Chat Spaces

Give your subscribers a members-only chat

Create a Private chat space that's included in your membership and hidden from everyone else.

When to use this

  • You have a paid (or free) membership and want a benefit that makes subscribing worth it.
  • You want a safe room where only committed members can talk.
  • You don't want to charge for the chat on top of the membership.

Steps

Make sure your membership is set up

A Private chat space is open to your active portal subscribers. Set up your membership first in Membership pricing.

Create the chat space

Go to Offerings → Chat Spaces and click Create Chat Space. Add a Title, a Description and, if you like, a Cover Image.

Choose Private

Under Visibility, choose Private. The dialog starts on Public, so don't skip this.

Keep it Free

Under Pricing, keep Free. The membership is what members pay for. Choose Paid only if you want subscribers to pay extra on top.

Create, welcome and pin

Click Create Chat Space. Write a welcome message in the room, then use the message's … menu to Pin it.

Show it to subscribers on your portal

In My Portal → Design, turn on the Chat Space section. You can set the section to Subscribers Only so non-subscribers don't see an empty row.

Good to know

  • Only active subscribers see a Private space listed on your portal. Anyone else who opens its link is asked to subscribe.
  • If someone stops being a subscriber, they lose the right to join. Remove them yourself from Members if you want them out of the room. See Moderate a chat space.
  • Mention the chat in your membership description and welcome email. It's one of the most tangible benefits you can offer.

You can't switch an existing space to Private while anyone in it isn't a subscriber. If you're converting an open room, remove the non-subscribers first, or create a new Private space and invite subscribers there.

What your members see

  • Subscribers see the space in your portal's Chat Spaces row and join with Join for Free.
  • Everyone else who opens the link sees "This is a premium chat space exclusive to subscribers. Join our community to access this conversation and connect with other members." and a Become a Subscriber button that takes them to your membership signup.