Membership Sites - What Are People Looking For? | Warrior Forum - The #1 Digital Marketing Forum & Marketplace

15 years ago

There's SO many different niches that are being served by membership sites...

PLR products
Graphics & Design
Audio & Music
Video Training & Tutorials
Private Mentoring & Coaching
Niche "How To" products

The only limitation is your creativity and imagination! Adding a continuity component to your marketing strategy is going to be more and more commonplace going forward because it just makes so much sense.

It's kind of a no-brainer way to increase the lifetime value of each customer.

Of course customer retention becomes a new objective that one-off sales don't share. But one-off sales are usually followed up by future affiliate sales so it's not that different either, just a slightly different path.

Brian

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madison_avenue

15 years ago

People need to feel they are getting some unique content. However you can still impress if you can present existing knowledge in a unique way. If you are a good teacher you are halfway there.

A certain "exclusive" atmosphere needs to created within the "club", members need to feel welcome an special. You can give certain gifts and "surprises".

You need to be eyes and ears of your members warn them of any over hyped offers they should be wary of and guide them towards the best value quality products.

If you can do this you will save your members money and earn their respect, therefore they will happy to remain members.

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JayMartins

15 years ago

I think you can build a membership in pretty much ANY niche.

There is a guy I know that runs a membership website for gardeners at just $1 a month, and he has half a million subscribers.

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knmrwarrior 15 years ago

Originally Posted by JayMartins

There is a guy I know that runs a membership website for gardeners at just $1 a month, and he has half a million subscribers.

Any idea which credit card processor he uses to process his payments?

I have a couple of sites in the job hunting niche that are in need of a refresh. I've thought of going membership at a low price but have dismissed that idea due to cost of payment processing.
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zeurois

15 years ago

wow.. that's a lot. I assume he has a lot of traffic from them as well.

Originally Posted by JayMartins

I think you can build a membership in pretty much ANY niche.

There is a guy I know that runs a membership website for gardeners at just $1 a month, and he has half a million subscribers.

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mywebwork

15 years ago

Membership sites also appeal to me. But one aspect I have yet to figure out is how to integrate an affiliate program into such a site, most software I've seen doesn't seem to provide for this. Without affiliates I'm not sure how you would attract enough members, especially in the IM niche.

Of course if I knew 500,000 gardeners...

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Mark Kaye

15 years ago

Originally Posted by mywebwork

Membership sites also appeal to me. But one aspect I have yet to figure out is how to integrate an affiliate program into such a site, most software I've seen doesn't seem to provide for this. Without affiliates I'm not sure how you would attract enough members, especially in the IM niche.

Of course if I knew 500,000 gardeners...

Now that's what I call a "Green Thumb!" Ha!

Do you know the site? I'd love to check it out...

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Tim Dixon

15 years ago

Originally Posted by mywebwork

Membership sites also appeal to me. But one aspect I have yet to figure out is how to integrate an affiliate program into such a site, most software I've seen doesn't seem to provide for this. Without affiliates I'm not sure how you would attract enough members, especially in the IM niche.

Of course if I knew 500,000 gardeners...

You could use ClickBank or PayDotCom, both cover the recurring subscription model now.

It's then just a matter of tying those in with whatever membership program you are using.

Tim

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JayMartins

15 years ago

Just use PayPal?

Whats wrong with that?

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knmrwarrior

15 years ago

Originally Posted by JayMartins

Just use PayPal?

Whats wrong with that?

Funny, I hadn't considered PayPal as a micro-payment processor.

For European merchants, their cut of a 99c transaction would be 40%. of course the higher the transaction value (or volume), that percentage lowers.

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tecHead

15 years ago

Originally Posted by knmrwarrior

Funny, I hadn't considered PayPal as a micro-payment processor.

For European merchants, their cut of a 99c transaction would be 40%. of course the higher the transaction value (or volume), that percentage lowers.

PayPal has a micropayment solution... they basically cut the fees down to match the micropayment

https://www.paypal.com/IntegrationCe...opayments.html

PLP,
tecHead

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knmrwarrior

15 years ago

Originally Posted by tecHead

PayPal has a micropayment solution... they basically cut the fees down to match the micropayment

https://www.paypal.com/IntegrationCe...opayments.html

PLP,
tecHead

That's great. I did not know that.

Back on topic, if you want to use paypal for a membership site with an affiliate program, you could use a third party software solution such as Rapid Action Profits.

As membership sites become ever more popular, there are a lot of software and services out there aimed at membership site owners. I know, I've tried a lot of them.

Der

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Scott Million

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Mark Kaye

Building a membership site has an amazing amount of appeal to me and, I imagine to many IM's. Receiving recurring monthly income from one sale? Sounds fantastic!

I know that the most common membership-style sites are "Dating Websites" where lonely hearts can meet up with one another. But what other "membership sites" have been successful?

