If you have been avoiding membership websites assuming it is hard to set up and get working with lots of technical areas to take care of, you are missing a big opportunity. In spite of the potential of membership sites lots of people never give them a go. The reality is that anyone can start up a membership website using simple to use online website publishing tools like WordPress as well as some plugins.
What is a Membership Site?
In the easiest terms, any specific website where you pay to access information or products solely available to members alone is a membership website. Membership websites may include text articles, videos, podcasts, webinars, PDF’s, audio, website apps, WordPress templates, software, themes, and so so many others.
In this post, we will show you how to create an effective membership site.
Step 1: Choose a Niche
Narrow it down. Get a group of people who are truly enthusiastic about a thing you know much about. It may be business-associated (like “Making Money with Apps for iphone”) or even lifestyle-related (for example guitar players or triathletes).
Step 2: Good Hosting And Domain Name
Good hosting can save a lot of techie stuffs associate with membership website when i started off my membership site i didn't research at all and thus end up solving server side issues that's why i truly believe a successful membership website needs a reliable web host personally i recommend hostgator because they are far more superior host in speed and performance and along with that they have inbuilt installer which lets you install any software without coding a great option for those who didn't have technical skills to install software manually. Also a plus point you get free domain with their any hosting package saving few bucks on domain name which you need to purchase separately in another host hehe..
Step 3: Build It
Building the real membership site isn’t that expensive or difficult. If you have technical abilities you can do this yourself, but if you don't, instamember can help you launch your own membership website within minutes it has everything you need in your subscription business from payment processing to content locking.
Step 4: Become a professional or Partner with One
There are many professionals that have very popular websites and large followings however they don’t realize how to monetize them. Make use of Google and Technorati to get popular blogs in a specific niche and approach some prosperous bloggers who have big lists however don’t appear to be earning much money. Most of them may turn your down but don't get dishearted you just need one partners and bang you got your product a big push. Good thing about it when you product get promoted on one big blog it starts a domino effect and many other bloggers may feature of blog which builds up a big wave of promotion so all you just need to keep trying but don't get too much pushy with your approach it not only looks odd but it's also looks unprofessional.
Or, you may become expert yourself. Maybe you’ve previously earned that status, or perhaps you can profit it by blogging, presenting at conferences, list building, and contributing to discussions on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. The social marketing tribe provides an excellent guide on how to use social media sites effectively and increase your social presence like pro.
Step 5: Make a Good Landing Page
The most awful thing that could occur would be to start a community that is dead. You intend to have a minimum of 100 members on the day you kick off. This can be done but building their expectation.
First of all, create a landing page making use of Unbounce. Using this landing page you’ll shortly have a discussion about the community you’ll be creating while having an email capture form which people will be able to opt-in to be notified when you start it. Don’t speak about pricing yet and don’t talk about a launch date. Employ the use of video to deliver this important message; it’s much more powerful than text.
Step 6: Conduct Webinars
Arrange webinars and then advertise them like crazy. Get influencers in your industry for instance, instamember and then partner with them. At instamember, you get exclusive webinars for our audiences. Personalize your presentation making sure you knock the ball away from the park here.
Your webinars needs to be 99% content and just 1% promotion (reveal to the people where they are going to sign up to be informed when your community launches). Ensure your content is exceptional. I can’t lay emphasis on this enough. I’m referring to the kind of articles you’d usually charge a lot of cash for; the kind of information you’re nearly reluctant about giving away at no cost.
Step 7: Begin Blogging
For those who don’t blog yet, begin blogging and promote your blog content that you post to your email list. Be sure you use a social sharing plugin like ShareThis so that your readers may share your information with their friends by Twitter, on Facebook, and LinkedIn. Close your blog posts with questions so that you get comments or feedback. Reply to the comments without delay. Also, post your content to Twitter and Facebook and place the social media icons on your website in other to enable your readers know where to find you on Facebook and Twitter. You can include YouTube in the mix in case you’re producing video content also.
Step 8: Begin Building Momentum and Then Collect Feedback from Your Target Audience
Ask them what they really want the community to be like as well as what they count on getting from it.
Keep in mind that the worst thing that could occur is to launch a community that's a dead, so these are certain ways you could tell in case you’re prepared to launch:
• Do people share your post?
• Do people comment on the content you post?
• Do people email you seeking advice or asking when you’re planning to launch?
If the response is yes, then you’re prepared to launch.
Step 9: Launch
Before you decide to open your doors you’ll need to promote your community once more:
• Email all the everybody that sign up to be notified
• Email people who eventually left comments on your site/blog
• Promote it on Facebook and Twitter
• Remember all of the webinars which you did with influencers in your business?
They’ll be your affiliates, as well. You’ll pay a recurring commission to them (normally around 30%) on all the memberships they assist you sell. Speak to all of them 2 to 3 weeks before you launch to ensure they have everything they are required to promote you five days before your launch, the very day before and the day you finally launch. Make it easy for all of them. Write email templates that they can put to use, design banners and give them whatever they request from you. It's also wise to set up your affiliate program in a manner that if someone registered to your list by means of a webinar you did with an affiliate, they obtain credit for it whenever the new member registers up. A powerful way to have big-name affiliates on board is to provide exclusive discounts or bonuses to their audience.
One vital thing: whenever you launch your community, provide a free trial. Normally, 14 days is a very good one. A day before the free trial expires send an email to them and let them know that the trial is about to end and if they don’t cancel they’ll be billed. There are some people that never do this and then hope their members are going to forget. Don’t do this. It’s the inappropriate way to commence a business.
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