Want Some? $2 Billion Pie!

Written by Tom Paige Tuesday, 21 December 2010 14:25

Bill Gates estimated that membership Sites would be worth $20-$30 million dollars a year in the Internet Marketing Industry. Well, that was back in 1996,however he was way off.

Bill Gates estimated that membership Sites would be worth $20-$30 million dollars a year in the Internet Marketing Industry. Well, that was back in 1996,however he was way off.

Mr Gates has got more things right than wrong in his career, but that wasn't one of them. Just 14 years later and the figure is more like $2 Billion Dollars annually. Membership sites are big business and despite the worldwide recession, continue to grow in importance.

A membership site is, by and large, one that charges subscribers a monthly fee to access its website. But charging a monthly fee isn't the only game in town - another perfectly viable business model is to allow members to join for free, but to monetize the site through special subscriber offers made each time the member logs in.

What Version do you like? Well In either one you need a few key elements in place.

The first key tool you will need is Membership Site software. It goes without saying, but I better say it anyway. You will need an Autoresponder to keep in touch with the members. Oh and just in case you didn't know you will need a catchy domain and hosting as well!

Domains and hosting, and autoresponders, are beyond the scope of this article. We will consider the membership site software you can use and the content you need to post.

Membership site software

They are many options because of the size of this market. You have WordPress plugins that convert your blog to a membership site. Easy Member Pro is a really good one for newbies to look into, its very user friendly. The most powerful script of them all is Login Frequency Marketing. There is software to fit every ones budget, even a couple of free options.

Why are membership sites so popular?

People have gotten use to free information on the net. They are happy with all the content that they can get for free off Google or Wkipedia. However they have come to realize that there is no quality control with free information. If they can get more "clean data" they are more then happy to pay for it.

In addition, people like the idea of belonging to an exclusive club, and online membership sites can offer that kind of exclusivity that they crave.

Of course, no membership site can survive for long if it doesn't provide those things: great, fresh content and a sense of belonging.

Membership sites offer some great advantages.

Well lets look at it this way. Every Month we are looking for the next big launch of the hottest new niche. It gets a bit worry some at times. What if we can t get in on the lasted product people are clamoring for? So wouldn't be nice to have a group of happy customers month after month? Help take the pressure off for sure.

With a membership site, you remove most of that ongoing stress. You do your job of selling the memberships and then they pay you month in, month out, automatically. You don't have to ask for the money - your payment processor just takes it - and you never need to remind anyone to pay up.

Yes you will get your share of cancellations, people will unsubscribe each month. On the whole if you provide your part most will stay. Beside they are now on your list and you know their primary interests. So you can send them targeted offers that will convert.

The industry average is reckoned to be that members stay for about 4 months, but many of the quality membership sites expect their members to stick around a lot longer than that!

The Idea here is to work once, get a great site up and running(Don't Get Lazy and Fall Behind On Content) and you will have a site that gains more members then you lose on a moth by month basis. Your business will then be based on residual income and positive leverage. Once yourmembers start paying you they will continue to pay you for that great content and living room feel of the club!

Residual income is the sweetest money of all and can quite literally last for years with no extra effort on your part.

Again I know you are all rubbing your hands together, and making that mad scientist laugh. However as stated earlier you have to provide new content and excellent service to keep your members engaged for this cash cow to work!

If you have a site based on the use of a piece of software you've written or had created for you, your ongoing input may be negligible after the initial set up, but if you are providing information, you will need to develop a routine for creating new stuff for your members on a regular basis.

Many people ignore the power of membership sites to build themselves a very useful income, but to do so is a folly. After all, 100 members paying just $9.99 per month amounts to $1000 a month and may only require you to write a new article each week.

Alright, alright you don t want to write 4 kick butt articles for $1000.00 per month. So this deal is dead to you? No, No, No. You can model your membership site off the top recipe sites. Here is the deal with them, you encourage your members to post their super recipes for dinner, desert,and snacks. You ask them to get involved in the members only forum you have set up. You watch them make friends, share their passion for cooking and you collect a nice monthly fee in the process. So in this model the members create the content for you! What a great world this Internet is.

No matter what your current online business is you should consider adding a membership site to the fold. Why wouldn't you want to grab a piece of this $2 billion a year and growing business? Your income will increase and your work load will decrease. For me that the best possible scenario.

The Internet Lifestyle you crave and read about could be just a membership site away!