In this post I’ll reveal some strategies I employ to run two membership sites profitably.
Each of these membership sites provide more income than my previous job teaching at a university.
This has changed my online business strategy.
I now do less courses and focus mainly on providing my customers value.
The hardest part of running a membership site, once it is all set up, is the content creation strategy.
Done right, you can harness the power of Private Label Rights [PLR] to solve this issue.
Let’s get cracking.
The Benefits of a Membership Site
Running a membership site can provide several benefits.
For starters, you’ll have stability in your online income.
You know roughly how much money you will earn every month based on the paying members that are available to view content.
Even with member attrition, there is still an opportunity for income each month from the people who do pay for access or subscriptions.
One of biggest hurdles when it comes to running a membership website is making sure that relevant and interesting material gets created regularly.
This is vital so as not lose subscribers/members over time through lack of interest or engagement within the community they signed up for.
If this happens then revenue would be lost too which isn’t good at all.
With PLR, you can create a variety of content for your members quicker and easier.
You’ll be able to continue providing new materials without getting stuck using the same ideas over and over again.
Let’s look at how to do this from scratch
Choosing the Right Niche For a Membership Site
If you’re planning on creating a monthly membership site that caters to survivalists, start by researching what kind of PLR content is available in this niche.
You’ll need sufficient material every month for the deliverables.
If there isn’t much out there, you can always create your own original content.
On the other hand, some niches such as CBD oil might be harder to find suitable material.
As many people use it recreationally rather than professionally or medically.
If you’re planning on creating a monthly membership site that caters to survivalists, start by doing research.
Find out if their are any pre-existing materials available.
You will require enough relevant information each month so check beforehand whether it’s possible.
Make sure that you have access to enough content before you begin setting stuff up.
Deciding What to Provide Your Members
Before you begin, it’s important to remember that your members should receive a set number of communications per month.
To plan for the upcoming 6 months of content creation and delivery, think about how often each email will go out (e.g., weekly or monthly).
What Types of Content do People Want?
What kind of information is provided in them (videos? images?), and which medium they’ll be delivered through.
Once you’ve figured this all out, make sure to write everything down.
Here at Video Content PLR, we provide:
- Articles
- Videos
- Square videos
- Email series
- Keywords for YouTube
- Keywords for Google
- PDFs
- Checklists
- Affiliate rolodex
- Customer avatar
- Video assets
- Audio files
- Video scripts
- Plus training….
Work is required to do that level of content creation, but our members deserve it.
This way nothing gets missed when putting things into action!
Sourcing for content
Your deliverables depend on the content.
If you’re delivering a training video every week, then you might need to buy PLR that is made into videos or repurpose an article and turn it into one (if there isn’t enough).
Look for trustworthy vendors who have plenty of usable material in your formats so they can make different types of things with what’s provided!
If you run a membership site, consider creating a sequence in which every member has to go through the same series of courses or deliverables.
Doing so means that new members will have access to all old materials.
They won’t miss out on anything despite joining much later than others.
You could also have a membership where every month new content is added and the previous month’s content is removed.
If you choose this option, it would be best to bundle up all of your past months’ contents into separate bundles.
However, keep in mind that members will likely want more recent materials rather than old ones.
They may not opt-in for these deals unless there are discounts given (e.g., monthly membership = $17/month while previously viewed material pack ($27).
This is why our membership is $37 PM but to get individual packs, you’ll need to invest $47.
What Softwares Are Needed?
Building a membership site with software such as Wishlist Member, aMember Pro, or MemberMouse is much easier than trying to build it from scratch.
There will be a learning curve, but you can outsource this.
You’ll also need a landing page creator for the aesthetics.
They all have pros and cons but some examples include:
You’ll also need a payment processor.
PayKickstart is the two best recommended option from experience.
Time to Set Up Your Site?
Here is a simple break down of the steps needed.
1. Choose a Platform
You can use a WordPress plugin or a resource such as Thinkific that has a whole host of functionalities.
Want affiliates?
Think about how you are not only going to get them, but if the platform you choose has built in feature.s
2. Add Branding
Ensure that your new site shows you off.
Choose the right colours and add a logo and keep things consistent.
3. Add Payment Options
Will you offer a monthly, annual or some different option?
Keep it simple.
4. Upload Your Content
Re-brand you PLR content and make sure it is uploaded and secure.
5. Create Your Main Pages
Create the sales, delivery page, and all the legal pages you’ll need.
6. Email Follow-Ups
Craft a great onboarding process so that new members feel welcome and know what to do and where to go.
Get Traffic to Your Site
So what are the ways you can go about getting some members?
1. Put Together a Sales Funnel
A funnel is a series of steps that you take to complete a process.
To attract potential members and convert them into paying subscribers, put together your lead magnet with follow-up emails.
Get people interested in becoming part of your community!
2. Customers Get First Access and Top Deals
Loyal customers are key to the success of any business.
Reward your current customer base by sending them an email letting them know about a new membership site, giving them access at discounted prices and offering extra perks.
You could provide extra graphics, premium support, bonus reports, extra templates or even coaching.
3. Try to Recruit Affiliates
Affiliate marketers must be able to make connections with prospective affiliates in order for them to successfully promote affiliate links.
Find people who have a similar audience and build relationships through ongoing communication before asking someone if they would like to market your site.
4. Content Marketing The Right Way
To build awareness for your membership site, you should put together and publish informational content in the right places.
Creating a strong presence online is vital to building real followers who will want to join your club or organization.
5. Social Media Marketing
Let people on social media know about your site.
6. Advertising
It’s best to spend money on Facebook or YouTube ads if you want to reach people who may otherwise be out of your grasp.
This is a great way for small businesses and entrepreneurs like yourself, especially those with membership sites, can attract new leads.
The Bit Everyone Forgets
Keeping a members is harder than acquiring one.
The best way to manage this is to overdeliver on value, stay in touch, listen to them and always be working on ways to improve.
Do not promote junk as a way of squeezing out more money.
That’s not needed if you treat people the right way.
Summary
A membership site is a hugely attractive business model.
It takes research, hard work and set up but you can get some nice recurring income.
But even if you graft through all that and even have an audience, you’ll need fresh top quality content on a regular basis.
PLR can help you with this by providing the materials you need
A bit of editing and branding and then you have valuable membership site content for your audience.