It’s been more than a month since my last post… and that’s because I’ve been busy with my company and other stuff. As today’s a holiday because I’m sick at home, I’ll talk about one of the things I’ve been working on of late – membership sites.
I’ve started membership sites in the past, although mostly one time memberships ($47 up front for example rather than $47/month), some have been reasonably successful, some have bombed.
Whenever I start a business, I believed that there always needed to be an exit strategy – living in Dubai, that wasn’t possible with a membership site. Paypal subscriptions can’t be transferred to another account with breaking them and getting your members to resubscribe (which will naturally mean you lose a few of them) and other things like merchant accounts were hard to get in Dubai.
Considering I didn’t have a credit card (and the one I do have is still used rarely / never), I didn’t want to look at other ways of setting it up so focused on doing simple one time products like eBooks, scripts and so on.
Now that I have actual employees, I can focus on membership sites without needing the exit strategy as they can be taught to maintain them (meaning I will have to do little / no work on them even if I decide to ‘retire’). I’ve been playing around with various scripts and recently launched my first membership site on April 8th.
The membership site can be seen at: PLR Blogs
Basically, the idea is that members get access to four PLR blog packages per month. Having noticed other people selling them individually for $37+ each, I thought that since they were so easy to do why not offer a few for a set price all in one place.
Now, that membership site took about 2 days and around $250 to set up and promote… it’s now making a rough $350-400 a month based on revenue from members.
If the revenue from members continues, that’s quite a decent ROI (it’s paid for itself in the first month, including the script which was $127 and can be reused on multiple sites).
All memberships are paid into Paypal and every month it will take a few hours of my employees working to create the packages for the membership site.
Now, the benefit of having a site like this is that you can also earn a lot from upsells.
Since the site has been live, it’s earned around $400 from upsells, people asking for custom / customized packages and other related things.
People that are in a membership for PLR blogs are probably interested in other blog related services, ex content writing, logo design and so on.
So in the very first month, the site’s made a rough $750 gross and $500 net.
As my employees did probably 90% of the work (including the upsells) it’s pretty much a passive business for me.
I started this as a test for membership sites, my end goal is to do a big launch in the IM niche sometime this year and I’m playing around with different software before I decide how to set it up. So far I’m fairly pleased with this software but there is room for improvement.
Your goal for a membership site is to offer something for unbelievable value and give them a reason to stay subscribed.
For example, here the value is the packages which are very cheap ($17/4) as well as the cap on members (maximum 30). If you unsubscribe, you may never be able to resubscribe if it fills up in that time – a big draw for staying subscribed.
It also shows the ease of launching – it was launched only on the Warrior Forum, the site itself has no real sales page and the whole membership site (not including the blogs) took around 1 hour to setup and customize. It looks clean and does what it needs to do.
The script used is Easy Member Pro (aff link) and costs $127 for an unlimited site license which is great value I believe (having looked at the other options). Another idea I had was a lot of small priced membership sites, with small member bases – something easy to run with employees.
For example, five membership sites charging $10 a month with 10 members each – $500 a month. Supplying something that’s worth $10/month isn’t too difficult – videos, eBooks, plain PLR stuff, services… you get the idea. And getting ten members a month is easy (forums, blogs, email lists etc).
I’ll update more on here as I work on other parts of membership sites but hope this post gives you a few ideas. 
May 4th, 2010 at 3:27 am
Looks like you got something good going on here Jason! I have always thought about setting up membership sites but have stuck with just promoting affiliate products so far.
How many staff you got working for you now?
Tom@Timothy Ferriss Scam´s last blog ..Timothy Ferriss: Scam or Genius?
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May 4th, 2010 at 3:47 am
This is another great post from you. I really enjoy reading your article as you always inspire me. Now, I am looking to have a membership site in my local market.
Yeok Heng´s last blog ..When I Start Making Money Online?
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Jason (704 comments) Reply:
May 5th, 2010 at 6:59 am
Good luck mate – let us know how it goes.
