Start a paid community

The back room for your most loyal fans.

If a public account is the front door to your audience, a paid community is the back room. It's where your most engaged followers get something the rest don't — and pay a recurring monthly fee for it. Every text comes from your own dedicated number, so it lands like a personal message, not a broadcast. Markit gives you every tool to build, run, and monetize that community in one place.

What a paid community looks like on Markit

You set the price and what members get. Mix and match however fits your audience:

• Exclusive texts — send members-only messages directly to their phones. Texts get read; no inbox competition, no algorithm.
• Gated content — publish blog posts, videos, audio, or PDFs that only paid members can access. Same tools as Substack or Patreon, built into Markit.
• Two-way conversations — every text you send is a conversation starter. Members reply from their regular messaging app and land in your Markit inbox.
• Free + paid tiers — offer a free tier to grow your list, then convert your most loyal fans to paid. The upgrade link lives inside your texting flow so you can send it any time.

Why creators use this

• Recurring revenue. Monthly billing and renewals happen automatically via Stripe — no chasing payments.
• 98% open rate. Texts to paid members land directly on their phones. No algorithm, no feed to scroll through, no inbox competition.
• One platform. Content, payments, messaging, and your audience list all live together — no stitching together Substack + Patreon + a group chat.
• You own the relationship. Members are on your list. No platform can cut off your access to them.

What to offer members

• Behind-the-scenes content the public doesn't see
• Early access to drops, tickets, or products before they go wide
• Exclusive audio or video — podcasts, tutorials, voice memos, recaps
• Long-form posts: newsletters, essays, guides
• Personal updates and asks for feedback
• Direct replies — members who get a personal text back are the ones who stay longest

Set it up

Go to Memberships → New Plan, set your price and benefits, then share your signup link. For gated content, publish from the Products tab and set visibility to Paid Subscribers Only.

See Memberships for the full walkthrough.

Tips

• Start with one paid tier. One clear value proposition converts better than a complicated tier structure.
• Send a strong welcome sequence. New members need to feel the value in the first 48 hours. Set up an automated welcome flow in Automations.
• Tease paid content to your free list. A preview of what paid members got this week is your best upgrade prompt.
• Reply to replies. A personal response to a paying member is the most effective retention tool you have.

Need help?

Contact support if you want help structuring tiers or setting up your welcome flow.