Simple Steps to Start a Profitable Member Only, Su

Simple Steps to Start a Profitable Member Only, Subscription Web Site

by: Ron Ruiz

Having a successful member only, paid membership site is one of the best ways to make money online. A successful membership site can give you the steady income of a CEO ….but without the job!

For example if you had just 200 people paying you just $20 a month, you would have a steady cash flow of $4000/month, month after month, rain or shine. Many people accomplish this the first month or two their site is up. But that’s just the beginning. Some individuals have member only websites that generate 510x that amount of money!

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s discuss exactly what a member only, paid membership site is?

Whether you call them member only, membership, subscription, or mentor websites, they all have one thing in common. … they are bringing in steady, recurring cash flow for their owners, month after month, from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars with an endless variety of topics.

Some of these sites provide mentoring or coaching, others contain useful articles or information in a particular field or product. Still others publish the results of tests and studies or product reviews. Finally some membership sites provide specialized service or act as a meeting place for people with a common interest.

But all these sites have one thing in common: to access the website (or the best information on the site) you have to pay for it!

Why Would People Pay for Information on the Internet?

The key to getting people to pay for access to a website, is to provide specialized information/coaching/data/service that is hard to find anywhere else, or would be time consuming to find on your own.

Here’s another way to look at it:

Have you ever subscribed to a newspaper, magazine, or newsletter? Have you ever bought a non fiction book that gave advice on a topic you were interested in? I’ll bet you have. I’ll also bet that you could have found almost all of the information these resources contained from free sources.

You paid for the information either to save time or because you thought the information would be better or more specialized for what you were looking for, isn’t that correct?

Just a few short years ago it was almost unheard of to charge for access to a website and almost no one was doing it. Today it’s not only much more acceptable but there are still relatively few membership websites. This makes it the perfect time to start your own member only site, since there is still little competition.

Choosing a Topic

This is the most critical decision youกll have to make. Choose the right topic and youกll have people clamoring to give you money to access your site. Choose the wrong topic and you’re doomed before you even start.

The first place to look for potential topics should be within your own world. The list of potential topics could come from your interests, hobbies, vocation, business training, or even your location.

Find a topic that you are passionate about, and the odds are that enough other people are also passionate about the topic to make it a successful membership site. Since you are going to be spending time building and maintaining your membership site, why not choose a topic that you enjoy?

Note: If you are already a speaker, consultant, writer, or กexpertก on almost any topic, then you are in a perfect position to create a membership or mentor type of website which could double or triple your income. You should start a membership site today! In just 34 months, one of my clients turned his existing expertise and client base into a member only site that generates $40,000/month!

You wouldn’t believe some of the unusual ideas that people have turned into profitable paid membership websites. Topics include: unusual business ideas, fireworks, repairing guns, physical conditioning, marketing, specific makes and models of cars, digital cameras, dieting, dating, tall people, and 2nd wives clubs.

Setting Up and Running Your Member Only Website

Finally there are many tools to help you build and maintain your member only website.

At the most basic level, you can do much of the website creation yourself and use 3rd party services to help you with the administration. However, a quicker and even better way is to use one of the new all in one membership management software systems that helps you get your site set up quickly (even if you don’t know anything about programming) and automates almost all the administrative features. These membership software programs can reduce your workload by 75% as opposed to trying to do it all yourself.

Is There a Members Only Website in Your Future?

I hope this brief article has given you a glimpse into the tremendous potential that could await you with your own membership website.

All over the world, people are earning large sums of money online, on a regular predictable basis from the comfort of home, because they had the insight to start a paid membership site.

What are you waiting for?

About The Author

Want more information on membership websites? You can receive a FREE mini course by email with more helpful information. Just to http://memberstar.net .

Ron Ruiz is a product developer, marketer and newsletter publisher. He has extensive experience in all aspects of starting and running a membership/subscription/coaching website. His own membership website http://www.businessfastlane.com has been operating for several years and has members from over 26 countries. He has also developed his own all in one membership software system called Memberstar™ which makes it easy to set up and run a members only site.

[email protected]

This article was posted on October 01, 2004

by Ron Ruiz

Don’t Fall Into This Trap….

Don’t Fall Into This Trap….

by: Richard Grady

One of the most common problems that people make when starting their online business is creating a website or product that people don’t want.

Sounds crazy doesn’t it? But itกs true. I have heard from several people in the past that have emailed me to say that they have built a site but despite having worked to get top search engine rankings, they are not making any sales.

Hereกs the thing it is no good having your website at the number one position on Google for the keyword ‘tomato soupก if no one ever searches for ‘tomato soupก!

Therefore one of the most important things to do when you are considering starting any new website business is research see if anyone actually wants what you are going to offer them. Think of it like this, if you wanted to open a restaurant you would do some research to see if the local residents wanted your restaurant and whether they would be likely to use it. If the local residents said กnoก, then you wouldn’t bother opening would you?

