Whether you decide to publish information in a paid newsletter, a "members only" web site, or an email or notification service, the questions you'll have to answer are basically the same. Why do you want to do this?
Is the decision based on your love of the niche and desire to share what you know about it? Is it because you already have the advantage of possessing the knowledge and experience that will be needed?
Are you trying to gain a dedicated group of subscribers so you can offer them niche products? Or is the decision simply one that allows you to start a business and earn a living in a niche of your own choosing?
Whatever the reason, there are business principles that you ought to think about prior to committing much time and money to your new venture.
1. Can you create a site that is clearly unique? In every niche there are already paid subscription businesses of one type or another.
If you offer the same types of features and services that others do, you will struggle to take market share away from them. Why will their customers want to switch to your site? Can you assume they'll be willing to pay for duplicated services?
I would suggest finding some uncharted water. Figure out a unique service or a sub-niche that you won't have competition in. Strike out on your own path and offer things that dedicated customers in your niche can't get anywhere else.
2. Do you have a source of information, products, and services that you can give to your paying customers? As the site host, you'll be looked to as the expert in the field and you will be expected to provide new and relevant information on a regular basis in the future.
Are you able to generate and publish that type of ongoing information? Are you willing to spend time doing research and publishing what your know or find?
3. Do you have the knowledge and skill to make this a bona fide business? As soon as you take money from your customers, you will be in business. Make sure you have the time and can commit what is necessary to going into legitimate business.
Executing a business is not for everyone. It requires a lot of discipline, attention to detail, and persistence. If you have a tendency to jump from one thing to the next, a short attention span, your sloppy or inconsistent, or you get easily bored or distracted, this may not be the best choice of pastimes for your personally.
4. Do you have the skill or knowledge to create and administer a subscription web site? If you don't, are you prepared to pay someone (an employee, a business application provider, or a freelancer) to take care of this time-consuming task?
5. Do you like to write, create, or publish information? Just as above, if you don't enjoy these tasks or don't feel that you're good at them, you'll need to get some help from somewhere. Subscription sites work because they provide paying customers with ongoing information.
These members of yours will expect fresh, unique content each month (or week, or day depending upon your model). Are you going to be able to give them enough value that they will remain your customers?
6. Do you have a plan for finding and keeping customers? Just because you put up a site and offer a subscription service, there is no guarantee that anyone will find you or trust you enough to join your site.
One of the biggest commitments you'll have to make is to your own business marketing. Running the actual site is just one task. Figuring out how to attract new customers and get them to commit to recurring payments is quite something else. You could easily spend the bulk of your time in this business on your marketing tasks.
If you want to start a subscription site, you need to go into that business fully aware of what you're getting yourself into.
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