Mastering Automatic Drip Content: A Step-by-Step Guide for Your WordPress Site

Over the past few years, we have successfully operated our own video membership website, which has significantly boosted our email list growth.

However, it’s important to recognize that not all membership sites have identical requirements. For instance, we have discovered that some membership platforms should avoid releasing all their content at once to prevent overwhelming their members and reducing retention rates.

A great solution to this challenge is to implement an automated drip content system, allowing you to release content gradually over time. In this article, we will share our proven approach to integrating automatic drip content into your WordPress site.

The Benefits of Drip Content in WordPress

Drip content involves the gradual release of posts, pages, videos, and other materials instead of providing everything at once.

For membership websites, automatically releasing content at regular intervals can enhance member engagement over an extended period.

When someone purchases a membership, they might perceive all previously published content as outdated and irrelevant.

By slowly rolling out this content, you can present older materials as fresh and exciting, especially if you inform members about these ‘new’ releases through automated drip notifications or targeted email marketing.

Drip content can be an effective strategy for increasing online course sales. By releasing lessons gradually over a set schedule, you can prevent your students from feeling overwhelmed by the material.

Now, let’s explore how to implement automatic drip content for your customers, learners, and members. Use the quick links below to navigate this tutorial:

• Step 1: Install a Membership Plugin with Drip Content Features
• Step 2: Set Up a Payment Method
• Step 3: Create Your Membership Plans
• Step 4: Configure Automatic Drip Content Rules
• Tips for Managing Drip Content in WordPress

Step 1: Install a Membership Plugin with Drip Content Features

To begin, you’ll need a WordPress membership plugin that includes drip content capabilities.

This is where MemberPress becomes essential.

MemberPress is the leading WordPress membership plugin available. It enables you to create paid subscriptions and define rules regarding content access and timing, simplifying the process of establishing a sophisticated drip content schedule.

For further details, check out our comprehensive review of MemberPress.

First, install and activate the MemberPress plugin. For detailed instructions, refer to our step-by-step guide on installing a WordPress plugin.

After activation, navigate to MemberPress » Settings and input your license key in the ‘License Key’ field.

You can retrieve the key by logging into your account on the MemberPress website or by checking the email you received upon purchasing MemberPress.

Once you have entered the license key, click the ‘Activate License Key’ button.

Step 2: Set Up a Payment Method

Next, add a payment gateway to facilitate credit card transactions on your WordPress site. Begin by selecting the ‘Payments’ tab and clicking on ‘Add Payment Method.’

MemberPress allows payments through PayPal and Stripe with their Basic and Plus plans. You can also use Authorize.net by opting for a MemberPress Pro plan.

Simply open the ‘Gateway’ dropdown menu and select your preferred payment gateway.

MemberPress will display all the necessary settings you need to configure for this payment gateway.

These settings will differ based on the gateway; for instance, the following image shows how to add PayPal payment to WordPress.

After configuring the gateway, click ‘Update Options’ to save your settings.

Enhance your sales and customer satisfaction by offering users a variety of payment options. To integrate multiple payment gateways into your site, simply click on ‘Add Payment Method’ and follow the same steps outlined earlier.

Step 3:Create Your Membership Plans

After adding one or more payment methods, it’s time to set up a membership plan.

Navigate toMemberPress » Membershipsand click on the ‘Add New’ button.

On the following screen, enter a title for your membership plan. This title will be displayed in your WordPress dashboard and will also be visible to visitors on your site.

You can also add an optional description in the main post editor.

Next, enter the price for this membership in the ‘Price’ field.

Then, open the ‘Billing Type’ dropdown to select whether this is a one-time fee or a recurring payment.

If you select ‘Recurring’, you can configure the settings to charge members weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually.

By enabling recurring payments in WordPress, you can automate the billing process, saving you significant time and reducing the likelihood of payment delays and errors.

An alternative option is a one-time payment, which enhances the user experience by allowing members to decide whether to renew their subscription.

If you select ‘One-Time,’ open the new ‘Access’ dropdown and choose between ‘Expire’ or ‘Fixed Expire.’ ‘Expire’ enables you to specify the duration of the membership in days, months, weeks, or years.

‘Fixed Expire’ allows you to set a specific calendar date for the membership expiration.

‘Fixed Expire’ can be beneficial if you want all members to expire on the same date, such as the 1st of the month.

The final option is ‘Lifetime.’ Since content dripping motivates users to renew their subscriptions, it’s advisable to refrain from offering lifetime memberships.

After selecting a billing type, you may need to configure additional settings, such as whether to offer a free trial subscription in WordPress.

Most of these settings are quite simple, so once you complete them, scroll down to the ‘Membership Options’ box, which contains all the various settings for your membership plan.

There are numerous settings to explore, including several that could enhance the user experience.

To make a positive first impression on your new members, we suggest activating the custom thank you message and personalized welcome email.

After selecting these options, use the settings to craft your unique message.

Once you have completed the setup of your membership plan, click the ‘Publish’ button to make it live.

To add more membership levels, simply repeat the process outlined above.

After creating at least one membership level, you can start establishing drip content rules. However, there are many additional features you can implement on your membership website. For more information, check out our comprehensive guide to building a WordPress membership site.

Step 4: Set Up Automatic Drip Content Rules

MemberPress is a robust plugin that allows you to restrict access to your content in various ways. For instance, you can limit content to registered users only.

Utilize these advanced rules to schedule content delivery and provide your members with continuous value.

To create a drip schedule, simply navigate toMemberPress – Rules ManagementThen, click the ‘Add New’ button.

This will direct you to a page where you can set up your rules.

