For those who want to sell communities as a service...
I've been considering this and thought it may be a good discussion.
Have you already identified your target market and how to differentiate your offer from SaaS platforms like Mighty Networks, Circle, or Skool?
I'm thinking the benefits are that a WordPress solution is more extendable than those platforms, there's no branding from the platform, clients own their data, and you can build a pretty solid backend business operation along with the community.
Tossing in FluentCRM, Fluent Support, FluentBoards, BetterDocs, and perhaps FluentBooking, could make for a solution that the SaaS platforms can't match.
Also, their price for payment processing (except for Skool) takes a larger cut than using Stripe or similar services.
I'm thinking of targeting existing SMB operations, but that could also present a migration issue.
What's your plan? Perhaps we can help each other.
I was thinking along the same lines.
Our main reason from moving from Circle was the "nickel and dimming" that was killing us with Circle (up to around $3,500+ per year with all of our Admins, Moderators, Spaces, Space Groups, etc.).
I was hoping Fluent Community could do "at least" what Circle did but now I'm learning that, as you say, it can do SO much more!
But yes, ah, migration ...
I'm also moving my personal online world (Teachable, MailerLite) all to Fluent so it's a big move and it's taking me weeks (months?). Especially people who have paid subscriptions (through Circle). That's going to be a huge pain.
But the thought of, as a partner of mine says, "$0.18 per month instead of $350 per month? The temporary pain is (going to be) worth it."
I think it's going to be a long-term price (pain!) decision for most. I've talked about it with some and they're skeptical that Fluent can do it all. I get it.
Anyway, my 2 cents ... or rather, 18 cents. ;-)
*18 cents is what she's being billed for sending a bazillion emails through Amazon (and Fluent).
Erin Wright The value here is definitely in the long run. As you say, Circle and other SaaS can nickel and dime you with fees, not to mention raise fees when it suits them. Also, you have to trust them with your community data. With WordPress and FluentCommunity, you own the data. Monthly operations costs are lower for the site owner/operator.
I think the sales pitch for hosting communities isn't that this is cheaper or faster to set up, but that it's less expensive in the long run, you own your data, and you can offer a lot more in the service. Think about the total cost of service for the community, email, project management, helpdesk, etc.
Erin Wright this is a great benchmark I think and would be very easy to undercut and provide more value. FC out of the box maybe isn't as feature rich as circle so providing those extra is definitely a USP. Linking with Amazon and FluentCRM to provide mass mailing and newslettering is another thing also.
This is my plan also. I've taken up the 50 LTD licence and hope to offer them as CaaS. I have two solid target markets but am not ready to start selling yet until the features are there and everything is sold and robust. These new course editor features should be a step forward. Custom pages and events are next on my list and once they are working we'll be close to being ready to go.
What about costing? What are you looking to charge and for others, what's a reasonable cost? I would be looking at a monthly charge that would include the license, host, support, and access to all my plugins.
Ross H That sounds like a great plan, Ross. Especially because you have those extras to offer. I don't think I'm going to go into the hosting and support business so if/when I get those people banging down my door with, "Wait, hold on, you pay only HOW MUCH compared to Circle + Teachable + MailerLite?" and I can send them your way! ;-)
Ross H Skool is $99 for one group, a flat fee that includes unlimited courses and users. If you try to battle on those terms, you'll lose on the short run.
I think the idea I have is a setup fee and a somewhat higher price, but to add features that Skool doesn't offer and people need to get anyway - like email, helpdesk, project management/roadmaps, knowledgebase/docs.
The idea is not just to sell a community, but a business suite to SMB or non-profits. Look at their total cost of business and undercut it in the long run. Also hit the security and privacy button compared to some SaaS services. Then there's the convenience of having one place to get all your tools.
We're missing an event calendar from WP Manage Ninja, but there are other plugins. Making it all look like one cohesive environment is the part we all want to see in the upgrade.
William Beem Skool isn't self branded is it? It's just having a group within a single community. Non profits are a target market for me. Academics and religious chapters. Depending on the academic space you could be looking at converting users who are currently paying several hundred per month for a much worse service than fluent fan provide.
FluentCommunity is very easy for an individual to install, so the value for me here is being a community host/expert and giving community managers peace of mind and good support.
William Beem I have to say, hats off to Skool for making it SIMPLE!
Erin Wright No doubt that's a reason it's popular. A lot of people don't want to be builders or administrators. They just want something that works and are willing to pay for convenience. That's something we have to sell, too. We do the work for you.