How to Turn Your Blog Module Into a Classifieds Section for Your Members

Launching a member marketplace is a great strategy for any organisation looking to move away from the chaos of social media trading. By repurposing your Member Jungle blog module, you can create a professional club classifieds software experience directly on your website and mobile app. This guide walks you through the steps to monetise club website traffic by creating specialised "Seller" roles or using PowerData forms for sales. Whether you are facilitating car club classifieds or a local sports gear exchange, providing a secure, internal "buy and sell" platform keeps your community engaged and provides a safer alternative to public marketplaces.

I don’t know about you, but I love browsing Facebook Marketplace looking for wild things people have listed. I have actually bought and sold normal things through it, like how it was intended to be used, but my true passion is looking for stuff like this. 

 

So many questions, and I don’t want the answers to any of them. 

Facebook Marketplace and other classified sections are incredibly useful tools for regular people to sell, swap, and trade. In one form or another, these marketplaces have existed for basically as long as people have had things to trade.

In fact, it wasn’t online news or 24-hour news cycles that “killed” traditional print media; it was the internet replacing the classified section in papers. Between 2002 and 2018, the revenue Australian media earned from classifieds fell from $1.5 billion to $200 million, a 86% decrease.  

People love classified sections; they are incredibly useful, and if used correctly, they can be a major asset to anyone who runs one. You don't need a dedicated marketplace plugin or a complicated third-party integration to run a classifieds section for your members, either. In fact, you already have the tool you need sitting right in your dashboard. The Member Jungle Blog Module can be turned into a really effective classifieds section with ease. 

So, today, let’s check out how to turn your blog into a professional-looking marketplace that manages everything from old car parts to used sporting equipment.

Step 1. Work Out How You Want To Use Your Membership Organisation’s Classifieds Section 

Before we start creating a classifieds sections, you need to decide exactly what role it will serve. Is it a place for members to buy and sell equipment? Is it a place for businesses to sell to your members? Is it both? Will it be free for people to post ads, or will they need to pay? 

You will also need to decide whether to use a single category for all items or multiple categories. Does everything just go in a section called Classifieds, or is it being broken down into “Hiking Gear”, “Camping Equipment” and “Accessories”? 

Once you know that, we can start building your classifieds section. 

Step 2. Creating A Classifieds Section For Your Members

First, you need to go to the Blog Module of your website and select the option to add a new blog category from the left-hand menu. 

 

Doing so will take you to a page where you can enter the name of your new blog category. This will be the name of the category for your classifieds sections. If you are only doing one category, name it something like “Classifieds”, and you're done. If you are doing multiple categories, repeat this process for each one. For this example, I am going to make three categories: “Cars For Sale”, “Car Parts For Sale” and “Accessories”. 

Once I’ve made all of these, I will just have to activate them by clicking the red box next to them. 

 

Step 3. Rename The Blog Module

Once you have created the categories for your classifieds section, you need to have the whole Blog Module renamed. You should change the name of the Blog Module to something more suitable, like "Classifieds" or "Marketplace". To do this, you will need to Raise A Support Ticket with the Member Jungle team and request that they rename your blog module. 

Once done, the new name will be visible to your members on both the website and in the mobile app. This will make it much more straightforward for your members to find and use your new classifieds section. 

Those are the three steps to setting up your blog module as a classifieds section. However, we still need to cover how members post listings on your classifieds page and how you can monetise this for your organisation.

Set Up the Right to Post as a Member Level

Probably the best way to give members the ability to post items in your classifieds section is by setting up the permission as a separate member level. This is easy and the most efficient way to monetise your marketplace.

To do this, create a new member level in your website's Membership tab and name it something like "Classified Ad Poster." You can choose how much this level costs to join and how often it needs to be renewed. I’d recommend creating two of these new membership levels. A cheaper one that only existing members can join, and a more expensive one that business or non-members can sign up for to sell via your classifieds. 

Next, head into the Security Tab and add a new Role. Call this role something like Classifieds Seller, and create it. 

 

 

You then need to look at all of your existing roles and then edit the “Privileges” for your new role. 

 

Once you click on the “Privileges” button, you want to add Blog under the “Module Privileges” section, and click add. 

 

 

Your new role now has unlimited access to the blog module, which we don’t want, so now we need to adjust their access. You should now be seeing little tick boxes in the “Module Privileges” section under “Item Administrator”, “Item Approver” and “Item Contributor”. 

 

You want to untick all boxes except “Item Contributer”. This will allow your member with your new role to add items to the classifieds, but will require someone else from your organisation to approve them. If you don’t want to have to approve each item being listed, also tick the box for  “Item Approver”. 

 

Then, once a member signs up for your  "Classified Ad Poster" membership level, all you need to do is go back into the security tab and assign them your new classifieds role. 

 

 

Once this is set up, members can sign up, pay a small fee, and create their own listings directly on your website. It is worth noting that while this method allows members to see the "backend" of the site to create their ads, they will only ever see the blog section. They will have no access to your member database, financial reports, or any other sensitive administrative areas.

From here, you can simply sit back and let your classifieds section run itself while the club generates a little extra revenue. 

In summary: 

• Make a new membership level for posting ads
• Price it accordingly 
• Add a new role
• Change the role’s permissions
• Assign any members who sign up for the new level to your new role 

Set Up Posting On Your Classifieds Section Via PowerData Forms

There is an alternative to letting people post ads in your classifieds section that doesn’t involve roles or new permissions. It is, however, more manual each time someone wants to add a new ad, and it is harder to monetise. 

To set your classifieds up this way, you need to add a button to your classifieds section that says something like "Post An Ad". You will then need the Member Jungle team to redirect that button to a custom PowerData form. 

You will need to create this PowerData form to collect all the relevant information about the ad that your member wants to post. Once they enter their information and submit it, you will be emailed all the information from the Powerdata form. You then need to add and fill in the ad on their behalf.  

It is simpler to set up, but each time someone wants to post an ad, you will need to post it manually, plus it’s harder but not impossible to monetise. 

Posting An Ad In The Classifieds

Actually, posting an ad on the classifieds page is very simple. Once you are in the Blog Module, click "Add New Blog Entry" on the left-hand menu, which will open the page below. 

 

 

From here, you or your member with permission to create ads will be able to enter all of the relevant details of the ad. Including the title, the category it belongs in, images, and descriptions. 

And that’s it, the ad is done. If you have chosen not to give your members item approver permission, you will need to set the new ad live. 

TL;DR: The Cheat Sheet for Your Membership Marketplace

Don't have time for the full read? Here is the quick-start guide to turning your Blog Module into a member-driven Classifieds section. 

The Concept: Repurpose the Blog Module into a Classifieds section where members can buy, sell, and swap gear.

• Create new Blog Categories (e.g., "Vehicles," "Gear," "Accessories")
• Submit a support ticket to rename the "Blog" module to "Classifieds" or "Marketplace" to make your site and app look more professional.
• Option A (Automated): Create a "Seller" member level and security role. Give them "Item Contributor" access so they can draft their own ads for you to approve.
• Option B (Manual): Use a PowerData Form to collect ad details and post them on behalf of your members.

The Benefit: It adds massive value to your membership, keeps trading safe within your community, and can even act as a new revenue stream for the club through ad-posting fees.

How Else Can You Get More From The Member Jungle System?

If you have any more questions about how to turn your blog module into a classified section, please Raise A Support Ticket. 

If you’re looking for more ways to make money from Member Jungle, check out the aptly named How You Can Make Money With Member Jungle.