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Here's a free way to create a membership site without membership software

by barbling
14 replies
Recurring income is definitely a very nice thing to have.

Running the behind-the-scenes membership site in conjunction with WP isn't quite as adorably fun.

Back when I was less techy, I would simply create a Skype group of a closed FB group.

Then I would just put up a buy button on my site. Ideally with a description of what I was offering.

Paypal allows for recurring billing, so that aspect was taken care of for me.

But I wanted to stay selective.... so before people SAW the buy button, they had to fill out an application for my membership site (Moderated).

I'd receive the application, review it, chat with the person, and if there was a fit.... show where the buy button resided online.

Over the years I've done this several times and it works great if you're not working with a bazillion members.

Remember, you can always think outside the box if you want to build up your business. If you don't have time for a fullblown launch or want to teach yourself Wishlist/etc. - the above is a very useful quick fix indeed.

Enjoy!
#create #free #membership #site #software
  • Profile picture of the author brutecky
    Get an application, review it, and show them where the link is? That sounds like a TON of work. Just hire someone from Elance to secure your site with UN / PW and link it to your PP purchase. Should cost under $200.
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    • Profile picture of the author barbling
      Originally Posted by brutecky View Post

      Get an application, review it, and show them where the link is? That sounds like a TON of work. Just hire someone from Elance to secure your site with UN / PW and link it to your PP purchase. Should cost under $200.
      Not a ton of work at all if you are working personally with the folks who buy... and YOU want to control who gets access to your time. It's a great way to weed out tire-kickers.
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    • Profile picture of the author pbarbanes
      Barb - VERY COOL of you to put out there to the community an alternative way of doing things. There's more than one way to skin a cat. It worked for you, it could work for someone else - and that someone else may need or be looking for exactly the kind of information you posted.

      Originally Posted by brutecky View Post

      Get an application, review it, and show them where the link is? That sounds like a TON of work. Just hire someone from Elance to secure your site with UN / PW and link it to your PP purchase. Should cost under $200.
      Brett - What's UN? (I'm assuming PW is password.)
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      • Profile picture of the author CynthiaC
        That's a great idea especially when you have to work closely with clients and have a specific criteria they should have to work with you.

        Just to toss in another idea - you can also password protect a specific directory free too. That way you set up your premium stuff only for people who have been given personal access.

        AND you can password protect a particular post on your site.

        All good incentives to get people to sign up to see whats behind the magic door
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      • Profile picture of the author Tsnyder
        Originally Posted by pbarbanes View Post

        Barb - VERY COOL of you to put out there to the community an alternative way of doing things. There's more than one way to skin a cat. It worked for you, it could work for someone else - and that someone else may need or be looking for exactly the kind of information you posted.



        Brett - What's UN? (I'm assuming PW is password.)
        UN = User Name
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  • Profile picture of the author ADVERTHEORY
    the only tire-kicker I see in a plan like that is the one making the offer. Get rid of that one, and there's less hassle finding the information one needs.

    I'd rather pay $60 for easy to use integrated membership software, better for you and your visitors
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    • Profile picture of the author barbling
      Originally Posted by ADVERTHEORY View Post

      the only tire-kicker I see in a plan like that is the one making the offer. Get rid of that one, and there's less hassle finding the information one needs.

      I'd rather pay $60 for easy to use integrated membership software, better for you and your visitors
      And most people would. Some, however, like me back then, wanted to start sharing/teaching THEN but didn't have membership software in place.

      The solution I put into practice got my membership off the ground, money coming in, and very happy customers indeed.

      Always do what works for you!
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    • Profile picture of the author Joan Altz
      Originally Posted by ADVERTHEORY View Post

      the only tire-kicker I see in a plan like that is the one making the offer. Get rid of that one, and there's less hassle finding the information one needs.

      I'd rather pay $60 for easy to use integrated membership software, better for you and your visitors
      You've never heard of the "attract who you want and repel who you don't want" strategy? Frank Kern uses it and others who would rather have one high paying client that appreciates your time than a hundred cry babies who want everything for nothing.
      Originally Posted by ADVERTHEORY View Post

      Get rid of that one, and there's less hassle finding the information one needs
      Unless she is the only one with the information you are looking for. That's part of positioning and salesmanship, branding, platform building...whatever you want to call it. Not everything is found at the dime store.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tsnyder
    Kudos to the OP for this strategy. While most are just hoping to entice
    anyone willing to pull out a credit card it's refreshing to see someone who
    actually screens potential applicants to make sure they're a good fit for
    the group.
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    If you knew what I know you'd be doing what I do...
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  • Profile picture of the author multimastery
    This is a bootstrap way of creating a membership community. Not for everyone, but it is another option for some. Thanks for sharing.
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  • Profile picture of the author yakim1
    When I first started my first membership site, there were no membership software products available to buy. So, I created a little javascript login script. So all it did was process a password. Affiliate tracking was almost non existent, but I did find a cgi script that would do what I wanted it to do.

    I used one page that listed all the links to the membership site and was the page that was password protected.

    That is how I created my first membership site. For quite a while I was making around $7,000 per month. I used PayPal to do the recurring payments. About a year and a half after opening the doors to my membership, PayPal saw that I was paying on a second tier and suspended my account until I removed the 2nd tier payment from the sales letter.

    then 2 days later they restored my PayPal account but all the recurring payments were gone. That was the end of EZ-ProfitsMonthly.com.

    Since then I have created my own membership software. So every site I now have has some kind of membership involved.

    You don't have to have some big fancy software to do things that you can do once and will continue to work day after day

    I hope this has been helpful,
    Steve Yakim
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  • Profile picture of the author ptcrefko
    Why not just put a forum software into your website and make it membership only forum. It has also a plug in for payments. My2cents
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    • Profile picture of the author m2coolgo
      This actually plays on the human psychology of "The Grass is greener on the other side". What I mean is that when you invite a "screened" and "selected" people, you are making your product more desirable. The rest of the population wants in and that is a good thing. Given that you are working with a small group and have interacted with each and everyone, It also keeps you connected with your customers and that is excellent!
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  • Profile picture of the author Tim_Carter
    Seems to me too much hassle to join a membership site. We use sales pages to get them all hyped to buy. (Direct response marketing) Not offering instant access seems like a big mistake to me. If I had to interview with someone to join a membership site I wouldn't. Many others wouldn't either.

    It is pretty easy to set up a fully automated membership site for free using S2member. Set it up and forget about all the payment and membership handling.

    Of course, if you want to be picky about who joins (can't think of a reason why you would) your method would work.
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