Membership Sites - What's the 'Secret'?

[Hackbridge]

Hi Warriors,

the subject of memberships has come my way again, and I was wondering what kind of membership sites people make? What niche and are they all about Internet Marketing.

How can you sustain a membership site for the long term? I daresay there is no secret, but what is the right formula?

Kind regards

Brian

[freudianslip27]

Membership sites can be about anything, though just like anything else you have to make sure the market is there first. Some niches lend themselves easier than others with it.

For example, would it be possible to have a membership site based around creating your own dog food? I have no idea. If you were to create that, you would want to make sure you could find members who would be willing to pay a recurring fee for continuous information.

Magazine subscriptions are like membership sites, people pay for every issue in exchange for continuous information.

Matt

[dave147]

you must have a source for high quality, new products that your members can not - or will find it difficult to get elsewhere

[Micheal Perkins]

I have two membership websites now. One is based around a credit repair book I wrote. The site originally was designed to just sell the book at a price of $19.95. I wrote some articles and put them on ezinearticles.com, and get around 100 visitors a month. I haven't done anything to promote the site anymore since then.

I left the site like that for about 6 months with no sales. I changed it to a membership site. I put some free calculators on it, and some videos from some sites like youtube, and expertvillage.com. I copied everything from the book and put it into an online version so they can read it online, and I also put a download link so they can download the book in PDF format still. I also installed a blog that only members can access.

To test it I still have not done anything to promote it since the original articles. It's been live as a membership site for about 2 months. I just got my first sale yesterday at a price of $37. I know that I should have more than 1 sale based on the number of visitors to the first page, but I've not done anything to try and tweak my copy. I might down the road, but I have too many irons in the fire right now.

My other membership site is based around an affiliate product. It is a simple site of about 10 pages, with affiliate links to the main product I'm promoting on it, and a few other affiliate products that would compliment it.

It's a free site. My goal with it is two fold, one to generate money through affiliate links (no sales so far), the other is to build a list. All I've done to promote this one is to make about 10 videos and throw them on youtube with a link leading back to the site, and I wrote about 8 articles and put them on ezinearticles.

[Josh Anderson]

I create membership sites that provide software, scripts, and training.

My membership system can deliver web based content, premium personalized rss and podcast feeds, and even automates the shipment of print on demand physical products and other physical products.

My current philosophy is that it does not matter what you sell you should always deliver it with a membership. This can help you build your relationship with your clients, instruct them better on the consumption of your product or service, and give you more exposure for back end sales.

Membership sites can be free or paid.

Pretty much anything goes...

You could be selling ebooks, software, vitamins, or construction equipment... all of it goes better with extra training and bonus content and the great thing about memberships is that you can update your content in real time so that your clients always see the latest you have to offer.

To sustain it all you need to do is provide value.

If you have knowledge to share or do a lot of research in your niche that others would find valuable publish that. If you have new products or innovations that they would find valuable publish that.

The best thing to do is to get started. Build a loyal client base on the feedback you receive. Just like cheese you will improve with age :-)

[quiescen]

Hi Brian,

I've been running a membership site successfully for over 6 years. The secret? Devotion, passion, and fresh content. And the most important secret ... a niche that isn't available ANYWHERE ELSE!

[myob]

Originally Posted by Imran Naseem

Any good scripts apart from Amember Pro?

I want a script that I can install on other domain names.

Jaugernaut is an excellent script with advanced features at low cost.

[chrisclements521]

The biggest secret is to continue to provide great content or a great service.
Chris

[davidorich]

i'd love to start a membership site... how do i go about it

[Lisa aka LJ]

I heard one membership site guru say he has something like 40+ sites all in the *same* niche! (And is making lots of money at it.) I'm wondering how he micro-nichifies his content to make all those sites (or at least enough of them) successful.

[ProEFI]

Originally Posted by Lisa aka LJ

I heard one membership site guru say he has something like 40+ sites all in the *same* niche! (And is making lots of money at it.) I'm wondering how he micro-nichifies his content to make all those sites (or at least enough of them) successful.

Interesting concept. Do you think there may be an issue with duplicate content with respect to google?

[Hackbridge]

The Rhodes Brothers dropped an email in my inbox today, about Membership Blueprint - Exactly how to create membership sites. It's not been released as yet though.

[Zubair Zm]

First find the right script for your need. List is available at
Membership Scripts (General) Tools and Resources
Membership Scripts (Wordpress Plugins) Tools and Resources
rgds
Zm

Originally Posted by davidorich

i'd love to start a membership site... how do i go about it

[Zubair Zm]

Thanks Josh

"My current philosophy is that it does not matter what you sell you should always deliver it with a membership."

