03 Jun, 2024

Last edited: 18 Jan, 2025, 12:50 PM

Cook book

Setting up "premium channels", or giving access only to some members or making a channel invite only#

Each Topic channel on a Network Site can be individually controlled for access, ie members can be allowed to access content in a channel conditionally. One can choose to make the channel Restricted, Protected or Private, with increasing levels of restrictions and complexity. Three access mechanisms for channel access control are supported - Paywall, Magic Link and Manual approval.

I want to set up a premium channel where only some members have access.

Solution: Create a Topic channel, and set its access control to PROtected or PRIvate.

I want to set up a premium paywalled channel where anyone can peek into the content, but they need a subscription to view the content.

Solution:

1. Create a Topic channel, and set its access control to PROtected.
2. Then turn on the paywall and set it up as desired.

I want to set up a hidden channel that nobody knows about and I can selectively invite people to.

Solution:

1. Create a Topic channel, and set its access control to PRIvate.
2. Create a Magic Link and give it anyone you want to invite to that channel.

Allowing only certain kind of posts on a network#

The post types that network members are allowed to post across the network can be controlled in the (All) channel settings.

I'm creating a network for journalists. I want to allow members to post only long form content.

Solution: Turn off all the Post types except "Article" in the (All) channel settings.

Allowing only certain kind of posts in a channel#

Each channel can be individually configured to allow only certain kinds of posts to network members.

I want to allow members to post only social media kind of posts in the channel.

Solution: Turn off all the Post types except "Update" in the Channel settings.

Making a channel "read only" or preventing members from posting in a channel#

Each channel can be individually configured to allow only certain kinds of posts to network members. The extreme case is where ALL posts types are turned off for the channel. Under this condition, only Heroes can post in the channel, and no member can post in the channel.

I want to have a company website where only the admin will post and nobody else should be able to post anything.

Solution:

1. Create a Topic channel and configure it
2. Turn off ALL the Post types. Automatically only Heroes can now post.

Allowing only some selected members to post in a channel, while keeping the channel "read only" for all other members#

Each channel can be individually configured to allow only certain kinds of posts to network members. The extreme case is where ALL posts types are turned off for the channel. Now in order to give posting rights only to some members, make them Channel Champions. This allows one to permit only some authors to post into a channel.

I want to create a distribution channel for our media partners to get Press Releases from multiple authors. They should not be allowed to post.

Solution:

1. Create a Topic channel
2. Turn off ALL the Post types on that channel
3. Promote the selected author accounts to Channel Champion on that channel

Set up a private group with few creators and many subscribers#

Perform a combination of the Setting up "premium channels" recipe and the Allowing only some selected members to post.

I want to create a invite-only group for our non-profit grantors to be able to get updates from our grantees. Grantors should not be able to post.

Solution:

1. Create a Topic channel, and set its access control to PRIvate.
2. Create a Magic Link and give it the grantors.
3. Turn off ALL the Post types on the channel
4. Promote the selected author accounts to Channel Champion on that channel

Setting up a multi operator network#

When networks become too big, Network operators can hand over individual channels to Channel Heroes. This allows the network operator to focus on the big picture, while handling over individuals channels to someone else to independently manage. This is also a way for Network operators to earn revenue.

How can we showcase specific products on the homepage?#

Its very easy, and the network operator has complete, fine grained control on product listing. The key is to use Marketplace Dynamic Collections which is a powerful feature for displaying a desired subset of products wherever one wants.

A Dynamic Collection URL defines which products are displayed in the listing, and this URL can be shared with anyone or embedded in a Featured Page.

The Homepage is just a Featured Page. Featured Pages are built using the the Page Builder. Edit your home page > Insert a Marketplace Block wherever you want it to appear > set the Market URL field to the URL which defines the desired collection, and voila! the Homepage (or any Featured Page) will display only the set of desired products.

How to create a Dynamic Collection URL:

1. Define product classification via the market schema
2. Then assign the taxonomy levels /attributes / tags to each product.
3. Open the marketplace, perform search and/or filtering and/or sorting to get to the desired subset of products, copy the resultant URL and paste into the Marketplace Block.

Shortcut way to create a Dynamic Collection URL:

Filter using product hashtags, which are meant to be informal, and changing based on need. It an extendible system - one can use the hashtags for any purpose beyond filtering, eg they can be used to create an adhoc collection of "latest" or "on sale" or curate a set of products or anything really, without having to touch the formal fields.

Examples:

1. Showcase specific products using filters
2. Showcase specific products using hashtags