Four Simple Steps to Setting Up Your Own Profitable Membership Site

It’s no secret that membership models are crazy profitable. That’s why so many big companies (like Sam’s Club, Amazon and Apple) are setting up membership clubs and sites. It’s a great model because members pay you over and over again for months or even years to come. Plus you get a proven list of buyers to sell things to on the backend.

If you’re looking to add a residual income opportunity to your sales funnel, then check out these four simple steps…

Step 1: Choose A Membership Model

There is no “one size fits all” membership model. What you choose depends on your target market and what you’re selling. Here is a sampling of some of the most common membership site models:

•    The monthly membership. As the name suggests, members pay a fee every month to retain access to the products or services. Examples of this model include Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited membership, your local gym membership, and even your cell phone provider.

•    The annual membership. Here members pay yearly rather than monthly. Examples of this model include Amazon’s Prime Membership and members with an American Express charge card.

•    The “pay once” membership. Here members pay once and get access to a membership site’s product or services forever. Sometimes you’ll see software or forums operating under this model.

•    The free membership site. The idea here is that members need to register for a free account in order to get access to the site, so the owners get a nice list of email addresses. Many social networks such as Facebook and Twitter run on this model.

•    The multi-tiered site. This is where prospective members get to choose a membership level that’s right for them, such as the bronze, silver or gold membership. Each tier comes with more value (and a higher price).

To get more information on these membership models so that you can pick the right one for you, check this out: www.membershipmarketersclub.com. 

Step 2: Set Up the Site

Your next step is to set up your site so that it works as smoothly and as hands-free as possible. Here are the two main components you need to snap into place:

•    The sales letter.

•    The membership site itself.

The sales letter sits on the front page of your site, and it includes all the benefits people will receive once they sign up to be members. Your sales letter should include all the components of any other sales copy, including:

•    An emotional connection to the prospects (by telling a story or empathizing with prospects).

•    A focus on showcase the top benefits of the site. These benefits should appear in your headline, in your bulleted list of benefits, and even in the P.S. at the end of your letter (where applicable).

•    Proof of your claims. This could be testimonials, photos, videos, screenshots, scans or anything else that proves the claims made in the sales copy.

•    Risk reversal (a guarantee).

•    A strong call to action. This is where you explicitly tell people to join, along with a good reason as to why they should join now. Naturally, you’ll include a payment button right next to the call to action.

Once people complete the order form, they’ll be taken to the membership site to register their account. How this part of your site is set up really depends on what sort of membership site you’re running. For example:

•    If you set out a set amount of training materials by autoresponder, you may have people register by filling out an opt-in form for your mailing list.

•    If you’ve set up a more traditional membership site with content you need to protect from prying eyes, then you can use a membership site script (such as aMember or any other number of possibilities). These scripts manage memberships, drip-feed content, protect content and they can even run your affiliate program if you so choose.

Once your site is all set up, then move onto the next step…

Step 3: Create Your Content

If you’re running a membership site that requires content (such as a PLR membership site or a training site), then you need to create this content before you launch. You can do this yourself if you have the time, skills and inclination. Otherwise, you may hire a freelancer to do it for you. Check out UpWork.com and eLance.com to find skilled writers, programmers and other freelancers.

TIP: If you’re setting up a monthly membership site (meaning you need to upload new content every month), then create at least three month’s worth of content upfront. This gives you a cushion in case your site launch keeps you super busy for a couple months.

Next step…

Step 4: Promote the Site

Once your sales page is up, your membership site is in place and the content is uploaded, then it’s time to unleash its awesomeness on the world. Here are a few ways to do it:

•    Put an affiliate program in place and offer lifetime commissions to your marketing partners. This means that they get commissions on monthly fees for as long as their customer remains a members.

•    Do co-promotions with other people in your niche. This means they promote your site, and you promote their products or services in return.

•    Blog about your membership site. Not only should you be telling your own blog visitors, but you can do guest blogging as well.

•    Spread the word on social media. You might even create a viral campaign and use Social Share Monkey (www.socialsharemonkey.com) to spread the word far and spread it fast.

•    Buy ads. One could place to start is on Facebook, as their advertising platform lets you really hone in on your target market. You might also try Google AdWords, as well as purchasing ads in your niche.

That’s not an exhaustive list of advertising strategies by any stretch of the imagination, but it does give you a good place to start, plenty of traffic, and lots of new members.

Ready To Get Started?

If you’ve ever crunched the profit numbers for running a membership site, then you know it’s very enticing. Just imagine charging people $20 a month to be a member – it only takes 500 members and you’ll break the magic $10,000 a month income level. And that doesn’t even include the big profits you can make on the backend of a membership site!

So listen, if  you like the idea of running a membership site – if you’d like to join other smart businesses such as the likes of Amazon and  Apple – then your next step is to get the inside scoop from two guys who run successful money-making membership sites all over the web.

Check it out now at Membership Marketers Club

This site will show you how to get your own site up and running fast, plus you’ll find out the secrets of extracting the money out of the backend of the site. So get your site set up the right way by checking out the link above right now – and hurry, because there’s a special offer on that page that may end at any time.