Before you start
Find your angle
Pages usually go quiet not because of the writing or the schedule, but because it was never clear who they were for. Answer these four questions first; your bio, tiers and posts get much easier.
- Who is it for?
- Describe the one person you most want to join, in a single sentence. “People who keep picking the wrong partner” is clearer than “anyone into relationships”.
- Why you?
- What have you done, made or lived through that makes you worth following on this? Firsthand experience is what people pay for.
- What would they pay for?
- Draw a straight line from “reads or watches your free work” to “pays for something”: more of it, earlier, deeper, or time with you.
- What makes yours different?
- If others already cover your topic, find your angle: a narrower audience, a different format, or your own point of view.
Set up your page
Create your free creator account
Wherebyusapp.com → Start your page
Sign up with Google, Apple or your email and choose a creator account. It’s free, there’s no follower minimum, and you need to be 18 or older. Creator accounts are open in the US and Canada.
- Tick the box to accept the Terms and Privacy Policy, then confirm your email.
- Your dashboard opens with a short first-day checklist. Follow it, or follow this guide; they cover the same ground.
Set up the top of your page
WhereSettings → Profile photo, Cover image, Profile · Dashboard → Your page URL, Links
Most visitors decide in a few seconds whether to stay, so the top of your page does the heavy lifting.
- A clear photo of you or your logo, and a wide cover image that shows what you make.
- A short bio written for a stranger: who it’s for and what members get. Write the way you talk.
- A short page link like byusapp.com/creator/yourname, so it’s easy to say out loud and put in your bio.
- Your social links, so people can find you everywhere else.
Stuck on the words? The Setup helper on your dashboard turns a sentence about what you make into a starter bio, categories and tier ideas you can edit.
Make your first membership tier
WhereDashboard → Subscription tiers
Start with one tier. One clear offer is easier to explain than three half-planned ones, and you can add more later.
- Give it a name that sounds like you, a price, and two or three specific benefits you can keep up every month.
- Prices start at $5 a month. Tiers under $6 a month are billed yearly (a $5 tier is $50 a year, about $4.17 a month for fans); $6 and up can be monthly or yearly.
- New tiers get a yearly price with two months free, which many fans prefer.
- Write a welcome note. New members see it right after joining and in their welcome email.
- Later, consider one personal option for the few people who want more: a limited-spot tier, or 1:1 video calls at your price.
Once someone joins, the price they pay for that tier never goes up. If you raise prices later, you make a new tier for new members.
Connect payouts so you can get paid
WhereDashboard → Connect payouts
ByUs pays you through Stripe, straight into your own bank account. Connecting takes a few minutes and asks for the usual identity and bank details, which go to Stripe, not to ByUs.
- You keep 87% to start and up to 91% as your monthly sales grow. Card processing is already included.
- The first 50 US creators to reach $250 in sales in a month become founding creators and keep 90% for good.
- Payouts go out weekly on Mondays if you sold $100 or more the month before; otherwise monthly on the 1st, once you have at least $25.
Post before you share your link
WhereDashboard → Posts
Never send people to an empty page. Put up at least one public post and one members-only post first.
- The public post shows visitors your style. Pin your best introduction so it stays at the top.
- The members-only post shows visitors what’s waiting behind the button. Non-members see a blurred sneak peek.
- Give each post a specific title and a strong first line. “How I finished a whole album in 90 days” beats “Update”.
- Write a few at once on a good day and use “Schedule for later”, so your rhythm keeps going on busy days.
Coming from another platform?
Bring your members and your work
Do steps 1 to 5 first, so members land on a page that’s ready. Then move people over with these:
- Switching links
WhereDashboard → Bring fans from another platform
Create a link dated to when your members’ paid time elsewhere runs out. They join ByUs today and pay $0 until that date, so nobody pays twice. They cancel their old membership themselves.
- Your past posts
WhereSettings → Blog RSS import
Writers can bring in past posts from a blog or newsletter that has an RSS feed.
- Your videos and audio
WhereDashboard → Posts
Upload files directly, several at a time.
- Your community
WhereSettings → Discord & Telegram
Connect your server or group, and members get access automatically while their membership is active.
Tell members why you’re moving and what changes for them, keep posting in both places until the switch date, and remind people a week before and the day before. The full plan is in Moving your members without anyone paying twice.
Step 7
Pick a rhythm you can actually keep
Burning out is rarely a discipline problem. Usually the plan asked for more time than you have. Be honest about your hours, then choose the row that fits a bad week, not a good one.
| Time each week | A rhythm that fits |
|---|---|
| 1–2 hours | One members-only post every week or two, plus one quick public post. |
| 3–5 hours | One members-only post a week, one small behind-the-scenes post, and one public post. |
| 6+ hours | All of the above, plus a poll or bonus for members. A good time to add a personal tier or video calls. |
Already make videos or a podcast? Make that your main work and let ByUs carry it: post the episode or video, and give members something extra around it, like early access, the full version or the behind-the-scenes.
Step 8
Turn followers into members
Free followers who like your work are your future members. Four habits, added over your first months, do most of the work:
End posts with what members get
Two lines at the end of your public posts: what you make and what members get. It’s not a pitch, it’s a reminder that there’s more.
Give a free sample now and then
Now and then, make a public post that shares part of a members-only one. People join when they’ve seen what’s inside.
Ask directly, once you’ve shown up
After 8 to 12 posts, ask plainly: “If you’ve enjoyed these, this is how you can support the work.” Many people were only waiting to be asked.
Share a real result
A few times a year, show what members made possible: the album that got finished, the series you could afford to make. Then one clear invitation to join.
And when someone joins, say hello yourself. A short message like “Thanks for joining! What made you sign up?” from Messages starts a real conversation and tells you what people want from you.
Step 9
Check what’s working
Your dashboard shows Page health, your next steps, and where your supporters came from. If growth stalls, it usually traces back to one of these:
- Visitors come but don’t join
- Look at the top of your page and your tiers. Is it clear who it’s for and what members get? Page health on your dashboard points out what’s missing.
- Hardly anyone visits
- Share your link in more places, mention it again after your next few pieces of work, and post publicly so Discover has something to show. “Where your supporters came from” shows what’s working.
- You keep missing posts
- The rhythm was too ambitious. Pick the smaller one from the table above. Need real time off? “Taking a break?” pauses monthly renewals so nobody pays for weeks you’re away.
You don’t have to do it alone
- Page Coach on your dashboard answers questions and drafts your bio, tiers and post ideas with you, one step at a time.
- Message Evan, the founder, from the dashboard. He’ll write your tiers, prices, description and first post with you, free. He never has access to your account, and usually replies within an hour, 5 AM to 9 PM Eastern.
- The growth guides go deeper on pricing, posting and keeping members.