A recurring income
membership model is appealing to many Internet marketers because you don’t have
to create a new product from scratch every time you need to get more cash.
Membership
sites only need to be built once, not every month or few months as new products
need to be.
Once
the membership site is built. You just need to:
Another site, where content are presented in the form of articles and/or blog posts that paying members can use as they see fit, often referred to as private label rights content.
You
can create a site, focused around software products that help paying members
conduct tasks more easily.
The
key to any successful membership site is providing continuous value over a long
period of time.
You
must know your target market’s wants and needs. Be able to supply them with
tools, resources, and/or content to fill those wants and needs.
Be able to find ways to remedy or solve the challenges/problems in
order for paying members to remain members of your site.
How
much they value the content and/or resources you are providing to them.
What competitors are charging for similar sites with comparable
content and/or resources before setting a price.
You
must consider whether you will only have one level of access for members or
more than one.
Pricing
for each membership tier will vary; lowest levels can be as low as free, while
the highest levels can be as high as $999.99/month or even more.
Many
membership sites will provide several pricing options for members to choose
from for some to all membership levels.
You
must ensure that a monthly subscription costs less than an annual subscription
in the short-term, but more over the course of a year so that the annual option
is the better value.
Monthly
subscription costings $20/mth x 12 = $240/yr vs an annual subscription costing
$200/yr.
You
must know your target market’s needs and wants. How willing they are to pay
for resources, content, and/or benefits that will help to alleviate the
challenges and problems they face in their industry.
To encourage more people to join their membership sites.
Many Internet marketers will provide a trial offer where people can pay a very small amount (usually $1) to access the membership site for a specified period of time (anywhere from 3 to 7 days).
The
person can check out the membership site and see what it has to offer and see
how much value and use it will be for the person.
Membership
platforms such as aMember, Wishlist Member, and DigitalAccessPass can help you
to build and maintain your membership site.
WordPress
plugins such as MemberPress, Cart66, and WP eMember can help you to build and
maintain a membership site if you are using a WordPress site for the membership
site.
Features
you should consider and look for in any platform or plugin you choose. Includes:
In
order for the members of your membership site to get the most value from your
site, it has to be easy for them to use.
You
want to focus on features that will make the site useful and valuable for your
members.
You
also want to ensure that your chosen membership platform or plugin restricts
access to members who are not supposed to have access to specific areas and
content/resources.
Be
sure you test the platform or plug-in thoroughly and familiarize yourself with
its features before you promote and sell access to your membership site.
Get New Members To Join While Focusing on Retention
You
must work to strike the proper balance between the retention of current
membership site members while working on getting new people to join the
membership site.
To
grow your business, your reputation, and your recurring income stream(s), you
have to work on acquiring new members to your site.
Do
everything you can to keep your current members happy and willing to pay you,
as you have already established a relationship with them.
NEVER
ignore or overlook your current membership site members and justify it by
putting your effort into acquiring new members, as you will never increase your
recurring income that way.
Consider
splitting your work time evenly or slightly in favor of your current members.
Also
consider outsourcing some of the research and content and/or resource
development to outsourcers while you work to acquire new members.
Also
consider using outsourcers to provide quality customer support to current
members.
Members
can easily access the sections they are supposed to be able to access.
Can
download the files they are supposed to be able to download.
Play
the audio and video trainings they are supposed to be able to play.
If
you need to shut down access to the site for maintenance purposes, be sure to
send out an email, instant message, social media post, and/or audio/video
message.
Excellent
customer service means that members should get immediate replies to their
questions and/or concerns.
Members should be able to reach you via any or all of support email
address,
contact form within the membership site, support desk platform, social
media profiles, Skype, Facebook Live, etc.
If
a member has a question or issue, that question or issue must be resolved
quickly (within an hour or less if possible).
Be
sure prospects interested in joining your site but haven’t yet also have a way
to contact you as well, possibly at a different email address, social media
profile.