Guest Post: by Jeremy Gislason

Are you just starting out in internet marketing? Are you planning to build a membership site after hearing all the benefits of having one? Are you wondering where and how to begin?

If you answered, “yes” to the above questions, then this article will prove to be beneficial.

There are several steps and factors to consider if you want to make your membership site a successful recurring income machine for years to come.

Choose A Topic

This is obviously the most basic step but can be the most vital. Not all topics lend themselves to the membership site model, but many do.

Jot down a list of topics you have an interest in, as it’s always easier to continue creating content if it interests you. Even when you outsource, you will be doing much of the research yourself.

What Will You Deliver?

Will you deliver videos, text content, audios, courses, newsletters, or software? There are so many options as far as what to offer your members, so it is important to have a plan so that you can promote these aspects on your sales page.

Study The Competition

Are there any competitors in your niche running a membership site? If so, sign up and see exactly what they are doing. All you then have to do is do it better! By studying successful competitors, you can pave your own way to success.

Formulate A Content Delivery Plan

Will you deliver new content weekly, monthly or quarterly? Members will want to know when the updates are coming.

Sticking to a certain date each month is a good way to keep members interested and excited for the next installment. Of course, this means you must be reliable and prompt when delivering new quality content.

Membership Model

Will it be a free or paid membership, or will you offer both? Many marketers use a free membership to gain subscribers, and then send them offers to upgrade to a paid membership. You could offer a discount as an extra incentive, or perhaps some bonus products.

Limiting your membership to a certain number of people can also fuel more interest, as people love to be part of an exclusive club.

Technical Set Up

There are a few options when it comes to software for creating a members area. You can use a script like Amember, or you can set up a WordPress blog and utilize a membership script plugin.

You might also choose to simply password protect the members directory. Hiring a programmer can make this stage easier.

Promotion

This is a big step and must start once your site is ready for the public. Write down benefits and points of interest about your membership and track down some joint venture partners to help you promote the site.

You may also engage in other promotional methods such as pay-per-click, article marketing, press releases, social marketing, ezine marketing, video promotions, and even offline methods such as advertising in magazines and newspapers.

Keep Your Members

The best way to keep your members is to continually provide new content and have regular communication. A member’s forum is a good way to encourage interactivity and a community feeling.

Setting up a new membership is not difficult, but it takes work and dedication. You can outsource many of the above stages to various people.

The technical side of things, in particular, should be rock-solid to avoid hacking and unauthorized access. Your content delivery needs to be reliable and of high quality every time you send new materials for members, so that they feel they are getting their money’s worth.

Running a membership site is highly satisfying and potentially very profitable. As a newbie, you are in a great position to set up a unique membership site that will earn recurring income for many years to come.
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Guest Post: by Jeremy Gislason

Your website can have a million “eyeballs” checking it out, but if the visitors don’t become customers, then those eyeballs are worth very little.

The fact is you must pay attention to conversions for your businesses to survive.

In general, the basic ecommerce formula works like this:

• Step One: Drive traffic to the website.

• Step Four: Generate repeat purchases.

Bonus products can be an essential variable in this formula. However, offering bonuses isn’t just putting the words “But wait – there’s more,” in your offer. The key is to know what types of bonuses will have the strongest effect on your prospects.

1. The Eyeballs to Conversions Process.

As a business owner, you have several tasks to make your business successful. First, you must drive traffic to your website. In addition, once you have website visitors, you must convert those visitors into clients or customers. While a lead does not necessarily equal a sale, it does equal a future potential sale. Once you have a prospect’s name and email address, you’re able to move into step two – converting them to customers and making sales.

Bonus products work very well as a tool to build your opt-in list and offering a free giveaway in exchange for an email address is a common lead generating mechanism. What you offer and how you offer it largely depends on your target audience.

In cases where you’re selling an expensive product, a substantial bonus product or a series of bonus products can help convince your prospects them they’re making the right decision.

You can use bonuses to build your sales in a number of alternative methods. Here are just a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

• One way to do this is to tier rewards so that the more the customer buys, the more bonuses the customer receives – for example, increasing membership status from silver to gold and gold to platinum.

• Consider giving away bonuses to customers who help you build your opt-in list. For example, you could reward every email a friend gives leads toward a bonus.

• Consider giving away bonuses to prospects and customers who are active and participate in your online community.

2. Why Do Bonuses Work?

In general, bonuses are defined as products or services you give away to incite a purchase, a subscription, a referral, or even an opt-in. You’re probably very familiar with bonus items, so let’s take a look at why they’re so effective.

Bonuses tap into several psychological triggers, including:

Reciprocity. Reciprocity is the tendency we have as people to respond to something in kind. Bonuses are the epitome of positive reciprocity. Customers receive a free guide, a free video, a free e-book as an opt-in bonus – now they’re feeling grateful.

Commitment and Consistency. Psychologists tell us that we’re more likely to say yes to something big if we’ve already said yes to something smaller. In short, it gets your prospects in the habit of saying ‘yes’.

Liking. Who doesn’t like someone who gives them something for free? People buy from companies they like, and from personalities they relate to.

Scarcity and Urgency. Use a limited bonus or give an extra bonus to customers who act quickly. It motivates people to purchase now rather than wait and possibly change their mind.

3. How to Create Bonuses for Your Target Market.

Even though your business may involve a niche topic, your customers are probably diverse and have diverse personalities, interests, and technological capabilities. We all have our own motivations and behaviors influenced by our personality. Learning to meet the needs and wants of the characteristics can help you create bonuses that cover a range of personalities.

Keep in mind that your customers will likely include many or all of the following ‘types’:

• Emotional Personalities – Many of these people make decisions based upon their feelings.

• Thinking Personalities – These are the people who like to plan, schedule and solve situations.

• Extroverted Personalities – These are the folks who tend to be open and comfortable in new environments.

• Introverted Personalities – These want to take it slower and make personal connections.

• Intuitive personalities – They have a natural ability to think outside the box.

Remember that each prospect has their own personality. Give them options and consider creating one great bonus to be packaged in a number of different formats to appeal to more people.

4. Creating Your Bonuses.

This is where many people drop the ball – they throw together sloppy bonuses or simply by resell rights to something that’s been distributed by a million other websites – in short, they stop taking their prospects into consideration.

Let’s take a look at three primary ways you can create eye catching and valuable bonuses.

Resell Rights/PLR. The internet is full of companies and websites that mass-produce bonuses for you to give away on your own website.

Although these can be beneficial, they can also be a slippery slope. You want to have bonuses unique to your niche and specific to your products or services.

Creating Your Own Product. While creating your own eBook, video tutorial or software program can be a bit of work, it can also be tremendously rewarding and you’ll be sure you’re creating the quality products your prospects and customers deserve. If you already have a stockpile of great content, you can repurpose it to create new and valuable bonus products. Creating multiple bonuses from one packet of information is a great way to accomplish that task.

Outsource The Job -Hire A Company Or Individual To Develop Your Bonuses. When outsourcing there are a few success tips: Determine in advance exactly what you want the freelancer to accomplish. Outline your project in advance – it will ensure communication is clear and the project is done the way you want.

Armed with this information, you can start planning and preparing the bonuses that will give you more paying customers.

Grab a free report that reveals the inner secrets of using bonuses to increase your sign-ups, boost your sales and gain massive advantage in the affiliate marketplace at: http://www.marketingmainevent4.com/blog/mme4-prelaunch. This free report is brought to you by Marketing Main Event 4.