any suggestions for sports membership sites?

Check out Ryan Lee and his Membership Sites.

This is something I attempted to do a while back with a basketball membership site.

I had one of the warriors here build me a joomla site with the ability to take subscription payments (this is about another $100 add on).

I gave away about 50 free memberships to a bunch of high school coaches who were part of a coaching discussion group I was involved in. I was hoping they would help get it rolling.

I went through a mega amount of videos on youtube that dealt with basketball. I finally put up about 75 videos that were pretty good on instructional stuff.

My goal was to have members submit homemade videos on anything to do with basketball. Those who submitted a good one would get one month of free membership.

I would submit articles on various subjects every month. I was going to have coaches submit articles every month.

I had a message board.

I had some other good ideas that I can't remember.

I made the index page a wordpress blog to try to build PR.

I abandoned this because I got involved in other stuff.

As a matter of fact, just go in and take a look around. I haven't done anything here in about a year:

BBall Hangout

User: test555
Pass: test555

If you want to buy it, PM me. I'll sell it cheap...

Suggestion? STOP. Your premise is so flawed you'll go broke before you get one subscriber.

1. The first question you need to ask yourself....is what can you possibly offer that ESPN, NFL.COM.... and all the rest of them can't--- much less charge for it????

2. What can you possibly offer ME that is going to make me pay you one cent....in regards to sports...when I can get anything I want for free? And you want to shake me down for 5 or 10 bucks? Sorry bro, the competition will kick your ass via their money and monopoloy and they don't charge one penny.

3. I have entire chapter devoted to this subject in my upcoming book...but I'm going to share some of it with you now because you can still make money in this niche...avoid mass media competition...if you twist it a bit....and you'll be able to charge more then chump change for your site if you niche it as follows:

THE SOCCER MOM CLICHE....applies to more sports then just soccer.....and it's absolutely positively one of the best unknown sources of extracting money out there.

Soccer Mom is a great niche! She's got money! And she will spend it!

Soccer Moms and Little League dads...are frustrated athletes and coaches who will do anything..spend any amount of money....so that their kid.....ends up rich and famous...and the starting QB for the Dallas Cowboys etc.

Don't believe me? You're naive. You'se warriors know exactly who I'm talking about...some of you'se might be one!

And the absolute best sports market for someone to come in and take over-- is the local highschool market....because believe me......the parents will pay big bucks for a site that focuses on their boy Jr...who they just know is going to be the best running back since OJ Simpson.

They will pay to see clips of their snooty daughter with the eating disorder.....hit a tennis ball because they know she's destined to be the next winner of Wimbledon.

AND IN THE SPIRIT OF COMPETITION....THEY WILL BUY JUST TO SEE WHAT THAT OTHER CHICK WHO LIVES DOWN THE STREET IS DOING! THE ONE WHO THEY KNOW ISN'T AS GOOD AS THEIR KID....BUT SHE'S GETTING ALL THE PRESS!

God I love marketing to the Jones Family....especially the ones who have big dreams and big egos! They're lay down sales everytime.....!

They will pay for any website that specializes in marketing their little girl or son.....in all his or her glory. HINT HINT HINT. Cuz after all, the scouts will be watching! And once they see the kid.....he'll get a full scholarship etc. Then a pro contract...and then......he'll buy mommy a house in Malibu etc.

Let's keep it real here, peeps.

If you have a market that literally is willing to sacrifice the happiness of their own child in order for said child to be the greatest "player" of all time...do you honestly think they wont spend big money in order to get their child on the internet...in front of all the sports scouts......?

Of course they will. They live vicariously through their kids...and money is never an object.

If they can afford to send little Nadia off to Romania to train---to the tune of thousands of dollars a month...

They can afford a hell of a lot more money then 10 bucks a month for your website which is going to FEATURE THEIR KID IN ALL THEIR GLORY! Believe me! You owe it to them to charge big bucks for that! And they will gladly pay you!

I have a client who got sick of taking video of weddings....and we got him into a new business.

He now video tapes local highschool athletes and puts together a highlight video/dvd of their greatest hits...and packages it to send of to colleges etc. He has a waiting list!

Oh yeah......He makes a LOT of money. See ya!



xxx Vegas Vince


The Vegas Vince Diary
Life and Marketing Behind the 8-Ball.
November 2008