Membership Sites Made Easy

How To Make Money with Membership Websites

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What are Membership Sites?

• Similar to membership clubs• Monthly fee grants access to resources• Offer products, services or information to

members• Allow members worldwide access• Allow members a way to ask questions

How To Make Money With Membership Websites

Benefits of Membership Sites?

• Recurring membership fee• Perceived affordability for members• Way to grow community• Become the expert in your niche• Grow business by word of mouth from

happy members

Recurring, Steady Income

• Membership fees are set at regular intervals– Monthly, bi-monthly or annually

• Members pay as long as they continue to receive valuable information– Example = 20 members pay $50/month =

$1,000/month or $12,000/year

Develop Your Customer List

• What makes customers loyal?– Shared passion– One to one connections– 24 hour access to premium information

• Take care of your customers & they will remain loyal

• Customers are those who joined your group– They believe in your mission & want you to

share your information

• Once they sample your content, you can offer them an upgraded membership for an increased fee

• Will they upgrade??

• Customers will spend more with vendors they know & trust if they are receiving value

• Meet & exceed expectations for customer service & product development

• Email your customer list with upgrade offers or affiliate offers – they already gave you permission when they subscribed to the group

Word of Mouth Marketing

• Your customer list will naturally spread the good word about your membership site

• People read written reviews but also want to hear from real people who have used a product

Offline Membership Example

• Wine of the Month Club– Started in 1972 as monthly recommendations

from Paul Kalemkiarian’s southern California wine shop

– Customers opted to purchase these recommendations, sight unseen

– Customers asked to have these wines shipped to their homes = customer loyalty

– Paul hired UPS to handle the shipping

Why This Works

• Wine lovers are interested in learning about & trying new & popular wines

• Paul tapped into this interest / need• Sells more wine on a consistent & long

term basis• Affordability = 3 different membership

levels

Why This Works

• Wine of the Month Club gives customers what they want

• They over-deliver• They offer multiple levels of affordable

memberships• They attract many new & existing

customers

Magazine Subscriptions

• Common 12-month subscriptions• Delivers valuable info in each issue• Incentives used to entice subscribers• Discounted from the retail price• Valuable information + affordable price =

eager subscribers

• New York magazine– Reaches 428,000 subscribers each month– Revenue driven by advertising sales, not

subscriptions– They offer discounted subscription prices to

drive up the subscriber base, which increases the ad prices

– Valuable information + affordable price = eager subscribers

Membership Websites

Where to Get Ideas– What are you interested in?– Research your marketplace

• Local & national newspapers• Amazon’s bestsellers list• Survey social media networks• Monitor discussion groups & forums

Membership Content

Teleseminars• You need a computer, internet access,

microphone & 3rd party teleconferencing provider

• Live demonstration / discussion• Members can call in via phone or listen via

computer• Check out Free Conference Call & Instant

Teleseminar

Membership Content

Webinars• You need a computer, internet access,

microphone & webinar conference room• Share visual presentations• Participants can chat or text their questions• Check out Go To Webinar & Adobe Connect

Membership Content

Written Content• Emails• PDF reports / ebooks / checklists / workbooks• Password-protected content in a members-

only area• Printed books or magazines sent via postal

service

Membership Content

Software• Custom program or script• Developed to help with a certain problem• Created specifically for distribution• You can hire developer or purchase

distribution rights

Creating Membership Content

• Use experts– Record audio interview– Transcribe interview for written content– Include them in special report or round table

discussion– Live webinar presentation

• Purchase Private Label Rights Content– Prewritten content– Edit as needed to add your voice & branding– Publish it as your own

• PLR Resources– SpecialReportClub.com– EasyPLR.com

• Reuse Existing Work– Transcribe your webinar into a written report– Record your webinar & provide video replay– Rewrite blog posts into articles for syndication– Compile articles or blog posts into special

reports– Use articles as a script for audio or video

recording

Membership Models

• Publisher – ongoing content is published on a regular basis

• Monthly Content Package – new resources or packages added each month in various formats

• Micro Continuity – a fixed term membership that ends at a certain time

Membership Models

• Service Provider – project management system

• Modular Course – lessons delivered one module at a time

• Protected Download Area – members gain access to digital downloads through a protected area of your website

Setting Up Your Membership Site

1.Paypal button with Autoresponder2.Clickbank with Autoresponder3.Amember4.Wishlist5.Digital Access Pass (DAP)

Paypal Button with Autoresponder

1. Create Thank-you page where buyer will be sent after purchase – include on Thank-you page opt-in form for autoresponder.

