Easy, just offer Google a discount I’m sure they’ll be happy to join up and index the site then