The list is endless. One Warrior is making over 10K / mo on a membership site for "Children's Book Authors" ...talk about a microniche!

Another Warrior is making a living with a "sermon's on tape" membership site.

Another Warrior is making a living with an "article a day" membership site.

Many Warriors are making a full time + living with "self help" membership sites.

Others...

PLR content (for any niche)
Weight Loss / Weight Gain
Dating (as you mentioned)
Video Game Downloads

Weekly diets, etc.......

Weekly recipes...

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BrianMcLeod

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Scott Million

The list is endless. One Warrior is making over 10K / mo on a membership site for "Children's Book Authors" ...talk about a microniche!

Yeah, that's an AWESOME thread for anyone interested in starting a membership site.

Another Warrior is making a living with a "sermon's on tape" membership site.

Another Warrior is making a living with an "article a day" membership site.

Many Warriors are making a full time + living with "self help" membership sites.

Others...

PLR content (for any niche)
Weight Loss / Weight Gain
Dating (as you mentioned)
Video Game Downloads

Weekly diets, etc.......

Weekly recipes...

Right on, Scott.

Good post.

As Kyle Tully puts it.. Members only expect what you tell them to expect.

People get frightened by the amount of work they think a membership has to require... and it CAN be a lot of work if you set yours up to be like that.

If you promise the moon and stars in order to attract anyone and everyone you think might possibly be interested, you can wind up chasing your tail.

But it can also be very, very simple. Tightly focused offer to a tightly focused niche.

Brian

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BrianTubbs

15 years ago

Self-help? Really??? The market SEEMS completely saturated to me. Is there still money to be made in that, even with a membership site???

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jonb

15 years ago

Hey all, I'm the "children's book author membership site guy' mentioned above.

Whatever niche you pick, there are two fundamental things that need to drive a membership site:

1. People are overwhelmed by the amount of "free" information on the web.

This is a crucial thing for info-marketers to understand. Simply cranking out more information into an already flooded market means butting your head against this reality. **A membership site is, at its core, a convenience deliverer**. In one place, members can find reliable, useful, hand-edited info. Rather than getting buried with info of questionable usefulness from thousands of sites, a membership site ties it all up nice and neat -- and provides a human editor behind it all to separate the wheat from the chaff. this is an extremely valuable service in this day and age.

2. People want to feel part of something bigger.

Read "Tribes" by Seth Godin. Do it this weekend. It's a blueprint for membership site success. On my site, we created a mascot -- The Fightin' Bookworm -- and we make all new members "Fightin' Bookworms" once they join. Then we gave meaning to that, by creating a Fightin' Bookworm Manifesto, that speaks to what Fightin Bookworms should strive for, and how we'll all work together to achieve our goals. Very uplifting and empowering stuff -- and exactly what people are desperate for!

So that's the key -- a "gated community" where people can get pre-sifted top-flight information, and connect with others to strive toward a common and meaningful goal. You can replicate that in any niche and find success.

Best,

Jon
cbiclubhouse.com, Home of the Fightin' Bookworms

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BrianTubbs

15 years ago

Originally Posted by jonb

So that's the key -- a "gated community" where people can get pre-sifted top-flight information, and connect with others to strive toward a common and meaningful goal. You can replicate that in any niche and find success.

Best,

Jon
cbiclubhouse.com, Home of the Fightin' Bookworms

If I were a children's author, I sign up to be a "Fightin' Bookworm." Your site looks really neat.

Great advice on the gated community. I hadn't thought of it that way before. Thanks!

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Mark Kaye

15 years ago

Originally Posted by jonb

Read "Tribes" by Seth Godin. Do it this weekend. It's a blueprint for membership site success. On my site, we created a mascot -- The Fightin' Bookworm -- and we make all new members "Fightin' Bookworms" once they join. Then we gave meaning to that, by creating a Fightin' Bookworm Manifesto, that speaks to what Fightin Bookworms should strive for, and how we'll all work together to achieve our goals. Very uplifting and empowering stuff -- and exactly what people are desperate for!

That's great stuff! Thanks for that...and I love Seth Godin. haven't read "Tribes" but I have read everything else...I'll check it out!

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Dano77

15 years ago

One note, I used to work for a company that used to use the old $2.95 trial method to get tons of new people to a membership site... It works really well because it gets rid of the tire kickers AND most people forget 30 days from then that the full price charge is coming. If the site has value and is worth it, many just stay on assuming they'll use it at some point.

Also... I'd recommend checking out Google's new insight's for search, and typing in "membership site" or something like that to see the new trends for types of sites people are looking for.

Dan

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twannahiga

15 years ago

There are already so many great niches that have membership sites for several sources like, - niche specific how-to products, free or paid video training tutorials, and free and paid plr products. The best way is to continually offer free services and great offers on paid ones to keep your customers interest level high. Retaining your customers services and loyalty is paramount when running your own membership site!