2. Login to your PayPal account3. Click on the Merchant Services tab at the

4. Then under the “Create Buttons” section, click the “Subscribe” link

5. The next page will give you instructions to create a Subscribe button

6. Assign product name and button style7. Indicate currency8. Select pricing options9. Select billing amount for each cycle

10. Select cycle (weekly, monthly, etc.)11. Indicate when billing should end12. Indicate trial period & price13. Define trial period14. Create button & add code to sales page15. Edit Paypal Auto Return feature

Setting Up an Autoresponder

1. Create squeeze page for members to opt-in

2. Insert opt-in code on squeeze page3. Include web copy to encourage members

to opt-in

Membership Process

• Advantages • Quick & easy to install• Low cost

• Disadvantages• Difficult to ensure every member finds &

fills out the opt-in

Clickbank with Autoresponder

• Create your sales page, squeeze page & thank you page first

• Then create a free Clickbank account

1. Go to My Account & log in2. Click on the Account Settings tab3. Click on My Products4. Click on the Recurring Billing Products tab5. Click Add New Product

6. Add necessary info to "Adding a Product" window

7. Save Changes8. Request product approval9. Fill out Request Product Approval form10. Verify information

11. Click “Submit Product Approval Request”12. ClickBank staff will review your site and

product information If approved, the system will update product

status to Approved If disapproved, the system will update product

status to Disapproved

• Test your Thank You page so paying customers can opt-in to your customer list

• That’s it! You’ve now got a product in the Clickbank inventory

• Advantages• Access to 100,000 affiliates• Accepts all major credit cards & Paypal• Automated transactions & refund

processing

• Disadvantages• Difficult to ensure every member finds &

fills out the opt-in• Set up fees & higher transaction fees

Amember

• Script must be uploaded to server• Built-in support for 70+ payment systems• Integration plugins for Wordpress & over

60 other scripts• Protects content on your site for members

Amember

• Includes 2-tier affiliate program• Integrates easily with other shopping

carts• Unlimited membership levels• Multiple subscriptions• Works with or without Wordpress• Offers free trial

Amember

• Built-in email autoresponder• Integrates with 3rd party email services• Integrated “Affiliate Only” access• Once payment is complete, Amember

activates membership account

Amember

• Core Integration = Amember sends credit card info to payment processor

– Advantages• If you switch payment processors, recurring

billing customer info stays with you• Customers do not leave your site to make

payments– Disadvantages

• Security risk; secured site necessary

Amember

• Redirect Integration = Amember redirects customer to Paypal or Clickbank (or other)

– Advantages• No security risk• No need for secure URL

– Disadvantages• Customers leave your site to pay• Recurring billing not supported

Amember

• Redirect/recurring integration = Amember sends payment & recurring information to 3rd party

– Advantages• No concerns about credit card security

– Disadvantages• Customer leaves website to make payment• You cannot make changes to subscription

Wishlist Member

• Plugin designed specifically for Wordpress sites

• Allows multiple levels of membership• No need to leave Wordpress• Interface is similar to Wordpress• Easy to install

Wishlist Member

• Integrates with 3rd party email services• Integrates with Paypal, 1ShoppingCart &

Clickbank• Partial text protection• Integrates with iDev Affiliate• WP-Forum Integration

Wishlist Member

1. Go to the “Integration” tab along the top navigation

2. Select “Shopping Cart”3. Choose your shopping cart from the drop

down menu4. Copy the PDT token and paste this into

Wishlist

Wishlist Member

5. Create “Buy Now” or “Subscription” button

6. Set the “Thank You” page to the URL specified

7. Paste the specific code into the advanced variables field

Wishlist Member

• Advantages• Easy to “drip” content to members• Easy to use within your Wordpress site

• Disadvantages• No internal affiliate program

Digital Access Pass (DAP)

• Has most features built in• Self-contained (unlike Amember or

Wishlist)• No need for plugins• Manage affiliates• Unlimited membership levels• Sequential content delivery

• Integrates with Wordpress• Multiple subscriptions• Integrates with 3rd party email services• Integrates with Paypal & other payment

processors• 1-click upsells / downsells

• Advantages• Built-in affiliate program• Customers automatically become affiliates

• Disadvantages• Interface not streamlined or pleasant

Paypal vs. Merchant Accounts

• Not everyone is familiar with – or comfortable using – Paypal

• Need merchant account to accept credit card payments directly

• Paypal has staff to address transaction problems

• Both have transaction fees

Remember!

• Don’t overpromise• Do outsource the technical tasks & expertise• Do survey your members to ask what’s

working• Do constantly market your business

Go to http://ww.WritingTipsNewsletter.com and subscribe now for more information on membership sites, marketing, writing, grammar and creating quality articles for your website.

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