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May 4th, 2010 at 6:58 am
It’s really nice to have membership sites but I don’t know how to start. hehe
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Free Club Penguin (6 comments) Reply:
June 13th, 2010 at 3:30 am
Haha, I know what you mean. However I think they really pay off in the end if handled well, the hard part is always getting started.
Free Club Penguin´s last blog ..Free Club Penguin Membership
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May 4th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Another excellent post. Everytime you throw around a good idea like this I tell myself I am going to give it a try but it just doesn’t transpire. I really need to work on that.
Justin @ JavaScript Tutorial´s last blog ..How To Validate An Email Address With JavaScript
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Jason (704 comments) Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 8:58 am
Action is the key – try out the free script below to see how you can run with it, if it looks like it could be successful you can move on to a paid one
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May 4th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
I really like this article, but I have a couple questions. The four blogs you offer to subscribers, are they your blogs or someone elses that you have ‘repackaged’? Also, who rights the content for the blogs? Is it you or a VA? Thanks so much!
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Jason (704 comments) Reply:
May 5th, 2010 at 6:59 am
Richard,
The blog packages were made by my employees. As they were working for my company, the rights to the packages are owned by me.
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May 4th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
I’d love to see an article on what is considered an “unbelievable value”…
Pierre-Yves@Référencement Super X´s last blog ..Off-Site vs On-Site: Disney?
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Jason (704 comments) Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 8:57 am
Soon mate, soon hopefully.
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May 5th, 2010 at 6:10 am
I have been thinking of a Membership site myself but I cannot buy a paid script as of now.
Is there other way around? I would like you to help me if possible.
Agent Deepak@Blogging. Marketing & Success´s last blog ..Blog Launch Post Series and Giveaway
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Jason (704 comments) Reply:
May 5th, 2010 at 7:00 am
FusionHQ allows free use for the first site, I’ve heard it’s good although haven’t used it myself:
http://www.fusionhq.com/?act=package
Play around with it, see if you’re able to do what you want with it.
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May 5th, 2010 at 10:24 am
Well, this kind of sites may work, but I think that prices should be low.
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May 6th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
I have been hearing a lot about creating membership sites lately. Although it’s not something I have time for now I may just look into in the future. Thanks for the great post and more info on membership sites!
Tiffany @ Online Passive Income´s last blog ..My Keyword Academy Case Study – 1 Month Update
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May 7th, 2010 at 10:57 am
Nowadays there are too many free stuffs. It’s kinda hard to charge people for anything now. But it’s good for the comsumers =)
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d3so (11 comments) Reply:
May 18th, 2010 at 7:39 am
Yup, I don’t go near products that look like I can get them for free.
To make a sale nowadays, you’ve got to stand above the competition.
d3so´s last blog ..Need a Roadmap for Blogging? Check Out This Book!
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May 12th, 2010 at 2:37 am
This method is great! I can’t believe its actually turned out to be successful! How much profit are you making? Well im sticking to my own way, its much less complicated. Check out my blog!
Jason´s last blog ..Get an Apple iPad For FREE!
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May 12th, 2010 at 10:54 am
Speaking of exit strategies- the nice thing about membership sites or any business that offers a recurring revenue stream is the value buyers will place on your business when they’re buying that existing revenue stream from you- it’s powerful stuff.
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d3so (11 comments) Reply:
May 18th, 2010 at 7:41 am
A solid revenue base is more valuble than estimates and it does weigh heavily on the value of a site.
d3so´s last blog ..Need a Roadmap for Blogging? Check Out This Book!
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May 16th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
Would be interesting to see your next post about the membership site and look at how things turn out.
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May 18th, 2010 at 7:37 am
That’s a great project you’re working on. Membership sites are
an awesome source for passive income. I have a forum that I’ve left alone
and members are still subscribing.
d3so´s last blog ..Need a Roadmap for Blogging? Check Out This Book!
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May 22nd, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Hey Jason,
A really thought stimulating post. You got me started on thinking of starting a small membership site. However, could you elaborate a bit more on how you promote the site? As to me the hardest part would be actually trying to drive people to the site.
Thanks,
David.
