Need Help. Flopped Membership site

14 replies
Hi Warriors,

I was trying to create a membership site but I failed miserably.

What I tried to do:

1: I am selling a membership to have thousands of resale rights, MRR and PLR and my IM advice.
2: I soft launched my site to my untargeted list. ZERO signup.
3: I think my offer was not good.

I've been thinking about how I can still make this work and this are the options I came up with:

1: Sell a lifetime membership
I can sell the lifetime membership for 5 cents per product.
So for example, I now have 220 products, so at 5 cents each it will only cost $11 to join (one time payment).
When I add more products, the cost for the buyer goes down as well.
In this example, when I have 2200 products, the member that bought it at $11 would have only paid half a cent per product.
When I increase my number of products, I will increase this price. example, when I have 300, the price will increase to $15

2: Forget about membership and just sell products at 99 cents each

3: Sell a $5 membership and limit the download to 20 products per month. That means the member is paying 25 cents per download. I think that what the majority of people who use this type of products would not use more than 20 products per month.

4: Quit and shutdown the site.

My questions to warriors, what option would you go for? Do you have any more suggestion?

Thanks.
#flopped #membership #site
  • Profile picture of the author allenjohn
    If I were you I would make the free membership a no brainer and get people on board. Then ask them what they want and give them it. So, in short, concentrate on that front end first, then create the real offer once you have say 1,000 on board.... good luck! All the very best, Allen
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    Rethink the whole thing. Forget the paid membership model. Forget retailing one item at a time. Become a wholesaler. Offer four or five items to join for free and capture the lead. Once they're in as members offer bundles of 10, 20, 50 or more products for $10 per package. I've done very well as a wholesaler of PLR stuff but I wouldn't be caught dead trying to retail one item at a time. Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author David Maschke
    Hey, yo dax.

    Really glad to meet you. I've been going crazy to talk to someone about master resale rights. Like pulling what little hair I have left crazy.

    At least you're taking action, I'm tripping over myself with learning and thinking.

    Hey, where did you build your list? If you got it here in the warrior forum, let me tell you, these people are NOT your target market. At least for the most part.

    I've been forming a strategy, release my own product with master resale rights. Submit it to a few membership sites. A few of them will actually email their list and tell them to log in and download it. I know, I am on three of those lists.

    Well, anyway, the product will end up in the target markets hands. I tried it before and it worked great, even screwing everything up.

    With the product I had a message, "I sell master resale rights all the time, if you like those types of products join my list and I'll inform you as soon as I get my hands on them. And I'll throw in a couple of bonuses after you join my list."

    I was thinking about traffic exchanges too. Steven Wagenheim talked about that herd in his crap advertising ebook. There's ways to leverage that herd.

    What script are you using for your membership? I'm using the butterfly script, some great features in that script for viral marketing.

    "Hey, refer just two people to my site and you get a gold membership for life. Just take a few moments of your time."

    Viral marketing in the traffic exchange crowd. Viral marketing in the master resale rights crowd. Sort of a two prong attack type of strategy, all released at the same time.

    Viral x Viral x Viral = V3

    Let's bounce some ideas off of each other. You can take a look at my membership site if you want. No charge of course.

    Later,
    Dave
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  • Profile picture of the author ganesh
    If your script allows two level membership then split your offer into two. Offer one for free and an upgrade paid option. The free offer can also be posted as a WSO. I am sure that you will get some good signups. Then when the warriors see value in your membership area they may upgrade.
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    • Profile picture of the author daxcheng
      Thanks ganesh, David, travlinguy and allenjohn,

      You all have given me a lot to think about. This is why I love this forum.

      ganesh,

      I can have 4 levels of membership. WSO seems to be a good marketing tool. I might just do that.

      David,

      I am using s2Member. Really nice wordpress pluging.

      I have released a MRR product before and it is doing quite well. At the time, I did not have this site yet. I used it to promote a baby names software I own. Got some sales out of the free distribution. Very good strategy. This is something I definitely would do to promote this site.

      Fell free to PM me if you want to chat.

      travlinguy and allenjohn,

      Thanks for your advice. I think I will add a free membership option. Just have to figure out how to market it. The packaged option looks like a nice option as well.
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      Warmest Regards
      Dax Cheng
      writing-business-letters.com

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      • Profile picture of the author celente
        Originally Posted by daxcheng View Post

        Thanks ganesh, David, travlinguy and allenjohn,

        You all have given me a lot to think about. This is why I love this forum.

        ganesh,

        I can have 4 levels of membership. WSO seems to be a good marketing tool. I might just do that.

        David,

        I am using s2Member. Really nice wordpress pluging.

        I have released a MRR product before and it is doing quite well. At the time, I did not have this site yet. I used it to promote a baby names software I own. Got some sales out of the free distribution. Very good strategy. This is something I definitely would do to promote this site.

        Fell free to PM me if you want to chat.

        travlinguy and allenjohn,

        Thanks for your advice. I think I will add a free membership option. Just have to figure out how to market it. The packaged option looks like a nice option as well.
        I make most my living from membership sites. S2 member does rock! I think you have to manage the traffic to buyers to sticking members.

        it has taken many years of revisions and testing to get it right, but most important is keeping the traffic coming to your site, to get more people signing up.
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by daxcheng View Post

    1: I am selling a membership to have thousands of resale rights, MRR and PLR and my IM advice.
    Get that other crap out of there. You are selling membership to an exclusive coaching site. All the other stuff is a bonus.