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GailTrahd

15 years ago

Membership sites are perfect in every niche. As far as software - Amember and EasyMemberPro are both great options (I am using both in different niches) that enable the use of affiliate tracking. Amember just included a 2nd tier tracking that I don't think EasyMemberPro has - but I haven't looked for it with EMP. Both integrate with 2CO and Paypal.

Memberships can be centered around providing PLR content, teaching information, coaching, copy writing - and delivered in whatever format you want - mp3, video, screen capture, written - and taken from where ever you can find it - ghost writers, yourself or public domain.

I think the part that really blows most people away is that the possibilities are so broad it's hard to narrow it all down for yourself - it's a gift and a curse (I love MONK

).

Gail

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myob 15 years ago

I have 47 membership sites ranging from investments, collectibles, decorating, auto repair, IM, PLR, flying, health, etc. Membership prices range from as low as $1/month (paid annually) to as much as $300/month for forex training. The possibilities are endless.
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- Melford Bibens 15 years ago
  
  I own 2 membership sites, one is listed below. They are indeed great for income, one problem that no one had brought up...cancellation/refunds.
  
  My products are on clickbank, and you really have to nurse your subscribers throught the use of the site in the beginning. LOT's of tech support...
  
  Thankfully I put a ton of great tools on both the members area and the affiliate page, so they have lot's of stuff to use to get their sites up and running.
  
  My point is, don't consider a membership site to be an automatic system, no matter how good a job you do setting it up!
  
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p2y

15 years ago

I think every membership website needs two important things:

1. Fresh content - This should go without saying, nobody is just going to hand over money every month for the "honor" of being a member.
2. A sense of community - Something simple like a forum or allowing blog comments can go a long way in helping a community grow and retain membership.

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halfpoint

15 years ago

Can anybody recommend a product that shows the exact steps of setting up and running a membership site?

I imagine there are many aspects which need to be implemented appropriately for it run smoothly.

Is there a WSO or anything on this subject?

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GailTrahd

15 years ago

Recommended education on setting up memberships:

Jimmy Brown: Membernairre - How To Setup Your Own Membership Site in 48 Hours Or Less His membership education is doing fixed term memberships. Take a quick look at the page - he's excellent.

Gail

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AfteraDream 15 years ago

So is membership site a social network and you have to pay to be a member?
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halfpoint

15 years ago

Originally Posted by GailTrahd

Recommended education on setting up memberships:

Jimmy Brown: Membernairre - How To Setup Your Own Membership Site in 48 Hours Or Less His membership education is doing fixed term memberships. Take a quick look at the page - he's excellent.

Gail

That actually looks really good. How fitting that a product to setup a membership site is a membership site within its self, haha.

I'll most likely be getting that unless anyone suggests a better alternative.

Thanks for that.

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cshilling22

15 years ago

Originally Posted by GailTrahd

Jimmy Brown: Membernairre - How To Setup Your Own Membership Site in 48 Hours Or Less His membership education is doing fixed term memberships. Take a quick look at the page - he's excellent.

That page looks really good. But this seems like getting someone to pay you to be on your list. They pay you and you send them information once a week and try to sell them on some other products. It seems like the best way to do it is to do exactly what he is doing: teach other people to set up their own system by having them sign up for yours.

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Brian_Killian 15 years ago

That Membernaire sales page is talking about a subscription based newsletter, not a membership site.
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- theverysmartguy 15 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Brian_Killian
  
  That Membernaire sales page is talking about a subscription based newsletter, not a membership site.
  
  Basically you are right. It is not the traditional membership "site".
  
  People subscribe to your newsletter and in return you send them unique content about that subjects that they find of value, usually in a pdf format downloaded from your site. So instead of having a social site, that people would subscribe to for login access, such as Wealthy Affiliate for instance, you would send them the info every week. Then after the predetermined time, the membership ends, and you have given them all the info that you promised
  
  He also teaches you how to retain a vast majority of your subscribers for the entire term of the membership.
  
  It takes a lot less work than the traditional membership site, and as long as the info isn't dated, its pretty much evergreen.
  
  I am apart of that membership, and he has some amazing info in it, its worth many times the $27/month that he is charging his members.
  
  He has some other membership sites that do just as well as this one, so I would say that he certainly knows what he is talking about.
  
  If you do not want the traditional membership site, then this is the best thing to go for.
  
  Hope that sheds some light on membernaire a bit more.
  
  Ciao for now,
  
  Jeff
  
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Brian_Killian

15 years ago

Membership sites allow you to sell community along with content.

Anyone intersted in learning how to set up these sites (both technical and marketing)might want to check out Teaching Sells (I'm not allowed to post links yet - just google it). It's the training program founded by Brian Clark of Copyblogger.