Finance Blogger´s last blog ..Saving Money In The Bank To Earn Interest Is Not Considered Investing
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d3so (11 comments) Reply:
May 24th, 2010 at 3:50 am
Promoting the site would be the same as promoting products.
d3so´s last blog ..Daddy Yankee – Descontrol (Official Video HD Standard)
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May 22nd, 2010 at 10:20 pm
Anybody home ? … Time for new post or something ?
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May 25th, 2010 at 3:17 am
If you are looking to create a business that creates passive income, a membership site is definitely the way to go
Impulse Magazine´s last blog ..Motivational Quote by Mike Dooley
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May 25th, 2010 at 5:12 am
Membership sites don’t seem like they are that “passive” in terms of the amount of involvement that is needed by the owners. For example, the Third Tribe forums are based around the fact that you have more direct contact with some of the top bloggers / marketers out there. I have thought about doing a membership site of some sort, but I expect it to be a very involved project and commitment.
Kristi@Blogging Tips´s last blog ..Income Blogging Guide Course Review
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May 25th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
You said it was launched only on the Warrior Forum when was it, how long ago?
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May 26th, 2010 at 8:36 pm
wow! Great post!! Very interesting
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May 27th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
A good job. Well done. I’ve been to the site and it looks great and I’m a member now.
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June 2nd, 2010 at 4:32 am
Did you buy back this blog Jason? (sorry, I haven’t visited here in a while) – good to have you back if so (I left because you left).
Your membership site looks good, pretty simple yet effective.
Simon@Free CNA Training´s last blog ..CNA Skills Required
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June 3rd, 2010 at 10:18 pm
Interesting stuff. I look forward to hearing more about your membership sites in the future. To a newbie, they definitely seem like more work than your smaller Adsense/minisites, but it also sounds like there is much more upside too.
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June 7th, 2010 at 2:21 am
Great idea. The fact that your product is a unique service really helps to gain and retain members.
I was wondering. Does the script allow you to run an affilaite program for your membership sites.
marcus@money making ideas´s last blog ..2 website ideas that make money.
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June 8th, 2010 at 2:46 am
I am an Adsense fanatic and this is something new to me. Maybe I can take a look at it and the way I see it, this could be a good source of online money. Thanks for sharing!
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June 9th, 2010 at 10:58 am
Admissions for July 2010 are now open and we are very keen to offer our management programs to you for improving the performance & productivity for fast career growth in Corporate World. The courses offered by IMT – CDL are crafted to equip students with tools & techniques so that they take up any challenges in highly competitive business world of today & tomorrow
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June 9th, 2010 at 11:05 am
I mostly found that many sites about making money online, but all are either scam or requires membership fees, etc…
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June 10th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
First, I love your domain name and your branding as the University Kid. Even your confirmation page after I subscribed to your newsletter is great. Love the “thinking of money in class”. This site is wonderful.
Super post on membership sites. Love that you showed your own example. Thank you. -Anne Marie
Online Marketing Course´s last blog ..Online Marketing Course: Finding Content For Your Blog That You Don’t Have To Write
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June 13th, 2010 at 3:31 am
Yeah, Membership sites have some really bad reputation. But it really isnt that difficult to turn an image hosting or download site into some quick profit using a membership option.
For me, I like to have both a free option and a paid membership, but when you do that you have to make the bonus of the paid membership worth to spend the extra money for, because if the free is enough for most people, you aren’t going to make much
thanks for the post
Free Club Penguin´s last blog ..Free Club Penguin Membership
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June 14th, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Membership sites is definitely very lucrative, but still it requires a lot of work to do in order to get people to stay. I also believe that small membership sites with a schedule 3-6 moths is better. This way you can get people sigh up and if you provide good content they will keep up those 3-6 months. Average time on good membership website is 4 months anyway.
Peter Cheap Click Code Review´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at
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June 16th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
I actually set up a membership site which is the easy thing, problem is actually getting people to sign up for membership. But just need to carry on.
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June 18th, 2010 at 11:28 am
Would be interesting to see your next post about the membership site and look at how things turn out.
