Tag Archives: membership site
Fixed Term vs. Indefinite Membership Sites – Which is Better?
Posted on 08. Aug, 2011 by Steve.
There will always be a debate over which style of membership site is better – fixed term or indefinite. The problem is that both of these models have proven to be effective. This means that you need to look at your niche and what you are offering in order to decide which one is right for you. In case you haven’t considered both of these options, here is a quick look at what they are. Fixed term membership sites are designed so that a members signs up for a certain period of time. Essentially, it has a fixed end-date. For example, a pregnancy website designed to walk expecting parents through the process of what to do and what to expect during those 9 months is obviously not going to be useful forever. On the other hand, if you look at a sports related membership site like ESPN’s Insiders Club, there [...]
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5 Reasons Your Membership Site Needs a Facebook Fan Page
Posted on 29. Jul, 2011 by Steve.
Using a Facebook Fan Page to promote an idea, brand, or product is nothing new. However, many membership sites still haven’t created a page of their own. There are a variety of benefits that your membership site can gain once you have created a Fan Page dedicated solely to what it has to offer. At most, many people will integrate their membership information into other Fan Pages that they already have, however this detracts from it’s exposure in many cases. Here is a quick look at how a dedicated Fan Page can boost conversions and effectively promote your membership site. 1. Credibility One of the immediate results that your membership site will gain is credibility. In general, people have become a little more skeptical when they have to give out their personal information online. This is largely due to scam websites and a number of questionable billing practices for a [...]
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Which WordPress Affiliate Plugins Are Best For Membership Sites?
Posted on 22. Jul, 2011 by Steve.
If you are just starting to get your membership site or affiliate program set up, then it can be difficult to know which WordPress affiliate plugins are going to best fit your needs. In general, there are less options available for affiliate plugins than membership plugins, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t just as powerful. In general, there are a handful of characteristics that you need to consider, regardless of which option you end up choosing. Here is a quick look at these characteristics as well as the top several affiliate plugins that are on the market. 1. Compatibility The most important thing to consider when choosing the right WordPress affiliate plugins is whether or not it will be compatible with your membership plugin. If the two plugins don’t place nice together, then one of them is going to need to change. Obviously, if your membership site is already [...]
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3 Benefits of Increasing Subscription Prices as Your Site Grows
Posted on 06. Jul, 2011 by Steve.
Raising membership rates based upon the number of members that have already signed up has been a controversial prospect. On one side, many people believe that once you have found the right price point, there is no reason to change it, which is a very valid point. At the same time, there are several benefits that you could gain by raising prices as well. Here is a closer look at how raising your membership rates can affect your membership site in both the short and long term. 1. Create a Real Sense of Urgency One of the biggest problems that you will face when running a membership site is creating a sense of urgency. A lot of people will assume that your membership site will always be there, so there is no reason to sign up immediately. This is why introductory discounts and free trials are so popular. These methods [...]
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Is Your Membership Site Easy to Consume?
Posted on 14. Jun, 2011 by Steve.
No, this isn’t about eating your membership site, it is about making sure that your members are happy and find value in what you are offering. It can be quite a balancing act to make sure that you are providing enough content to warrant your monthly fees, while at the same time making sure that you don’t overwhelm your members. While there is no “right answer” in terms of how much content to deliver, your membership pricing model should give you some insight into how much content your members expect. The more expensive it is, the more information they want to receive. If you are billing them on a weekly basis, then they will want new content every week. If it is monthly, then maybe every other week. The Importance of Finding Balance It goes without saying that if your members are not receiving enough useful content, they will likely [...]
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Creating a Front End Product That Works
Posted on 08. Jun, 2011 by Steve.
It doesn’t matter where your membership site is in your overall sales strategy, the most important step is creating a front end or introductory product that converts. There are two primary uses for a membership site. The first is to use it as your introductory product. This is normally done when the bigger ticket items such as conferences, personal training, and coaching programs are directly related to your membership site. It can be difficult to get people to sign up for an expensive coaching program cold turkey. A membership site is a great way to build trust and prove that you have information that your members can value from. The other approach is to sell small digital products in order to get people to sign up for your membership site. This strategy becomes more important as your membership site becomes more expensive. Regardless of what your front end product is, [...]
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4 Ways to Doom Your Membership Site
Posted on 29. May, 2011 by Steve.
It doesn’t matter what phase of membership site creation, promotion, or maintenance you are in, there are certain things that can quickly doom your site. Not only can these factors cause a mass exodus by your members, but also generate a lot of negative comments within your niche and across the web. Fortunately, all of these problems are easily remedied with proper planning. 1. Choosing the Wrong Topic If you choose the wrong topic for your membership site, there is nothing that can be done to make it successful. There are two different ways that this can happen. The first is that you choose a topic that doesn’t include enough information to justify a membership site. This is rarely a problem as long because you can create a one-time payment or free membership model to compensate, however if you are only interested in recurring payments, then this can be an [...]
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