The Truth About Membership Sites
I’ve read a lot of articles about membership sites at other blogs and websites. Many people who write in the online marketing space jump on the bandwagon and talk about the benefits of owning some kind of subscription based income stream. They point out the obvious, such as recursive income, the stability and significant money that can be made with only a few members.
Unfortunately, nearly every person I’ve seen write about running membership sites has never actually owned a profitable one. Despite how good the model is, most people never get off their butts and actually launch a membership site, or if they do, their site fails because there’s a fatal flaw in their execution or strategy. I find it hypocritical that people can “teach” how to make money with a membership site never having actually done so themselves.
I agree with what people say about membership sites, even if they make statements without having the experience of running one. They are not necessarily wrong, they are just repeating what others have said, so it’s hard to have faith in them as experts. Without proof, how can you really know about something?
I say the same things about membership sites that other people do; they are the best online business model I know of. The difference of course, is that I own two membership sites and have conducted many different types of membership site launches. There’s no greater insight gained about how to do something than actually doing it, so I’m in a position to pass on some real “insider” information about this subject.
Today I want to clarify something that has bothered me about other people’s commentary about the membership site model, especially from people who have never actually run such a site.
The Reality About Membership Sites
Launch Your Own Subscription Site & Keep The Money Coming
Lessons From Daryl and Andrew – Day 3
Imagine waking up each day, indulging in your absolute favorite hobby, helping others learn about what you do, talking about your passions with like minded individuals and doing it all for as long as you want to AND getting paid $40,000 a month to do it.
Sounds pretty darn good!
We may all chase the passive income dream, where we do nothing all day and the money keeps rolling in – and sure, no one is going to say no to that – but let’s remember that we won’t “do nothing” even if we become filthy rich. We all have ideas, things we would like to do, people we would like to help and as humans we have a desire to express ourselves creatively. Running a subscription site that lets you enjoy a hobby or passion and earn plenty from it, is a pretty good lifestyle.
How to create subscription sites was the topic of day three at the Andrew and Daryl Grant workshop. Continuing from day two on how to build an ebook business, the subscription site model is a logical progression. If you hit a hot topic with your ebook, why not go deep, create a sales funnel and offer more products to the same market under a subscription model.
Here’s some of the benefits of owning a subscription site:
- You get paid on a recurring basis
- You build a community that helps to increase referrals organically
- You foster loyalty and become an expert in your area – good for keeping the competition at bay
- You get paid on a recurring basis
It’s pretty clear what the main benefit of the subscription model is. With an ongoing cashflow source you can rely on a certain amount of money coming in each month. With that income source you can put resources into improving the service you deliver to your members, creating a nice reinforcing cycle improving the quality of what you deliver and making more money as a result.