With MemberPress, you can restrict access to certain pages and posts. For instance, you might allow members to view a specific blog post only after they have been a member for 10 days.

This approach is effective if you have a limited amount of content or if you want to create a very detailed and specific schedule.

However, if you have a large volume of content, scheduling each page or post individually can be time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Fortunately, MemberPress also allows you to establish rules for specific categories and tags, enabling you to release groups of related content. For example, you could grant members access to all posts tagged ‘Beginner’s Guide’ during their first week of membership.

You might also review your content library and categorize all the posts you want to release together. For instance, you could create a tag called ‘First Week’.

For additional details, please refer to our comprehensive guide on adding categories and tags to WordPress pages.

When you are prepared, open the ‘Protected Content’ dropdown and select the content that will be governed by this rule, such as ‘A Single Post’, ‘Posts Categorized’, ‘Child Pages Of’, or any other option available in the list.

Based on your selection, you will gain access to additional settings. For instance, if you choose ‘A Single Page,’ you will need to specify the page to be used in the rule.

If you opt for ‘Posts Tagged,’ you can enter one or more tags.

Next, navigate to the ‘Access Conditions’ section and select ‘Members’ from the dropdown menu.

Then, simply open the second dropdown to choose the membership level that this rule will apply to.

Next, you can specify when MemberPress should release the content.

Scroll down to the ‘Drip / Expiration’ section and check the ‘Enable Drip’ box to access new drip settings.

To begin, use the dropdown to select whether to release this content after a specific number of days, weeks, months, or years.

You can then enter a number. For example, in the image below, we are releasing the content after one week.

Once you have done that, use the ‘after’ dropdown to select the event that will trigger the countdown. For instance, you might release the content two weeks after a member registers or one week after they purchase a specific WooCommerce product.

If you’re dealing with time-sensitive content, you can select a specific date for publication. For instance, you might schedule a new post for Black Friday or announce an exclusive New Year’s Eve event for members in December.

You can optionally set an expiration date by checking the ‘Enable Expiration’ option.

This creates a sense of urgency, as the content will only be available for a limited time. It can also motivate more people to purchase memberships to avoid missing out on exclusive, time-sensitive content.

After that, navigate to ‘Unauthorized Access’ and determine what MemberPress will display to visitors who attempt to access the content without permission.

One option is to entice visitors by showing an ‘Excerpt’ of the restricted content, such as the first 100 characters or a brief excerpt of the post.

If you don’t provide a custom message, MemberPress will display the default unauthorized access message to all users. Therefore, we suggest creating your own message by selecting ‘Custom’ from the ‘Unauthorized’ message dropdown.

For example, you could inform visitors that they can gain access to this new content by purchasing a membership subscription.

It’s beneficial to display the MemberPress login form in case an unauthorized visitor already has an account on your site.

To enable this, open the ‘Login form’ dropdown and select ‘Show.’

After completing this step, scroll back to the top of the page.

Next, click on the ‘Save Rule’ button.

To add additional rules, simply repeat the process outlined above.

Tips for Effectively Managing Drip Content in WordPress

When implemented correctly, drip content can enhance member satisfaction and engagement while attracting numerous new registrations.

Here are some strategies to help you attract more new members and maintain their engagement over time.

1. Develop a Cohesive Content Strategy

Careful planning of your content schedule is crucial. You want to avoid releasing all your content at once, but you should also provide enough material to keep new members satisfied.

For this reason, it’s wise to create various membership accounts and evaluate the customer experience. This allows you to adjust your content delivery rules to ensure a positive experience for all users.

To protect your WordPress site during testing, it’s crucial to prevent Google and other search engines from indexing your pages. If your premium content is indexed while testing, unauthorized users might gain free access to it.

There are several methods to prevent search engines from crawling your WordPress site. However, if your site is still under development, we recommend enabling maintenance mode.

2. Build an Email List

Email marketing is one of the most effective and affordable strategies to promote your drip content and encourage members to return to your site. Sending emails can also highlight new and exciting content that members should explore.

We suggest using Constant Contact to seamlessly integrate your drip content strategy with your email marketing efforts.

Constant Contact is an excellent email marketing service for small businesses, featuring user-friendly automation tools that help you set up automated email notifications for new subscribers.

These automated workflows can significantly reduce the time and effort required for your marketing tasks.

For more advanced marketing automation options, consider exploring HubSpot or Omnisend.

3. Utilize On-Site Retargeting to Promote Products

To expand your business, it’s essential to encourage customers to renew their memberships, upgrade their plans, or purchase digital downloads and other products.

This is where OptinMonster comes into play. It is the leading conversion optimization tool designed to help you increase sales to your existing customers.

OptinMonster allows you to deliver personalized messages to members through lightbox popups, slide-in boxes, countdown timers, and more.

It even features engaging gamified spin-to-win opt-ins that reward members with discounts, coupon codes, and other exciting prizes.

4. Analyze User Behavior

Every website can benefit from tracking visitor behavior, which is why having analytics is essential.

By observing what strategies are effective and which are not on your membership site, you can continually refine your content delivery to boost signups and renewals.

The simplest way to integrate Google Analytics into your WordPress site is by using MonsterInsights.

It is the top analytics solution for WordPress, allowing you to track visitors and members directly from your site’s admin dashboard.

With this information, you can make data-driven decisions and modify your content strategy to enhance business growth.

For more details, check out our comprehensive guide on simplifying WordPress conversion tracking.

We trust this guide has equipped you with the knowledge to implement automatic drip content on your WordPress site. Additionally, check out our recommendations for the top WordPress LMS plugins and our comprehensive guide on selling group memberships for corporate teams.

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