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Newbie asks opinions: how to price my membership site? Stupid idea?

by creatic
10 replies
Hi!

I´m total newbie to this forum and this is also my first post.

I´d like to hear your comments on my membership site idea:

I have an MBA in International Marketing and Finance + 10 year experience in marketing and I´m considering in selling that knowledge. I´m planning to build membership site which users would gain access to that knowledge.

My idea was to write easy-to-use eBooks, tools and guides on different MBA-related subjects, such as Marketing, Finance, Accounting, HR, Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Operations, Economics, M&A, etc.

The idea is to give access to all the MBA knowledge without having to pay hefty business school fees. Of course I´m not able to provide certified degree but I`m offering the content as a value itself.

Member would gain access to all the knowledge and tools used in business schools + "ask a MBA" -function where you could consult any business-related problem with an MBA. Business schools + degree => $50,000, membership for example $279. Quite a savings although no degree...

How would you price this?

I´m considering a model where the membership fee increases as I`m adding new sections:
- October: Marketing => membership fee for example $27
- December: Marketing + Managerial Accounting => $37
- January: Marketing + MA + HR => $47
- you get the point.

This way I would get members while lacking content and member would gain access to all the material dirt-cheap.

Any comments, opinions? Thanks in advance!
#idea #membership #needed #opinions #price #site #stupid
  • Profile picture of the author creatic
    Hi guys,

    I really would appreciate your comments and suggestions.

    I`m also considering doing monthly fee based pricing but does that work for membership sites? I´m going to provide updated content and also access to the "Ask an MBA"-section so in that sense monthly fee would be appropriate.

    Keyword-wise, I have found couple of suitable niches to target so there seems to be lucrative market for this kind of service.

    BR,

    Creatic
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  • Profile picture of the author JBanis
    Creating a membership site is not a bad idea, but you need to be sure there is a decent market for this knowledge without getting the degree. So know your true market here.

    Regarding models: it's all about perceived value...If the value you offer relates to increased income, and you can prove that, you can ask a fair bit. But pricing is always about testing. When everything is setup and ready, test 2 or 3 different price points and see what works better.

    Personally I wouldn't pay more and more to be honest...If anything, I would pay less over time, depending on how long I stay.

    An alternative is to have a short-term membership offer, e.g. 6 months for X amount. Might work better. But again, you have to test this.

    Getting social proof would be good for conversions (testimonials)

    Good luck
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    • Profile picture of the author OolongMedia
      Originally Posted by JBanis View Post

      Creating a membership site is not a bad idea, but you need to be sure there is a decent market for this knowledge without getting the degree. So know your true market here.

      Regarding models: it's all about perceived value...If the value you offer relates to increased income, and you can prove that, you can ask a fair bit. But pricing is always about testing. When everything is setup and ready, test 2 or 3 different price points and see what works better.

      Personally I wouldn't pay more and more to be honest...If anything, I would pay less over time, depending on how long I stay.

      An alternative is to have a short-term membership offer, e.g. 6 months for X amount. Might work better. But again, you have to test this.

      Getting social proof would be good for conversions (testimonials)

      Good luck

      I agree. People want to pay less over time. So it's like the more loyal they are in the site, the more advantage they'll get.

      For short-term memberships, you should allow the members to pay monthly, quarterly, semi-annually and annually. So the longer the period they want to cover, the more the discount.

      Also, it would be better if you give free access to few people for a month and ask for their reviews/testimonials. If they like it, then you will surely have your first paid members. If not, then you need to think again if that's really the right market to enter.
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  • Profile picture of the author techbul
    I think it's very hard to make money with a membership site unless you offer something nobody else does. In the end, it's way better to use free advertising, like Google Adsense.
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    • Profile picture of the author creatic
      Originally Posted by techbul View Post

      I think it's very hard to make money with a membership site unless you offer something nobody else does. In the end, it's way better to use free advertising, like Google Adsense.
      I haven´t found any site that would offer MBA / business school knowledge. Although there is Harvard Business School´s ManageMentor:

      I can´t post a link since I don´t have 15 posts yet but you can Google it: "hbr managementor"

      I had the same idea but my content would be cheaper.

      Personally I don´t like AdSense. It makes the site look cheap
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  • Profile picture of the author creatic
    OK, thanks a lot for your comments!

    I´ll have to still consider my business model. MBA related keywords are popular but, as you said, I`m not sure if there really a need for getting MBA knowledge without the degree...

    It is also quite laboursome to write all the content and I wouldn´t want to do it unless there is some market to support it.

    Just to make it clear: my idea was not to INCREASE membership fee monthly for members. The idea was to offer one-time fee but those who register early on (before there is full content) can do it cheaper than later on.
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  • Profile picture of the author Yadira Barbosa
    Actually Josh Kaufman starts a blog on this subject and then he wrote a book about it, that is really good, because there's so many people who own their own business and they need to know practical knowledge of the MBA without the title or live in debt for years.

    You can know more about it here:

    Personal MBA Blog
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    • Profile picture of the author creatic
      [quote=Yadira Barbosa;6984210]Actually Josh Kaufman starts a blog on this subject and then he wrote a book about it, that is really good, because there's so many people who own their own business and they need to know practical knowledge of the MBA without the title or live in debt for years.

      /quote]

      Thanks Yadira! That was pretty much my idea also, altough I´d do it as a membership site not a book, since membership site is easier to update.
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  • Profile picture of the author jamesrich1
    $37 is the most appealing price for people. Have a reduced price for $27 because that is another hot price for people. $77 used to be the perfect price but $37 is now the hottest price.
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