Facebook subscription groups are a new feature that Facebook launched in 2020. They allow Facebook group admins to charge a monthly subscription fee for access to their Facebook group. The subscription model provides an opportunity for Facebook group admins to earn revenue from their groups and provide more value to their members.
What are the benefits of Facebook subscription groups?
There are several benefits to using Facebook subscription groups as a group admin or member:
- For group admins, it provides a way to earn income from their groups and be rewarded for the time and effort they put into building and managing their communities.
- The subscription fee helps limit membership to only the most engaged users, reducing noise and spam.
- Admins can provide more value to subscribers by offering exclusive content, subscriber-only discussions, live events, and more.
- For group members, it provides access to more specialized, niche communities and exclusive content and discussions.
- Members supporting creators and group admins by paying a subscription can lead to higher-quality groups and content.
How do Facebook group subscriptions work?
Facebook group admins can choose whether they want to make their group free or paid by enabling the subscription feature. Here is an overview of how Facebook subscriptions work for groups:
- Admins can set a monthly subscription price between $4.99 to $29.99 per month. Facebook takes 5% as a platform fee.
- Users need a Facebook profile to subscribe. They pay via Facebook, with payments processed by Facebook Pay.
- Group admins can offer a 30 day free trial to encourage sign-ups.
- Subscriptions auto-renew monthly unless canceled by subscribers.
- When first enabled, existing group members get a 10 day grace period to sign up before being removed.
- Admins can publish subscriber-only posts and subscriber-only live videos.
- Insights show member sign-ups, renewals, and posts from subscribers.
What content and features can be limited to subscribers?
Facebook group admins have full control over what content, discussions, and features are available only to subscribers. Here are some examples of subscriber-only content:
- Posts published only to subscribers
- Subscriber-only discussion topics and threads
- Live videos visible only to paid members
- Polls and questions limited to subscribers
- Discounts or special offers just for paid members
- Giveaways entered only by subscribers
- Subscriber-only chat rooms or messaging
- Early access to content before it is public
In addition to special content, admins can also limit community features like posting, commenting, reacting, and more to just paid subscribers.
How do members subscribe and pay?
For users to subscribe to a paid Facebook group, the process involves just a few simple steps:
- Join the Facebook group as usual if it is public or request to join if it is private.
- After requesting to join a paid group, they will get a notice that it requires a subscription.
- Click the Subscribe button on that notice or on the group page.
- Enter payment information if not already on file. Facebook supports credit/debit cards, Facebook Pay, and PayPal.
- Agree to Facebook’s terms of service and the subscription will begin immediately.
- Monthly recurring payments are completely handled by Facebook Payments.
- Subscribers can cancel anytime to stop future monthly charges.
The subscription automatically renews each month unless canceled. To cancel, subscribers can visit their Facebook Payments settings or use the Unsubscribe button on the group page.
What percentage does Facebook take?
For all Facebook group subscriptions, Facebook takes a platform fee of 5% of the subscription price. So for example:
- If an admin charges $5 per month, Facebook takes 25 cents per subscriber.
- On a $10 per month subscription, Facebook takes 50 cents.
- For a $25 subscription, Facebook takes $1.25 as their fee.
The remaining 95% after Facebook’s fee goes directly to the group admin. The platform fee covers costs of managing the subscriptions and payments each month.
How do group admins receive payouts?
Facebook pays out group subscription earnings to admins on a monthly basis. Here is how the payout process works:
- Payouts are deposited around the 15th of each month for the prior month’s earnings.
- Funds are paid to the connected Facebook Page’s associated Payments account.
- If there is no connected Page, funds will be paid to the admin’s personal Facebook Payments account.
- Minimum payout threshold is $10. Earnings below that accumulate until the threshold is met.
- Payouts appear as “Group Subscriptions – Facebook” in Payments transaction history.
- Admins can transfer payouts to their bank account or use for payments on Facebook.
Facebook provides payout summaries and transaction histories to track group subscription earnings each month.
Are Facebook group subscriptions right for you?
Here are a few key things to consider when determining if subscription groups are a good fit:
- Do you have an engaged group audience already primed for premium content?
- Can you commit to providing high-value subscriber-only discussions, content, or events consistently?
- Are you focused on a niche topic aligned with user interests and willing to pay?
- Does your group have strong member engagement and retention already?
- Are you ready to manage separate plans for free vs. subscriber areas?
The right group dynamic and value proposition are key to successfully converting free members to paid subscribers. But for group admins able to build that value, subscriptions provide a new way to generate meaningful income from their communities.
Best practices for using Facebook group subscriptions
Here are some top tips to optimize Facebook subscription groups:
- Introduce subscriptions gradually using a 30 day free trial period for current members to test it out.
- Clearly communicate the additional value subscribers will gain access to.
- Offer subscriber-only live events like virtual meetups to boost engagement.
- Reward long-term subscribers occasionally with special perks.
- Promote new subscriber-only content frequently to reinforce the value.
- Provide teasers or samples of paid content to entice free members.
- Poll members to find out what exclusive access they would value most.
- Analyze subscriber metrics to fine-tune offerings and pricing over time.
Rolling out subscriptions thoughtfully and promoting the ideal mix of exclusive content for your audience is key for long-term success with paid groups.
The bottom line on Facebook subscription groups
Facebook group subscriptions provide an opportunity to take community building on Facebook to the next level. For committed group owners able to develop high-value paid offerings, it can become an attractive new revenue stream.
With tactical use of exclusive content and incentive pricing, group admins can leverage subscriptions to reward their loyal members and get compensated for their efforts. For niche communities with devoted member bases, paid groups can help deepen engagement, reduce noise, and sustain the community over the long term.
While establishing pricing and subscriber-only features takes thoughtful planning, Facebook group subscriptions overall provide a flexible new option for monetizing groups. For admins willing to experiment and respond to feedback, subscriptions could become a game changer for creating sustainable and rewarding community building experiences.