    2: I soft launched my site to my untargeted list. ZERO signup.
    Build a targeted list with WSOs about:

    - Making money with resale rights
    - When to sell MRR and when not to
    - Repurposing PLR products
    - Finding good PLR sites

    Then mail your offer to that list, promoting your amazing coaching and oh by the way there are thousands of RR/MRR/PLR products there too.
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    "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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    • Profile picture of the author daxcheng
      Thanks CDarklock,

      I will most probably remove the coaching stuff. Build a new site around that some other time. Maybe include the thousands of products as a bonus. I am not a IM guru. Just someone who has made money in other niches. This is my first attempt at going into the IM niche.

      Maybe I'll start making a name for myself using WSOs.

      But for now, I think it's easier to market resale rights stuff first.

      Thanks again.
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      Warmest Regards
      Dax Cheng
      writing-business-letters.com

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      • Profile picture of the author insidmal
        Originally Posted by daxcheng View Post

        Thanks CDarklock,

        I will most probably remove the coaching stuff. Build a new site around that some other time. Maybe include the thousands of products as a bonus. I am not a IM guru. Just someone who has made money in other niches. This is my first attempt at going into the IM niche.

        Maybe I'll start making a name for myself using WSOs.

        But for now, I think it's easier to market resale rights stuff first.

        Thanks again.
        That's a good idea.. one or the other.. determine a focus, and focus on it.. what problem is your site solving? The PLR market is hard because it is flooded, but like those others said give them some freebies just for joining for free and then sell additional content, you probably won't sell a lot but you will get a lot of leads who are obviously interested in PLR content, having regular 'sales' where you temporarily reduce the prices and email the membership can get them buying on impulse
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      • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
        Originally Posted by daxcheng View Post

        Maybe I'll start making a name for myself using WSOs.

        But for now, I think it's easier to market resale rights stuff first.
        It's even easier to market resale rights stuff to people who have bought your WSO about selling resale rights stuff.

        If you know it well enough to do it, then you know it well enough to write it down and sell it as a WSO.
        Signature
        "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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        • Profile picture of the author daxcheng
          Hi kindsvater,

          Thanks. You saw my sales letter when I'm playing around with it after getting the advice from everyone here. There's virtually no traffic to that site yet, so I can update as I go.

          There was a 6 minute video sales letter there before with explanation and everything.

          Hi celente,

          I agree. S2member rocks. And yes, with enough traffic, it will work. I have a site on business letter and let me tell you, the visitor value is less than 1 cent each! But It is making me good money. So drive enough traffic and any site can be profitable.

          Hi CDarklock,

          Excellent advice. I gave out 8 different ways to make money via resale rights products (only one is selling it) in my original video. I should expand that and turn it into a ebook. But instead of a WSO, I think I'll give MRR to it. That way, it gets to my target market.

          As always, This is cool. Just goes to show how professional internet marketers can be.

          I'll PM everyone who responded my new MRR ebook once I've created it.

          Thanks again. I think I have my strategy to move forward.
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          Warmest Regards
          Dax Cheng
          writing-business-letters.com

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          • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
            Originally Posted by daxcheng View Post

            But instead of a WSO, I think I'll give MRR to it.
            Free WSO for personal use, $7 for resale rights, $17 upsell for MRR.

            Here's how that specs out.

            You get a huge list because the WSO is free if you just want it yourself.

            The resale rights are just dumb, because there's no market for them. It's free right here in the WSO forum. Why would anyone pay for it?

            Well, because they don't have $17. Some people will buy the resale rights because they want to pay, but don't have that much money. You can probably sell those people $5 and $7 and $9 products week in and week out. Put them on a buyer list, and send them a LOT of promos. Every month or so, offer them a $17 or higher product, and whoever buys it you move onto the MRR list.

            See, people who buy the MRR go on a different list where you offer them higher-end products. And here, too, you offer them more expensive products every month or so, migrating those who buy onto a new list offering higher-end products.

            You get the picture, right?
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            "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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      • Profile picture of the author Cee
        Originally Posted by daxcheng View Post

        Thanks CDarklock,

        I am not a IM guru. Just someone who has made money in other niches. This is my first attempt at going into the IM niche.
        If you've had success and made money in other niches then you'll definitely have people who will want to be coached by you. You already have great potential by offering your services in this regard. You can teach them what you already know and establish yourself as an expert. Throw in some of your bonuses each month that will help your coaching members in their efforts and they'll keep coming back for more.
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  • Profile picture of the author kindsvater
    Is what you are promoting worthless and not worth 99 cents?

    Does someone visiting your site have that impression?

    99 cents? 5 cents? 1 cent? Who cares if its junk.

    From the start you say:

    "I won't go into a long sales letter. If you end up at this site, chances are you are making money with resale rights products. You know the value."

    Try the opposite:

    Do a longer sales letter and actually explain the value.
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