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June 29th, 2010 at 10:29 am
first time,here….love what am reading so far.
question..should one have a kind of community first before one can start a membership site ?
mk akan´s last blog ..Blog Post ideas-Question and Answers-and Blog Collaborations
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July 4th, 2010 at 11:16 am
Membership sites are a great way to make extra income but you have have content that people will pay for monthly and that is hard to do sometimes.
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July 5th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
It requires a lot of time and commitment to develop a membership website that members will be happy to pay for. It’s a full time job in itself, if members are paying, they will expect regular updates, constant support, fresh content etc. Especially when there is so many other competitors (in most cases) that will offer the same for free.
Sometimes it can be misleading to specify that membership websites are easy money/income.
Geoff@Membership Websites´s last blog ..New Facebook page
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July 6th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
I agree with Kristi above…most membership sites, especially the most active ones (which are undoubtedly also the most profitable ones) seem to require a pretty heavy time investment. I realize some of this can be offloaded (forum moderation, for example), but if you’re the rainmaker for the site, it would still be a pretty large time commitment. Still, if you have something you’re passionate enough about, I can see where this would be a great way to go.
Internet Marketing Reviews and Rants´s last blog ..Analysis Paralysis – Everything they Say is True
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July 8th, 2010 at 2:06 am
I’ll definitely keep this in mind for my future challenges. I think there is great potential because many people are willing to pay for online content to access the right information they need and use.
Alan @ Work From Home´s last blog ..June 2010 Blog Post Roundup
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July 12th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
The only problem with membership sites is the customer service. People just like to be a pain in the you know what.
Justin´s last blog ..Moving Away and Why U-Haul Truck Rates Can Be a Tad Too Much
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July 14th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
This is right up my alley. I hope you follow up on this post with some more membership site ideas. It would be awesome if I could come up with a great idea for a membership site and then just sit back and collect the fees!
Lisa Loves 50cc Mopeds For Sale´s last blog ..50CC Mopeds For Sale
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July 15th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Nice post but actually membership sites require a lot of dedication and indepth knowledge of the niche.
Harshit Singhal´s last blog ..Scientist vacancy in IITM Pune July-2010
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July 18th, 2010 at 1:58 am
Sounds like an interesting area to get involved in!
SEO ninja´s last blog ..Essential Tools For Ranking High On Google!
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July 20th, 2010 at 1:52 am
Are there any other sites that gives free sample products and some other free stuffs?~’~
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July 25th, 2010 at 9:29 am
Is this blog abandoned or what?
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July 27th, 2010 at 12:24 am
Sam question i asked twitter knowledge :/
Ricky Rozay´s last blog ..Cashcrate Scam Stealing People Credit Card Numbers
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July 29th, 2010 at 5:47 am
I think having a membership site is a good way of earning a good amount of money but it does require a lot of dedication to have a membership site
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August 6th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Passive income is always the best kind of income. A membership site is a great idea, but you need to provide something valuable, otherwise no one will sign up
Andre´s last blog ..Geld lenen met negatieve BKR
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August 9th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
I was running ebook membership site (the one from fat ebook seller … or something) and my profit was so low (around 20 – 30 $ month) so I sold it after 3 months.
John@Funny signs´s last blog ..Ne-Yo – Beautiful Monster
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August 10th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
Is this blog abandoned or what?
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August 20th, 2010 at 10:11 pm
Great post and great work on your new site! We have a few membership sites out there and have found the most success with a trial price of $2 for the first month before enrolling them in the monthly continuity program.
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August 21st, 2010 at 7:35 am
First of this type of site we provide users the opportunity because of this beautiful and quality we give our respect. thank you.
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August 26th, 2010 at 10:51 pm
Good! Thanks for sharing. Definitely this website will be useful for me. Thanks, mates.
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August 31st, 2010 at 4:12 pm
Thank you so much. This site seems amazing. Will help me out a lot. I will think about joining it.
Regards,
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September 1st, 2010 at 5:43 am
Thanks for useful and succesfull sharings.
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September 3rd, 2010 at 5:01 pm
great post once again mate…keep em coming
thanos´s last blog ..GREAT TRICKTAKE INSTANT PHOTO OF YOUR SCREEN
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