Pros & cons of working a membership site vs selling many products?

mg1000 · 04-19-2009, 01:58 AM

Hey all I have so many choices on where I can go and I'm really confused and would appreciate some feedback.

My past experience was in running a blog that did ok but I want to get away from it and sell products.

My confusion is this: should I make 1 membership site and promote the heck out of it and build it up, or should I just create numerous products (well hire writers to create products) and sell them?

I going over the pros and cons to both.

On the one hand if I create and sold many individual products then I have flexability to do anything I want and not be tied down to 1 membership site and have to service the site and keep the members occupied.

On the other hand I dont know if I'd make way more money by having recurring members instead of doing 1 time sales with a smattering of upsells.

any thoughts?

Terry Crim · 04-19-2009, 03:36 AM

It depends on your goal. Memberships have the continuity aspect, you have dedicated income on a reoccurring basis. It helps you as you grow the membership site and create content to have that revenue month to month.

Selling products unless you put in a backend or other revenue is one off and you have to keep investing in traffic generation, ads etc... OR the income just stops.

Building a list which you should be doing especially when someone buys from you. That is very similar to a membership model in the aspect that you have to create content, and build the relationship with the subscriber. Though unlike a straight product sales site, you don't have to go out and get the traffic to the sales letter the people are already there.

Which one you start with is up to you and the amount of time you have to generate revenue. Memberships take longer to setup and organize, there are software out there that make it a breeze to setup the management part of it. Though the content still has to be created.

Which one you start with depends on you and your timeline. Many I know and speak with would choose the membership model hands down over the straight sales letter. It is easier to get JV's to promote a membership site.

I wouldn't give up on the blogging sites you have though. I would put up ads on the posts to bring in revenue on a turn key basis. I would go with Affiliate Products than Adsense because you can make a lot more with affiliate products. If you are getting decent traffic you might consider selling ad space, banner ads etc... on your existing content sites. (blogs, article directories etc..)

Just focus your time and energy on ONE thing until it is up and earning. THEN go to the next project.

- Terry

Ideefixe · 04-19-2009, 04:04 AM

It does not matter if you make money by blogging, selling ebooks/software, or running a content/service membership site.

What are you offering? I know a guy who runs a HUGE PLR membership site and his bounce rate is over 90% (members drop out before day 30)

The single most important thing you can do to make money online is to create your own system made up of different services/information combined in a unique way.

For example, one of my membership sites offers web design services to independent contractors. They get a professional site all set up for them in 24 hours, cost = 1 cent for 30 days, then 19 bucks a month thereafter. The 19 dollars is just bonus, how I make most my money is by signing each client with hostgator. I won't even do this business model if I don't have 21 people ready to go, because I need to sign up at least 21 people to hostgator a month to make full amount in commission, which is 125 per referral. 125 x 21 = $2,625m

The deal Dominates the competition, and even though the price is "cheep" for my clients, they still get Quality service.

This is the true meaning of "Knowledge is Power"

Challenge yourself to focus on one thing at a time, but never stop "hyper surfing". If what your doing does not feel right, drop it. Keep rocking, until a light bulb goes off in your head and you feel confident. It is good to learn from other people, but you Must learn from more people than just the hardcore online guerrilla internet marketers

madison_avenue · 04-19-2009, 05:23 AM

A membership site has the advantage of letting you concentrate on the content to make it top notch. You can also target your promotion more effectively. With lots of small products it is easy to dissipate the effectiveness of your efforts to become too scatter gun. I am looking to start a membership site myself as I think it is a very cost effective model.

04-19-2009, 01:58 AM	#1
mg1000 Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 68 Thanks: 14 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Pros & cons of working a membership site vs selling many products? Hey all I have so many choices on where I can go and I'm really confused and would appreciate some feedback. My past experience was in running a blog that did ok but I want to get away from it and sell products. My confusion is this: should I make 1 membership site and promote the heck out of it and build it up, or should I just create numerous products (well hire writers to create products) and sell them? I going over the pros and cons to both. On the one hand if I create and sold many individual products then I have flexability to do anything I want and not be tied down to 1 membership site and have to service the site and keep the members occupied. On the other hand I dont know if I'd make way more money by having recurring members instead of doing 1 time sales with a smattering of upsells. any thoughts?

04-19-2009, 03:36 AM	#2
Terry Crim Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Iowa City, Iowa Posts: 2,541 Thanks: 14 Thanked 56 Times in 43 Posts Social Networking	Re: Pros & cons of working a membership site vs selling many products? It depends on your goal. Memberships have the continuity aspect, you have dedicated income on a reoccurring basis. It helps you as you grow the membership site and create content to have that revenue month to month. Selling products unless you put in a backend or other revenue is one off and you have to keep investing in traffic generation, ads etc... OR the income just stops. Building a list which you should be doing especially when someone buys from you. That is very similar to a membership model in the aspect that you have to create content, and build the relationship with the subscriber. Though unlike a straight product sales site, you don't have to go out and get the traffic to the sales letter the people are already there. Which one you start with is up to you and the amount of time you have to generate revenue. Memberships take longer to setup and organize, there are software out there that make it a breeze to setup the management part of it. Though the content still has to be created. Which one you start with depends on you and your timeline. Many I know and speak with would choose the membership model hands down over the straight sales letter. It is easier to get JV's to promote a membership site. I wouldn't give up on the blogging sites you have though. I would put up ads on the posts to bring in revenue on a turn key basis. I would go with Affiliate Products than Adsense because you can make a lot more with affiliate products. If you are getting decent traffic you might consider selling ad space, banner ads etc... on your existing content sites. (blogs, article directories etc..) Just focus your time and energy on ONE thing until it is up and earning. THEN go to the next project. - Terry
	www.TerryCrim.com

04-19-2009, 04:04 AM	#3
Ideefixe WP Mastermind War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: OH, USA Posts: 106 Thanks: 2 Thanked 15 Times in 13 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Pros & cons of working a membership site vs selling many products? It does not matter if you make money by blogging, selling ebooks/software, or running a content/service membership site. What are you offering? I know a guy who runs a HUGE PLR membership site and his bounce rate is over 90% (members drop out before day 30) The single most important thing you can do to make money online is to create your own system made up of different services/information combined in a unique way. For example, one of my membership sites offers web design services to independent contractors. They get a professional site all set up for them in 24 hours, cost = 1 cent for 30 days, then 19 bucks a month thereafter. The 19 dollars is just bonus, how I make most my money is by signing each client with hostgator. I won't even do this business model if I don't have 21 people ready to go, because I need to sign up at least 21 people to hostgator a month to make full amount in commission, which is 125 per referral. 125 x 21 = $2,625m The deal Dominates the competition, and even though the price is "cheep" for my clients, they still get Quality service. This is the true meaning of "Knowledge is Power" Challenge yourself to focus on one thing at a time, but never stop "hyper surfing". If what your doing does not feel right, drop it. Keep rocking, until a light bulb goes off in your head and you feel confident. It is good to learn from other people, but you Must learn from more people than just the hardcore online guerrilla internet marketers

04-19-2009, 05:23 AM	#4
madison_avenue Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: London, United Kingdom. Posts: 902 Thanks: 675 Thanked 89 Times in 79 Posts	Re: Pros & cons of working a membership site vs selling many products? A membership site has the advantage of letting you concentrate on the content to make it top notch. You can also target your promotion more effectively. With lots of small products it is easy to dissipate the effectiveness of your efforts to become too scatter gun. I am looking to start a membership site myself as I think it is a very cost effective model.