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Trials And Tribulations Of A Membership Website
Every human being on this planet has the potential to be wealthy. Bar none!
That's a pretty bold statement, but it's true. You can create your own financially independent lifestyle in a multitude of ways. Today, we'll look at recurring income as your wealth creation vehicle.
Recurring income is money that flows into your bank account on a regular basis. Some of the common business models that take advantage of recurring income include subscriptions and membership fees.
The most common recurring online plans pay out on a monthly basis. Some pay out on an annual or bi-annual schedule, depending on the payment plan. Many independently wealthy people have developed their empires using these business models.
Subscriptions and Membership Fees
Subscriptions and membership fees work in a similar fashion. The subscriber or member is granted access to a product or service in exchange for a regular recurring payment.
This business model guarantees the subscriber/member continued service and guarantees the provider a locked in, guaranteed income.
But there are pitfalls. If you're thinking about creating a recurring billing product, you could be in for a wild ride. The following case study is the real life journey that I took, while creating The Business Professional Private Members' Site.
CASE STUDY: The Business Professional Private Membership Website
President and CEO: Terry Telford Vice President: Edwin Ryan Development Start Date: December 15, 2003 Website Launch Date: May, 1, 2004
In the research phase, I decided to keep everything in-house except for the payment processing. This gave me greater control over the entire process, but created a lot more work in the beginning.
The basic modules that needed to snap together and make the membership area run, were:
1. Membership software to create logins and passwords
2. Affiliate software to track affiliate sales and commissions
3. Autoresponder
4. Payment Processor
Discovering what software to use was a matter of trial and error, but I finally ended up choosing:
1. Membership Manager from GroundBreak
2. Ultimate Affiliate Manager to handle the affiliate functions
3. Autoreponse Plus for the autoresponder software
4. PayPal / 2CheckOut to process recurring payments
The next step was to have a programmer connect the dots and make all three programs play nicely together. This was the step where I realized I'd done everything backwards.
Instead of finding the software and then the programmer, I should have found the programmer and let him decide how to create the system. I was now at a fork in the road. Do I scrap the software that I already purchased and start from ground zero, or do I invest in a programmer to attempt to make all the software play together.
To make a long story short, I decided on option two and paid a programmer a small fortune to attempt the impossible. In the end, The Business Professional works 90% on autopilot and 10% on manual.
It was a long and costly process, but a fantastic learning experience. And the adventure was far from over.
Now I had a cool Private Membership site, with a $5,762 price tag. Next, I had to fill it with content. It took another two months to top up the content and get things rolling.
Fast forward to today.
Challenge:
Both Edwin and I are spending 80% of our time marketing The Business Professional and don't have enough time to build solid content into the member's area.
Solution:
Outsource the marketing to a handful of skilled entrepreneurs, so we can focus on upgrading the member's area.
The marketers collect and keep 100% of the membership fees, and we get a continual stream of new members who order our products and services. This cooperative business model builds a stronger, more profitable business for everyone.
Summary:
Generating a monthly recurring income by building a membership website is a great concept. In practical terms, it's a costly way to learn the ropes.
My recommendation to anyone who is considering a recurring monthly income is, start out promoting an existing product or service. You'll save a lot of time and energy and can start generating a profit, your first month in business.
Without expenses, it's all profit :)
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