I don't think they are allowing new members just yet, but I think he is doing a launch soon.

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Scott Burton

15 years ago

Well, personally I'd recommend looking also at Insider Secrets To Running Your Own Membership Site from Kim Standerline

Just out of curiosity I ran a few numbers through a quick excel workbook, and came up with a few details folks don't seem to realize about membership sites.

While the gardening site with 1/2 a million subscribers at $1 a month is VERY impressive (1/2 million dollars a month before any fees), even on a much smaller scale a membership site can be incredible.

Assuming paypal-ish fees at 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction
a $1 subscription is worth about 67 cents per month. 2000 subscribers approximates to $1,342 per month after fees.

a $2 subscription is worth about $1.64 per month. 1,500 subscribers approximates to $2463 per month

a $5 subscription is worth about $4.56 per month. 1,000 subscribers approximates to $4560 per month.

Of course the mix'n'match of the numbers can be done however you like. But these numbers don't account for any upsells, special offers, cross promotions, etc.

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Sandor Verebi 15 years ago

The membership business model is my favourite because

- this is a real business
- you have an elite audience with constant interaction
- you have certain stable income stream
- it inspires you to work hard and giving much value to your customers

Bottom line: you develop yourself and your business at same time.
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Kim Standerline

15 years ago

Thanks for the reccomendation Scott

I've run membership sites since 2005, and I can tell you the rewards can be huge. however you've got to remember the attrition rate can also be very high. You have to constantly work at ensuring your members are kept topped up ensure your content is not only the best, but also consistantly fresh.

You've also got 2 choices when running a membership site, either produce most of the content yourself, or outsource it. Outsourcing can be horrendously expensive if you are not careful.

To the person who was asking about affiliate scripts with membership sites. try www.easymemberpro.com (I don't own it now BTW). Anthony Hull who does own it, has slashed the price right down, plus it has its own affiliate program. I've run my membership sites with EMP very successfully over the past 2 years

Cheers
kim

Originally Posted by Scott Burton

Well, personally I'd recommend looking also at Insider Secrets To Running Your Own Membership Site from Kim Standerline

Just out of curiosity I ran a few numbers through a quick excel workbook, and came up with a few details folks don't seem to realize about membership sites.

While the gardening site with 1/2 a million subscribers at $1 a month is VERY impressive (1/2 million dollars a month before any fees), even on a much smaller scale a membership site can be incredible.

Assuming paypal-ish fees at 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction
a $1 subscription is worth about 67 cents per month. 2000 subscribers approximates to $1,342 per month after fees.

a $2 subscription is worth about $1.64 per month. 1,500 subscribers approximates to $2463 per month

a $5 subscription is worth about $4.56 per month. 1,000 subscribers approximates to $4560 per month.

Of course the mix'n'match of the numbers can be done however you like. But these numbers don't account for any upsells, special offers, cross promotions, etc.

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Brian_Killian 15 years ago

Well, when you are being delivered articles via autoresponder, I (and a lot of other people) usually call that a newsletter. Personally, I think it's quite a stretch to call that a membership site, fixed or otherwise.

The next best thing is the same old thing.
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Rachel Incoll

15 years ago

Membernaire teaches you how to set up a fixed term membership site and not a subscription based newsletter. A fixed term membership site is simply a membership site but with a limited time period on it - ie. people are members for 3 months, 6 months, 12 months or however long you want to set it up for - instead of the indefinite membership period that many membership sites operate on.

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BillClemens

15 years ago

Wow, I just learned a ton about membership sites from this post. I also noticed Jonb's childrens book website uses WishList Member, and I was wondering if anyone else has any experience using it and how it rates compared to some of the more expensive programs on the market.

I'm looking to start a membership site and really don't want to spend $1500 on a piece of software in the begining if I dont need to. And considering WishList Member is only $297 for a multisite license that would work just fine for me, as long as it is worth it.

Thanks,
Bill

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McKay

15 years ago

What do people want? Period.

If they want information about scuba diving... they will buy:

* books
* audios
* videos
* seminar
* coaching/classes
* membership site
* etc.

Membership sites are just a way to "Deliver" the content.

Don't make the process more difficult than it has to be.

Good luck!

McKay

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knowmyrole

15 years ago

I have a few membership sites on products that i have sold.
Try making a good product (online marketting based) where you can have various new variations to the system you have described. And build a forum.
Make membership paid ..

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laurelwachtel

15 years ago

Some great posts on this one so far, I think that a private mentoring and/or coaching niche site is very effective in obtaining a loyalty from your members as you are providing a valuable and profitable source of information for your subscribers. My daughter uses a membership site in this particular area and updating her helpful content to her subscribers ensures the loyalty of her team and subscribers month after month. Going to get into myself, as it has a great opportunity for a profitable and reliable income!