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1. Choose a member model. There are at least four different models you can follow for your member site. From free to unlimited monthly recurring, there is a variety that will fit your market and your message. The key is knowing what your target market wants and expects – then giving it to them.

One thing you can do to start the process is to find other member sites in your niche and watch what they do. See how they market their site. Check their fees and member levels. Even join their site to see what type of content they offer and how often. Take notes as you go so that you can refer back to them.

2. Choose your delivery method. While most people think about the traditional “fat content” member site with lots of articles and other resources, there are actually several different delivery methods you can use. From delivering your content without a website to offering multiple types of specialized content, you can follow successful models being used by other member site owners.

And while you do need a way to protect the member resources you deliver, there are numerous choices for delivery websites and the member sofware to use. But those choices are easier when you have all of the other planning decisions outlined.

3. Create content. One of the biggest fears people share when it comes to setting up a member site, is not having enough content. But when you leverage what you already have and find creative ways of adding more, you’ll be amazed how easy it is. In fact, you may find yourself creating multiple member sites with all of the content you create!

4. Make the money decisions. If content is the big fear, the decisions on fees, pricing strategies, free or paid trials and retention calculations seem to be the big hangups. But rest assured – there are guidelines for all of these decisions, once you have the other items in place.

5. Sell memberships. It always comes down to the sales and marketing. And while you market your member site just as you do any other service or information product, there are some specialized tactics you can use only with member sites. It’s just a matter of working them into your existing marketing tactics.

These five steps will start you on your way to creating your first member site. And I predict just the first of a string of sites, once you see how much you enjoy the member site model of business.

So are YOU ready to create a member site? Do you have questions about the details on each of these five steps?

If so, I invite you to join me as I offer a 90-minute webinar on Member Site Basics 101. On the call we’ll discuss

- why you’re going to love recurring revenue!

- 4 models of member sites you can use – and how to start one in less than 24 hours

- the 2 fastest delivery methods and the specific recommendations for the software you’ll need for each

- 5 types of content every member site needs – and how you can mix and match for your best delivery

- more than a dozen ways to find or create content you can use immediately – and how to keep that content flowing

- how to determine your pricing structure based on your content mix

- the breakeven analysis – and how quickly you can get there

- top 5 marketing tactics for member sites and how to work them into your existing marketing plan

Yes, you can start a member site without this webinar – but that decision will come back to bite you later. So save yourself time, money and profits by working your way through these decisions BEFORE you start your first member site.

This is a members-only webinar for members of the Online Success Incubator. Not a member? Then join today and join us on the live call tonight – or watch the replay in the member area.

P.S. Yes, this webinar will be released to the public next month – at twice the price of a month of the Incubator. So if a member site is in your future, join us NOW!

There are three major types of membership sites: traditional, fixed term, and newsletter.

A traditional membership site is probably exactly what you envision it is. It is the most popular type of site. A person becomes a member by paying a recurring fee and they remain a member for as long as they want. The site give them new content every month. Being a member continues to cost them money every month but it also continues to give them value in exchange for their membership fee.

These types of sites are excellent for member site owners because they continue to generate revenue  every month for as long as you want to add content. However, they can be a lot of work because you have to continue to provide value. So while operating a traditional membership site can be the most profitable, it is also the most work to maintain.

The second type of membership sites is the fixed term site. Under this model a member joins a site for a specified amount of time. So they might join a site for a year (52 weeks) in order to receive a weekly lesson on how to lose 50 pounds in a year. They might pay once or they might pay every week, every other week, or maybe every month. Once the 52nd lesson gets delivered then they are no longer charged a membership fee and they stop getting the content.

Fixed term sites are often the least time-consuming to operate. This is because you just have to do the initial work of creating the site, getting it up and running, and creating the content. Once all that is done then you just have to worry about marketing your site. So you will continue to make money without doing a lot of ongoing  work. However, every member you have will only pay a specified amount of money. You can’t count on one person being a member far into the future.

Another advantage to this model is that even though you only have to create the content once, you can continue to enroll members year-round. So it has the advantage of creating an information product for which you receive recurring revenue. Even though it’s for a limited time, this is still an attractie model – particularly for people who are afraid of committing to a long-term membership site.

The final type of membership site is a newsletter membership site (also known as an autoresponder membership site). A newsletter membership site can be either fixed or traditional. With this type of site you simply deliver all the content via email. So you would just send the content every week, month, or whenever you promised it would be. The members just open their emails and read the content or click on the link you provide for them to get their content.

Obviously the newsletter membership site is really fast and easy to set-up. You don’t need to worry about a site with specialized member’s software. All you have to do is set up the site with a sales page, a thank you page, and an autoreponder. Then load the content into the autoresponder and you’re done.

All three of these member site models have their pros and cons. Choose the one that fits you, your niche, and your topic best and then market your site.

Our topic for January is Member Sites 101. On the live webinar you will not only decide which model is most appropriate for you, but also get the full list of questions you need to answer for your member site planning. Without getting these answers, you can walk into a trap of recurring content and declining revenue. So join us to get this critical information.