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Are People Still Using Membership Sites?

by darrin_cooper
9 replies
I was doing research on membership sites, and came across a varied methods of ways to do membership sites. There are so many ways, some difficult, some costly, some easy, some cheap. What is really a sound method of getting your membership site up & running & what is the majority of people using?

The problem I found is that even if you get the plugins to the membership site, you have to configure it.

I was wondering what others have experienced.
1. How long does it take you to create your membership site? From development to having it ready for launch.

2. What else do you need besides your membership plugins/script or application to get your membership runnning?
#membership #people #sites
  • Profile picture of the author George Wright
    Hi,

    A membership can be as easy as a password protected site to as involved as an expensive membership script and anything in between.

    A good way to get started is just to have a forum with a password protected directory.

    It's how the Warrior Secret Site and forum started.

    If you make money you can move up to the more expensive scripts.

    George Wright
    Signature
    "The first chapter sells the book; the last chapter sells the next book." Mickey Spillane
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    • Profile picture of the author darrin_cooper
      Thanks George.

      But isn't the problem even having a simple site like that, people will know that it lacks the quality than other membership sites have?

      So, not having a fully integrated site, you actually lower the trust of potential visitors & members. How do you improve the quality of your membership site in this case?


      Originally Posted by George Wright View Post

      Hi,

      A membership can be as easy as a password protected site to as involved as an expensive membership script and anything in between.

      A good way to get started is just to have a forum with a password protected directory.

      It's how the Warrior Secret Site and forum started.

      If you make money you can move up to the more expensive scripts.

      George Wright
      Signature
      Material Galz - Drinking Milkshakes so you don't have to. | What's The Blog Circus? | Make Money For Halloween | $44 Custom Mini-Sites
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      • Profile picture of the author russellprisco
        Originally Posted by darrin_cooper View Post

        Thanks George.

        But isn't the problem even having a simple site like that, people will know that it lacks the quality than other membership sites have?

        So, not having a fully integrated site, you actually lower the trust of potential visitors & members. How do you improve the quality of your membership site in this case?
        It may for some that are used to all the IM stuff, but remember the most important part is the content. You can use aMember, Memberspeed or even MemberGate... But if you're content is crap you're not going to have retention.

        If you mean how do you improve the quality if the site's not so fancy shmancy, the answer is UNDER promise and OVER deliver on the quality, and maybe even quantity, of your content.

        ~Russell Prisco =)
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      • Profile picture of the author George Wright
        That could be true.

        The content should be high quality even if you are saving upfront on bells and whistles. Later on you can use profits to upgrade.

        I repeat myself here, however, Allen Says and the Warrior Forum is one model, not the only model, but one successful model to follow.

        Allen, at least in my world (who knows what else he has going on) started with a secret site and this forum. Now WSOs and Classified ads probably pay more than most successful forced continuity membership sites.

        Just my thoughts and certainly not written in stone.

        And if Allen ever brings back the beer mug he will get a lot of beers from me and others (shameless plug for my thread. LOL)

        George Wright

        Originally Posted by darrin_cooper View Post

        Thanks George.

        But isn't the problem even having a simple site like that, people will know that it lacks the quality than other membership sites have?

        So, not having a fully integrated site, you actually lower the trust of potential visitors & members. How do you improve the quality of your membership site in this case?
        Signature
        "The first chapter sells the book; the last chapter sells the next book." Mickey Spillane
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  • Profile picture of the author russellprisco
    I agree. You If you want to make it even simpler you could just use an autoresponder to deliver content.

    I think the popular trend of late has been using WP. Here's a couple of them.

    wp-Member.com Advanced Wordpress Membership Plugin
    wpwishlist.com

    Do you already have a script or plugin?

    Lemme know if I can help.

    ~Russell Prisco =)
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  • Profile picture of the author greff
    I run a membership site but it is in static HTML. You can make it work well with WP but you may need some expert help. My son does that for a living.
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    Greg Cryns
    Expert WordPress design and promotion
    My Marketing Blog
    Scentsy flameless candles

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  • Profile picture of the author scorpio7
    I am active at three paid membership sites. They help me make money and when they no longer do that I will drop them, immediately.
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    • Profile picture of the author darrin_cooper
      Would you care to share what those specific membership sites are?
      What type of money do they make you?

      Originally Posted by scorpio7 View Post

      I am active at three paid membership sites. They help me make money and when they no longer do that I will drop them, immediately.
      Signature
      Material Galz - Drinking Milkshakes so you don't have to. | What's The Blog Circus? | Make Money For Halloween | $44 Custom Mini-Sites
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  • Profile picture of the author radio
    i use amember and it has proven to be very customizable and comes with good support.
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