Member Sites: 5 Steps To Get Started

If you’re considering setting up your own member site, here are five easy steps to follow.

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!