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Inquiry About Membership Sites...

by dunc
21 replies
Hello,

I am creating a lesson guide/training course and putting it into a membership style product.

I have 2 options....

1. Pay $10,000 for a custom membership site platform at start and build content from there.
2. Pay $197 for a cookie cutter membership site software and have to upgrade from there.

I know at first glance everyone would choose the $197 one. Let me expand on this a bit.

I need a site that will stand out from all the others. (as we all are trying to do) I want a site that has social media type involvement between my members as well as me and my coaches.

I want great "help and be helped" type features. For instance... If someone was to upload their own training, they would get points towards a prize.

If anyone can point me to the right kind of software it would be much appreciated. I am looking at memberspeed and amember at the moment. If you suggest a software and a good enough reason to go for it, I will even buy from your affiliate link.

If you think it would be smarter to completely build from scratch and implement everything I want then please comment on this as well.

Thank you all in advance.
#inquiry #membership #sites
  • Profile picture of the author Bish
    I would recommend that you build it yourself. I built mine with OP1 and used a membership plugin called Membersonic. This works very well and is relatively easy to set up. I'm pretty sure OP2 has an integrated membership script (although I haven't used it).
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    • Profile picture of the author JDArchitecture
      There is no out of the box solution for you; however, I don't think you need to spend 10 grand to get where you want to be.

      I feel your pain. I too have needs that aren't met by any existing product. I considered having my own solution but even if I could find a trustworthy developer, I don't want to deal with the cost and hassle of maintenance.

      You'll get a lot of people recommending some products that do a good job for some, but they fall short in various areas.

      You'll also get a lot of "use wordpress" advice. I strongly recommend against wordpress.

      I have decided to use drupal. I may end up having to hire someone to help with development, but don't expect it to cost more than $2000.

      Check out moneyscripts.net for what looks like a good drupal membership solution.
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      • Profile picture of the author dunc
        What about Drupal?
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  • Profile picture of the author dunc
    Can you tell me a little more on how you set yours up?
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  • Profile picture of the author oda
    Go for Rapid residual pro, My site is built on it and its got all the features you mentioned.

    You can offer personal coaching with the click of a mouse.

    Great program.
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    • Profile picture of the author JDArchitecture
      Originally Posted by oda View Post

      Go for Rapid residual pro, ... ... its got all the features you mentioned.
      RRP is pretty damned nice, but that just isn't the case.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bish
    Sure. I built the whole thing in OptimizePress 1, the theme is set up or has the option to use as a membership site. I then added all of the content such as training modules and videos. All files and videos are hosted on Amazon S3. Once I had everything in place I added the membership script. As I said, I think OP2 is pretty much self contained so maybe take a look at that?

    Either way it's not that difficult to do, the themes and plugins come with full instructions.
    Hope that helps.
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    • Profile picture of the author dunc
      Originally Posted by Bish View Post

      Sure. I built the whole thing in OptimizePress 1, the theme is set up or has the option to use as a membership site. I then added all of the content such as training modules and videos. All files and videos are hosted on Amazon S3. Once I had everything in place I added the membership script. As I said, I think OP2 is pretty much self contained so maybe take a look at that?

      Either way it's not that difficult to do, the themes and plugins come with full instructions.
      Hope that helps.
      I will take that into consideration. Anyone hear anything good from memberspeed and or amember?
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  • Profile picture of the author Rob Maggs
    I'd recommend you do it yourself, I built a successful membership site using Optimizepress and a couple of plugins from tips and tricks hq (emember and eshop). The overall cost was a couple of hundred dollars and I took that site from 0 to $4k a month within a few months. if you do it yourself you'll realise just how easy it is to do and you'll expand your knowledge too.
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    • Profile picture of the author dunc
      Originally Posted by Rob Maggs View Post

      I'd recommend you do it yourself, I built a successful membership site using Optimizepress and a couple of plugins from tips and tricks hq (emember and eshop). The overall cost was a couple of hundred dollars and I took that site from 0 to $4k a month within a few months. if you do it yourself you'll realise just how easy it is to do and you'll expand your knowledge too.
      Can you elaborate a little more?
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  • Profile picture of the author dunc
    I was looking at amember. When you go to the buy page it has a list of plugins you can integrate. Anyone have a recommendation?
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  • Profile picture of the author trader909
    missed something there. Just build your own simple one. it's the service inside the members are not the "site" people are paying for.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve King
    If you can secure your content, make it easy for your members to interact and navigate, the you don't need a fancy website.

    I'd start off small (expense wise) and scale up as the money comes in.

    I've seen a lot of membership sites get built that don't get any members so I'd make sure the money was coming in before comitting to any large expense

    good luck with it
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    • Profile picture of the author dunc
      Yeah. Scaling up is probably the best idea. I just want a membership script that allows for easy navigation and communication between members.
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      • Profile picture of the author David Maschke
        Originally Posted by dunc View Post

        Yeah. Scaling up is probably the best idea. I just want a membership script that allows for easy navigation and communication between members.
        Hey,

        I'm building a membership site too, and also wanted members to communicate with each other. All I'm doing is creating a social club here in the warrior forum and linking to it from within my membership site.

        The social group won't center around my membership though.

        You can check out my sig file if you want to know how I'm setting it up.

        Best of luck to you.

        Dave
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        • Profile picture of the author dunc
          Originally Posted by David Maschke View Post

          Hey,

          I'm building a membership site too, and also wanted members to communicate with each other. All I'm doing is creating a social club here in the warrior forum and linking to it from within my membership site.

          The social group won't center around my membership though.

          You can check out my sig file if you want to know how I'm setting it up.

          Best of luck to you.

          Dave
          Is this how you are going to get more leads? How would you incorporate both the membership and the warrior forum.
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    • Profile picture of the author JDArchitecture
      Originally Posted by Steve King View Post

      I've seen a lot of membership sites get built that don't get any members so I'd make sure the money was coming in before comitting to any large expense
      Excellent point.

      Unless you're absolutely certain about demand and marketability, or have lots of cash to burn, you should prove the concept before making a major commitment.
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      • Profile picture of the author dunc
        Originally Posted by JDArchitecture View Post

        Excellent point.

        Unless you're absolutely certain about demand and marketability, or have lots of cash to burn, you should prove the concept before making a major commitment.
        I think that will be the way I am going to go. I will get a cookie cutter software and when I get members and a high retention I will then add my own custom built membership software.

        Ok so I have 3 membership software that I can't make a decision on.

        Amember
        Memberspeed
        Optimize press

        Anyone have comments on these 3?
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  • Profile picture of the author hustlinsmoke
    10 G's, man come on.
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    • Profile picture of the author dunc
      Originally Posted by hustlinsmoke View Post

      10 G's, man come on.
      I got a quote from several programmers. It would be a very lengthy process to get everything I want.
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      • Profile picture of the author Ross Kenny
        Bootstrap it until you're bringing in at least 10 grand a month then consider scaling.. It could be a complete flop and you'll have lost some $$$.

        Can't see why you can't used a private closed Facebook group. Would be easy for members to upload links to their content and for it to remain social. You can post videos etc in the private group. Easy to run competitions etc that way.

        At the end of the day it's the quality of content you're providing and not some fancy platform you are delivering it on.

        My 1st membership site brought in $4k a month and I only used Aweber to deliver the content. Now with the power of Facebook you can create the social interaction between members.

        There is a wp plugin called - WordPress LMS Plugin | WP Courseware | The Leading WordPress LMS Plugin

        Maybe worth checking out. I've not used it but heard some great things about it. Can create quizzes and a progression system for students.

        Hope this helps,
        Ross
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