5 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
5 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Are These A Membership Site's Fundamentals?

by steve030
4 replies
I'm kick starting a membership site in the music industry and am after some reviews and guidance.

According to my research (and many hours of podcast listening and reading ) these are the applications I'm thinking of using to keep it simple (but keep some handy functionality):

- Member Mouse - For Membership Management (Looks very simple and easy to setup, it's a monthly fee, but the support and integration looks stunning.)

- Clickbank - For Affiliate Management and as a Payment Gateway (It'll end up taking about 10% from sales, but having it handle affiliate payments and as a gateway is much easier. Alongside it's many affiliates in their marketplace).

- Customer Wordpress Theme Design (Probably off Themeforest)

aWeber - Email Marketing

Easy Click Mate - Extended Affiliate Management

This (to me) seems like a simple(ish) straight forward toolkit to get the membership site off the ground.

The plans will be re-curring, $1 Trial, 3 Different Plans, No Upsells or Downsells upon launch.

If anyone has feedback on if this would work overall, or even reviews I would love to hear it as learning as much as possible before going ahead is imperative. Especially anyone who currently runs or has run a membership site!

Much appreciated,
Stephen
#clickbank #fundamentals #membermouse #membership #site
  • Profile picture of the author Jack Gordon
    I run a membership site, though I don't use most of the tools you listed.

    My only feedback is that while getting the mechanics right is important, it is far less important than having excellent, valuable content that compels people to want to keep paying you every month.

    You can (and likely will) spend an eternity tweaking the tools. You only get one chance to impress your members and create that positive feeling they should get when spending their money with you.

    What you listed above seems like a good way to start. It should work just fine, if not be a bit of overkill for a site that doesn't have any members yet. Like I said, as you ramp up and begin using the tools, you will inevitably make changes along the way. I wouldn't be too stressed about getting all of that "just right" in the beginning. Just make sure it works.

    Right now, 98% of your focus should be on the presentation of your content and business model.
    Signature
    Fifteen Lessons I have learned over 15 years and six businesses (or, My 1000th-Post Manifesto)
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9250727].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author steve030
      Originally Posted by Jack Gordon View Post

      I run a membership site, though I don't use most of the tools you listed.

      My only feedback is that while getting the mechanics right is important, it is far less important than having excellent, valuable content that compels people to want to keep paying you every month.

      You can (and likely will) spend an eternity tweaking the tools. You only get one chance to impress your members and create that positive feeling they should get when spending their money with you.

      What you listed above seems like a good way to start. It should work just fine, if not be a bit of overkill for a site that doesn't have any members yet. Like I said, as you ramp up and begin using the tools, you will inevitably make changes along the way. I wouldn't be too stressed about getting all of that "just right" in the beginning. Just make sure it works.

      Right now, 98% of your focus should be on the presentation of your content and business model.
      Thanks Jack, you've made some excellent points!

      I've got my content schedule planned out quite well and am working with a great team to produce it. We've produced content for a while, just never incorporated it into a paid membership site!

      Business model is also quite well mapped out (3 levels of recurring membership + $1 Trial).

      But 100% agree, content is what will keep up retention and recurring payments. We're predominately using video content, but got some great ideas for that too!

      Thanks again Jack
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9250770].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author squidface
    Banned
    Value trumps all.

    So if they pay $100 but make say $5k+..that's great value.

    Yeah it can look neat and trendy but end of the day it's all about value.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9250957].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author steve030
    We'll be providing KILLER value squidface!

    Can't wait to set this apart from the competition! Also 100% agree with that, it's the value which will keep them coming back for more every month.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9252575].message }}

Trending Topics