Sorry about yesterday’s post, I was experimenting with Digg and the like. Did not make the front page, although it has 200~ Diggs so far – not bad I thought. Make sure you enter the contest for a Nintendo Wii. 
This is something I’ve recently come across (over the last few months or so) – membership sites. I love membership sites, simply because they turn into recurring income if you do them right, and although some will unsubscribe (just like your RSS feed) if you promise them killer content AND deliver on that promise, you’ll be able to keep people for a few months – turning them into a source of passive income.
The problem with membership websites is that well – transferring them. If you setup Paypal subscriptions, you are screwed – if you want to ever sell the website, you have the hassle of getting everyone to cancel then resubscribe – most will not if you make them do that. You could also transfer the Paypal account (only if it’s a business one) but this is unrealistic for most of us.
Here’s where we can use vBulletin to handle memberships.
The great thing about vBulletin is that you can offer multiple memberships on the same website, with usergroups. All you do is set usergroups and offer paid subscriptions; people select what they want to pay for and how long for (including recurring / non recurring) and get access to your members area.
You can change the Paypal address at any time, so transferring is a breeze, and most people are pretty familiar with vBulletin. Unlike similar solutions for running memberships, vBulletin is actually pretty cheap -
a brand new owned license costs $180 and a second hand one is available for $80 – $120. vBulletin also comes with quite a few sweet mods which are mostly free and improve functionality.
Remember, if you have a few members that are somewhat long term, you can easily sell a website for 10x or even 20x it’s monthly revenue – it’s not hard at all to get 10 people paying you $10 a month in any niche for a couple months and if you can do that you have a website worth $1,000 – $2,000. In the internet marketing niche this can be harder, but elsewhere – one PLR eBook, maybe some audio, a members forum and you’re all set.
For me, direct sales – they’ve always been easier than selling someone else’s product (affiliate marketing) or even monetizing a site through things like PPC. If you understand what your customer wants (this is the same whether you’re selling an eBook, a script or a website) and can fulfill those needs, it’s far easier to make money.
I am seriously considering that website coaching class, as I’ve had a few people interested – maybe at a lower price (say $27 – $37) as a few of you seem to think $47 is too expensive. I’m also thinking of recruiting experienced ’site flippers’ … in different niches, so that you guys can get a lot more knowledge. Also maybe a case study of getting a website from the ground up to something successful, one of my $1k+ flips.
Nothing decided yet though, still searching around for things like a vB license. We will see how it works out.
July 28th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Great idea and great post. How hard is it to set up a membership area (like creating an area where you need a password to access it?).
The course sounds good, so does everything you have mentioned. Thanks for the tips
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July 28th, 2008 at 10:07 am
I never thought of this. Membership sites are one of the most profitable sites that one can make.
Now, I am thinking of creating a membership site targeted to webmasters, but I am not sure if vB would suit my project well. I am thinking of offering downloadable stuff to the members, and I doubt vB would be suitable for this kind of project mainly because it’s a forum software. What do you reckon?
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July 28th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Lucas – what you do is have a members section which only specific usergroups can access (people have to pay to join that usergroup). In that members section you can link to whatever you want.
July 28th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Good stuff TUK, I am definitely with you. I love the idea of membership sites and am in the process of starting one. I plan to have a few when it’s all said and done, as I think this model is definitely great. Never thought about using vBulletin, isn’t that a forum software? Sounds like a good deal.
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July 28th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
great post.but i have a question what is the difference between new license and an old one.
also when are you planning to start that membership site?
July 28th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Seems great but I still wouldn’t pay that much for a membership lol. I’ve flipped a ton of sites so If I join it’d just be to help with the cause.
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July 28th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Just remembered something Jason, what happened to the Bum Marketing Case Study?
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July 28th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Sounds like a plan! I am not one to go for membership websites, they are too much of a hassle. I could turn an upcoming one into a website, but it is not so far. I think the class is a good idea, and remember to think about the local teaching as well. With Rajaie, what happened to the bum marketing?(I am not sure what it is, but I remember a few posts about it here)
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July 28th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
@ Both of you – do you remember the three page niche website I mentioned a while ago that was making $100 – $200/day? I stumbled across the niche while researching bum marketing, and that took up my time.
I still plan to run that kind of case study in the future though
July 28th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
The more and more I think about it the more I am getting motivated to crack out a niche forum build it and flip it. Your posts on the subject are driving me to actually put plans to paper and execute.
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July 28th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Cool post! That’s a solid idea Jason.
Don’t forget to remind people that vBulletin licenses cost over $100… which may mean that a lot of people avoid this. Still, it’s worth the investment in my understanding
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July 29th, 2008 at 1:44 am
Membership sites do seem like a cool way to make money.
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July 29th, 2008 at 1:46 am
I suppose you could do the same thing with a free forums software? Could save a hundred or so dollars and make it that much more profitable when you want to flip it.
July 29th, 2008 at 2:21 am
Ok Jason. I will probably look back at the archives, and find more about the bum marketing. I think it will be interesting to look back at those, I promise I won’t comment however!(Unless you want me to):) I am having technical problems so I might not be around for a few days.
July 29th, 2008 at 9:47 am
@Jason
“Lucas – what you do is have a members section which only specific usergroups can access (people have to pay to join that usergroup). In that members section you can link to whatever you want.”
But then, that link can be accessed just by spreading the link around (if there’s no username/password needed).
So one person can pay me and give/sell the link to others, right? Hmm…
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July 29th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
What kind of products should i offer to the subscribers? Plr-content or what?
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July 30th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
i love membership sites, but my success usually comes from referring them, rather than running them.
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August 1st, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Is that for forums?
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October 9th, 2008 at 8:02 am
I dont try those sites.So I am not aware of them
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October 9th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Hmm… Let me try this one out.
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