Membership sites seem to be the newest craze in the marketing press. The media hype has been relentless and several website owners have decided to sign up for these sites. As a website owner, you might be wondering whether this is really worth it. You already have a website and it’s doing well and you know that your website is getting great reviews. In fact, you know that if you sit back and wait, your website is going to make good business quite easily. You don’t think you need a membership site and you don’t want to sign up for anything.
Stop Right There….This Report Will Change Your Mind.
Yes, membership sites are new but you should know that there always fire behind the media smoke. In this case, membership sites can make a significant difference to your website. Website evangelists are excited about marketing membership sites and they have a reason to be so excited.
So, if you are new to this topic and are wondering what the noise is about, you’ll discover that membership sites work. You should know that you’ll discover critical tips that will work to your benefit when you decided to set up a membership site for yourself.
Ok, Stop…I’m Listening….Tell Me What Exactly is Involved in a Membership Site and What Are Membership Site Profits?
There are several different types of membership sites available for website owners. The simplest websites usually charge a flat fee for a certain amount of content or for a fee. The membership site will provide the service or content and then collect the fee or payment in the form of a staggered payment program. Some websites may also charge a flat membership fee for the services they provide. For the site owner, this is a good idea as you can generate flat fees.
With the regular service, you can generate continuous revenue. This will also help you to find new customers or members. This concept may be difficult to understand but we can explain it with a simple example.
Case Example: Internet Marketer Patrick Leon set up a membership website called Blogger First. When he set up the site, he was able to sign up more than 400 members for this website. At the time of launching, he charged each member a flat $30 fee. When you calculate this fee, you realize that he got instant cash infusion of $12,000 with his membership site. The site became so successful that he was able to get many more customers and raise his entrance fee. In fact, in recent years, he has managed to raise his entrance fee to almost $50.
His basic membership site was so successful that he is one of the premier internet marketers online advertising the use of membership sites. He wrote about his experiences in Entrepreneurs-Journey.com and he stated that his website was actually based on a similar website that was operated by internet giants Andrew and Daryl Grant. The Grants were the people who advised him to set a target of 1000 people for his website and how much entry fee to set up. If he managed to hit this target every month, he could easily expect a flat income every month.
Apart from this example, membership sites are also great for building a community of people that have the same interest or by enrolling in the website; members were offered exclusive content that distinctly identified them as members rather than fans or followers of a particular membership site.
What to Consider before Setting up a Membership Site and Membership Site Profits?
Ok, this does sound interesting but what should a website owner know about setting up a membership site? Are there any specific steps to be followed? Yes, there are and we’ve shared them here with you. Let’s take a look at these critical points in a little detail:
- Decide what type of website you want to set up — There are several different community models that are used by membership sites and we are listing them here:
– Community websites are organized around a certain theme like hobbies, topics, etc. The topic may range from music to gardening and it can be as big or as small as required.
– Content delivery websites are also popular as members can use the website to distribute information in the form of articles, newsletters, press releases, e-books etc.
– Training modules are the most popular as they are used by teachers, students, trainers, and others
You should know though that most websites use a mix of different models. This is a sensible idea as it allows you to offer your members a range of services. You can ask yourself, ‘what is the key service required by my members and how can I provide this service?’
For example, in the blog mentioned above, the website owner manages to solve the audience requirements of the readers and this ensures that these members are happy with the services offered by the website owner. By solving a critical service, the website guarantees that members are happy.
These customers will tell other customers and you are guaranteed an increase in your readership base or membership. Ideally for this to happen, you should have unique content, innovative ideas, and interest in the topic. Readers will realize this and it will keep them engaged.
- Are you considering the use of WordPress for your platform? If yes, which membership plug-in will you use with WordPress? — WordPress is simple, inexpensive and quite frankly, easy to use. No other software can suit this requirement. You can choose to use other website platforms but it’s a far better idea to stick to a free platform like WordPress. Furthermore, the website is so popular that it is used by more than 60 million users worldwide and there is more than 30 million plug-ins or accessories that are available for use with the basic WordPress platform.
One of the most popular plug-ins available is Wishlist Member that is used on almost all WordPress membership sites. Some are paid and others are free while some versions are available with a free/trial and paid upgrade. Over the years, developers have also started creating innovative and technically sensitive plug-ins that can be quite complicated.
Before downloading and using any such plug-in, make sure you ensure that it works with your basic WordPress platform and does not cause any crashes or slowdowns. You will be adding new members, new data, content, sending newsletters, emails and doing many other things. The plug-in should not slow your website and it should ensure that the process is simple and fast. You should also choose plug-ins that have detailed documentation as they will help you deal with the plug-in better.
- How are you planning to price your membership fee? — Rates may vary from free sites to sites that charge thousands of dollars for membership. You can set your price by assessing how much you are worth and then over delivering value to your customers.
For example, you might be thinking about setting an entry price of about $30. In that case you have to deliver value offerings of $60 or more to keep your readers engaged. This also depends on the type of website you have. For example, if you have a cooking website, it does not mean you have to deliver $60 worth of recipes. Instead, you could deliver $60 of e-books on evolving cooking trends, secret spice mixes, newsletters, etc. In short, anything that will be priced highly by the readers can be used to raise your website membership value.
Once you are established online, you can then think about setting different price ranges for memberships, free trial periods, lifetime memberships, short-term use prices, etc. This will allow your users to choose the membership they want and it will also help you find dedicated readers. For these dedicated members, you can tailor-make content or services that will keep them happy and fans of your website. You can also try hooks like, “Pay $10 for the first month and cancel anytime. You are getting $97 of value in less than $10.”
A word of caution though; always be clear on what you are offering at different levels so that clients or readers are happy with what they are getting. Do not put in hidden riders or costs as it annoys readers and you will be left with irritated customers.
- Common mistakes you should avoid — Learn from the mistakes made by other website owners and ensure that you have nothing to worry about.
– Use quality plug-ins as a poorly coded plug-in will crash your website.
– Adjust the site and permalinks accordingly
– Update WordPress and its plug-ins regularly
– Make it easy to use your website
– Make it simple to share content
– Make sure your website is backed up accurately
– Use Google analytics as it ensures success
– Use the best anti-virus possible as it protects you and your customers.
– Use keywords and optimized content. It’s what your customers are looking for and it works.
– Always collect emails and build a newsletter to keep customers informed.
This might seem like an exhaustive list but it’s actually quite simple to follow and implement. Of course, you might have questions and doubts. That’s ok; you can always write in to us and we will gladly help you with any issues or problems that you might be facing.
