Archive for June, 2010

Jun 24 2010

By Wong Asriman

Membership Software: Beginners Make the Righ Choice

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Membership sites can be a great source of recurring income. Unfortunately, some of the membership software it takes to run these sites can be quite expensive or complicated or both.
As such choosing membership software can be daunting and may scare off the beginner.  Consequently, I wrote this article to help you make an informed decision.

The big question:  Do I want to invest a little or a bunch in my membership software?

There are alternatives ranging anywhere from thousands of dollars to essentially free.  On the upper end of the range is a membership software company called MemberGate.  This is definitely the Rolls-Royce of the industry with lots of bells and whistles.

Problem is – it is cost prohibitive for most beginners with packages ranging from nearly $4,000.00 to over $15,000.00.

In the mid range of cost is membership software from Amember.  This software is around $300 and you must host the software on your own server.   I use this software for one of my membership sites and I am fairly happy with it.
Problem here is it fairly costly for a beginner and in my opinion the membership software is rather clunky and NOT intuitive.   That is, the learning curve for using it is fairly steep especially if you are not technically inclined.

At the low end of the investment range is using open source content management software like WordPress.   In fact, using WordPress with available plugins you can have your own membership site up and ready to accept paying members in 2 hours or less and you can essentially do it for FREE.
And here’s the best part, you can have the same powerful functionality as the more expensive membership software.

Namely, you’ll be able to:

  • Start accepting payments with PayPal so you can make money right away.
  • Email your members from within your membership site so you save time and hassle.
  • See members and guests on your site so you always know who’s there at any given time.

Offer free content and yet protect premium content so you can make more sales by allowing free browsers a hint at what’s available to them in the premium area.

The challenge with using WordPress and plugins for membership software is there is no real roadmap that describes how to set-up the WordPress software and how and where to find the needed plugins.  That being said, it is definitely doable with Google searches and significant trial and error.

Alternatively, you can check out:

WWW.WORDPRESSMEMBERSHIP.COM

and sign-up for FREE WordPress tips, tricks and insider details for making a WordPress membership site wildly profitable.



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Jun 08 2010

By Wong Asriman

BUILDING SUBSCRIBERS LIST AND AFFILIATE MARKETING: Effective Business Plan

Building opt in list and affiliate marketing have become synonymous to online success as an effective internet marketing strategy. For many online sites, building opt in list and affiliate marketing have proven quite profitable.

Primarily because most online users are not exposed to any unscrupulous internet marketing strategies prevalent on the World Wide Web.

As an effective internet marketing strategy, users are given the option to signup for information or service provided by a particular site. Building opt in list and affiliate marketing reduces the risk of spamming since the recipient voluntarily chooses to receive emails from a website.

Plus, building opt in list and affiliate marketing provides a direct link to the subscriber that will help shape a formidable customer relationship that will keep on going.

The basics of building opt in list and affiliate marketing

Different websites have different ways of building opt in list and affiliate marketing. However there are some tried and tested formulas to help new affiliate marketers develop their own opt in listing for their site.

The first and most important factor to determine in building opt in list and affiliate marketing is to establish the site’s target market.

Once the target market is established, building opt in list and affiliate marketing can be customized to meet their demands. This can be done using a variety of methods to convince site visitors to sign up for the site’s newsletter or e-zine.

After signing up, the customer will begin to receive a variety of newsletters, e-zines and brochures that the customer had registered for.

Strategies for building opt in list and affiliate marketing

There are a number of strategies that affiliate marketers can use for building opt in list and affiliate marketing. One way of building opt in list and affiliate marketing is by purchasing or leasing a subscribers list from third-parties.

This is usually done by affiliate marketers in order to get easy access to many people who have consented to receiving e-mails, newsletters and e-zines on various topics.

Although it is the fastest approach to building opt in list and affiliate marketing, this method does not provide a focused consumer group for building opt in list and affiliate marketing. In addition, it may cost an affiliate marketer more than what they expect to receive in sales. Fortunately, there are other ways for affiliate marketers to get the most out of building opt in list and affiliate marketing.

Enlisting for co-registration services is great for building opt in list and affiliate marketing. This service usually costs about 10 cents to 30 cents per subscriber but it easily translates into an average of three hundred subscribers daily to an affiliate marketer’s opt in list.

Writing articles is also an effective strategy for building opt in list and affiliate marketing. The articles can be published in various newsletters with specific links to the affiliate marketer’s site. This serves as a great introduction to potential subscribers that would encourage them to sign up for an opt in list.

Joint ventures are also a valuable strategy in building opt in list and affiliate marketing. Joint ventures are a hundred percent free and at the same time can add up to hundreds of subscribers to an opt in list daily.

Incentives for building opt in list and affiliate marketing

Building opt in list and affiliate marketing can also be encouraged by offering incentives to potential subscribers. This subtle form of encouragement for building opt in list and affiliate marketing often helps stir the interest of potential subscribers to sign up for the opt in list. There are a number of methods used in affiliate marketing to egg on potential subscribers to sign up.

Offering products and services in exchange for signing up is commonly practiced by many affiliate websites. Products may include special e-books or software that would be of interest to the subscriber.

Another way to get subscribers to sign up is to offer them special services that are only available for site members.

Regardless of the incentive used for building opt in list and affiliate marketing, the most important factor to consider is how to keep the interest of the subscriber. Remember, it is just as easy for a subscriber to opt out of the list as it was to opt in to the list.

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