What makes you pay to join a community?

I always join for the people.

Accessibility to folks who are, either on the same journey as me or who have successfully crossed to the other side and share their experiences + insights.

If they give value and information that I can't find on google

If there is something I can keep getting value from, if it is a short-term skill or idea that can be learned then I wouldn't need a subscription. It has to be recurring.

Insane amounts of value. With most information being accessible and free, a bunch of added value makes me much more likely to join a paid community. If there was a community for a subject I didn't grasp but was fascinated by, let's just say molecular biology (idk haha), and they were able to write interesting articles that dumbed-it-down to my life, I'd join!