Are You Running a Membership Site or a Newsletter Website?

Posted on 16. Aug, 2010 by Steve in Tips & Tricks

The way that membership sites and newsletter websites function to be fairly similar, however they are truly two different types of websites. By not recognizing the difference, you might end up taking the wrong approach, which leads to less profits. Here is a closer look at what a membership site and newsletter site is and how they function.

Membership Site

At its core, a membership site is designed to provide members with access to a library of information. Normally all of the information is related to a specific topic or sub-topic. The overall goal of this type of website is twofold. First you must attract customers and second you must retain. This is true for both free and paid membership sites. A membership site is, in and of itself, a final destination.

Newsletter Website

Newsletter websites are set up for their subscribers. Normally, it will allow members to print newsletters or packages of information. Newsletter websites, instead of being membership sites, are much more closely related to retail sites. One of the key differences is that newsletter websites are organized by date/issue, rather than the topic. Instead of being a destination in and of itself, newsletter sites are considered retail sites that allow subscribers to download PDF versions and also allow non-subscribers to purchase a specific newsletter rather than become a full-time subscriber.

Why Does This Difference Matter?

There are several reasons that making this distinction is important. The first is the way that they are monetized. Membership sites will allow members full access to the library of information, whereas newsletter websites often do not. Additionally, newsletter websites often allow people to purchase specific products (issues of the newsletter) without become a full-time subscriber. Membership sites will not allow non-members to purchase a specific packet of information.

Because of this difference, marketing and profit strategies need to be different. Membership sites need to build value into the overall library of information, whereas newsletter can both sell subscriptions and sell individual newsletters and articles, thus they must build value into each individual product. Because of this, a different profit strategy is needed as well. Membership sites can profit either by members paying a membership fee or selling advertising space. Newsletter websites can profit from recurring subscriber fees, individual product purchases, advertising space. Newsletter sites allow more “depth” to their profit strategies because they are product based rather than library based in regards to the content.

As you can see, although the overall differences may seem slight, different marketing and profit strategies must be used. If your pricing strategy for your membership site or newsletter site does not really promote your actual product, then you will be missing out on a large portion of your potential profits and your overall venture will likely become much less successful than it could have been.