This point worth the million$
rgds
Zm

Originally Posted by Josh Anderson

I create membership sites that provide software, scripts, and training.

My membership system can deliver web based content, premium personalized rss and podcast feeds, and even automates the shipment of print on demand physical products and other physical products.

My current philosophy is that it does not matter what you sell you should always deliver it with a membership. This can help you build your relationship with your clients, instruct them better on the consumption of your product or service, and give you more exposure for back end sales.

Membership sites can be free or paid.

Pretty much anything goes...

You could be selling ebooks, software, vitamins, or construction equipment... all of it goes better with extra training and bonus content and the great thing about memberships is that you can update your content in real time so that your clients always see the latest you have to offer.

To sustain it all you need to do is provide value.

If you have knowledge to share or do a lot of research in your niche that others would find valuable publish that. If you have new products or innovations that they would find valuable publish that.

The best thing to do is to get started. Build a loyal client base on the feedback you receive. Just like cheese you will improve with age :-)

[BrianMcLeod]

What's the secret? Dare I say the ugly word that no one likes to hear: ACTION

A huge area of concern for folks trying to get started with their first membership site is getting everything perfect before they ever pull the switch.

This usually leads only to paralysis. More ideas wither on the vine that way than ever see the light of day or their first dollar in sales.

There are a variety of free or inexpensive ways that anyone can take advantage of to start a new membership site or add a continuity component to your existing marketing. The key is to not overcomplicate things in the beginning.

All you REALLY need is your first deliverable piece of content. Then you get out there and test it. Send some PPC traffic to the offer and see how it converts. It's WAY smarter to fail quickly at 5 different ideas for membership sites than it is to fail agonizingly slowly at ONE.

Once a concept/market/idea proves itself as profitable, you can scale it up and out using any of several really good scripts and/or services.

Josh mentioned his Nanacast.com service. I haven't used it yet but he's clearly covered all the bases in terms of what any membership site owner could want.

Stu McLaren's IMWishlist Member plug in for Wordpress is extremely popular because it's so easy to bolt-on to an existing Wordpress site.

Sid Hale and Bill Ortell's RAP Membership Bundle is much more than just a membership script - it's an entire ecommerce platform unto itself.

Amember is battle-tested and well known to it's large user base.

Johnny Slater has dropped his price on Simple Member Pro to "recession buster" level.

There's a whole slew of choices and options for you depending on how you want your site to run -- including simply delivering your content via your existing Aweber account (or whatever autoresponder you use).

Remember, your members only expect what you TELL them to expect. So, make an offer, test it out and see how it goes!

Best,

Brian

[Samuel Lee]

I think that membership sites can be about any niche you choose, but you would always want to make sure target audience for it first. Some niches are easier to get targeted membership sites than others. Whether it be internet marketing or the old standby dog training, you always want to make sure you have members in your list who are willing to pay a recurring fee for continuous and beneficial information.

[Chris Kent]

Hey Brian,

A membership is no amazing secret. It is just a vehicle for learning or continual development. This is why IM is one of the most common niches for memberships.

It is basically delivery of a service rather than a product. This is why it can also be used if you have an amazing tool and people want to use it badly enough (look up Jonathan Leger). Same reason why people can sell forex signals and betting tips as memberships.

However all is not as it seems. The average subscriber cancels within 3 months. It is not "lifetime recurring income" as some would have you believe. Some of the IM membership sites are great and some are absolutely terrible.

In fact, there is a so-called "guru" on this board who shall remain nameless. I joined his membership site and it was poor. Compared to a place like Wealthy Affiliate it was completely useless. I cancelled within a month. But no doubt he made hefty commissions by convincing others to promote it as an affiliate on the grounds of "lifetime commissions".

In this sense the worst membership sites are no more ethical or better than ponzi or pyramid marketing. The best ones are really good though.

[sylviad]

This isn't my thread but...

Thanks for all your excellent feedback, Warriors. I'm planning to launch a PLR member site soon and your info has made me aware of some things I hadn't considered. Like, any site can be a member site... something I hadn't really thought about before. That's a great concept for getting opt-ins other than the basic 'sign up for a free download' boxes.

The software I plan to use is DL Guard. It's possible to build both paid and free sites, protect downloads and take payments for products and member fees. Plus it's easy to use... and it's the brainchild of fellow Warrior, Sam Stephens. I'm using it for simple product sales at the moment and it works great.

Sylvia

[Hackbridge]

It has certainly been helpful and I'm grateful to everyone who contributed to this thread.

Brian