Same process online make sure there is a market BEFORE you create the product. There are various ways you can do this but one of the best is to use a free piece of software called Good Keywords. In a nutshell, you type a keyword or phrase into the software and it checks to see how many times in the last month people have searched some of the main search engines for that word or phrase. It works very well and I have used it to rule out several website ideas in the past ideas that would have involved me spending weeks of work building sites or writing ebooks, only to find that no one was interested in the subject matter!

You can download Good Keywords at no cost whatsoever from:

http://www.goodkeywords.com

And don’t forget the other piece of advice that I keep banging on about go for a niche market just because 5 million people searched for กdvdก last month, doesn’t mean that DVDกs are a good thing to sell. Search Google for DVD and see how many search results are displayed thatกs your competition! Daunted? You should be! With a bit of research you can find a far less competitive market that still has thousands of people searching for it every month.

Copyright 2005 Richard Grady

About The Author

Richard Grady has been helping ordinary people earn online since 1998. He writes a free newsletter which is published every two weeks. To subscribe (and claim your free gifts), visit: http://www.thetraderonline.com/newsletter.html

This article was posted on January 01

by Richard Grady

Success on the Web: Detailed Case Study with ROI F

Success on the Web: Detailed Case Study with ROI Figures

by: Robert Swick

Top of the Hill

Mont Blanc Ski Resort is a relatively small operation and one of a handful of similar ski resorts that can be found on the road leading to Quebecกs largest and most famous resort Mont Tremblant (actually Mont Tremblant is an entire ski village).

The problem for Mont Blanc then was how to stand out online. The site itself was unremarkable (some would say thatกs a compliment). Searches for Mont Blanc often brought up Tremblant first; in searches for Trembland, Quebec skiing, and other central topics, Mont Blanc rarely showed at all.

Within two months, this all changed. Currently Mont Blancกs website receives over 700 visitors a day in peak season, and the site rivals Tremblant (and itกs millions of dollars in marketing power) for top search position in all of Quebec skiresortdom. In the first year, the changes we put in place brought a documented 30% increase in overall revenues and a 100% increase in new winter hotel guests coming through the website. These first year revenues alone paid for the search optimization as well as a rebranded website (several times over).

Powerful Branding and Positioning

While search engine optimization has little to do directly with brand appearance, it is not useful to drive large amounts of traffic to a website that does not represent the company, product, or service well. Fortunately, Mont Blanc was open to a redesign and new strategic position, and we had the opportunity to help develop a new site and branding position that would maximize the effectiveness of both the optimization, and the related marketing (and specifically the siteกs ability to convert the traffic we were about to develop into sales). Calling Mont Blanc ‘the Regionกs FamilyFriendly Ski Resortก we positioned it against the massive Tremblant, and other competitors, focusing also on the value that skiing at Mont Blanc represents (about 40% less than Mont Tremblant), and less crowded. In design, photography and content, we developed online and offline collateral that established a clear and consistent brand.

Copywriting for Optimization

The development of a new site also provided the opportunity for us to do the copywriting and to help create a site structure that was ideal for search optimization. The development of a new site is a กbest caseก situation for search optimizers because it allows us to stack many factors in our favour that may be off limits later (such as page structure, programming methods, and key content and content volume). Copywriting focused on language that would match the searches that our research told us that users were running to find ski resorts in Quebec. At the same time the site was structured to present these terms in patterns that were ideal for promotion to distinct audiences.

Search Engine Optimization

Our Search Engine research showed that certain terms and phrases were far more popular than others. Search Engine Optimization became a driving force behind the structure and content of the site. We targeted 5 key phrases and won high first page rankings for all of them on all major Search Engines. These included phrases that incorporated the word ‘tremblantก such as กSki Mont Tremblantก (first place on Google and other major search engines). (Note: since Tremblant is also the region name, this is permissible. It is not always appropriate to include your competitors name and other language in your search formula.) We also optimized the site for กski quebecก showing up immediately behind the official skiquebec.org site pages. There is an aspect of momentum in search: as Mont Blanc began winning certain key searches and the traffic grew, other opportunities quickly presented themselves and we developed a network around Mont Blanc that pushed the search results even higher.

Site Tools as Part of Search Strategy

The results of this complete make over of Mont Blancกs online and search position show the strength of online positioning. For several years Mont Blanc has (wisely) tracked where each new hotel guest comes from, which allowed them to document the specific affect of the new optimization on hotel occupancy. We also designed a survey tool so that Mont Blanc could capture email addresses (when the resort is not booked two weeks in advance, they send out an email special to this list and it fills). This tool also incorporates a survey which has provided another measure of the success of the SEO work.

Great Results

The optimization and improved positioning had a huge impact on Mont Blanc. As measured in the first year alone, results were:

New website achieve a high first page ranking on all major Search Engines for a wide variety of key terms

The new site drew up to 850 visitors per day; up from 200 on the old site.

Over 50% of site visitors came through search engines more than all other means (links, bookmarks, typeins from print ads, etc.) combined

Mont Blanc saw a documented 30% growth in total revenue

Hotel revenue from the website alone saw 100% growth from the previous year

While Mont Blanc ski resort is an ideal case in some ways, comparable results are possible with most businesses. Mont Blanc showed both interest and the will to make the changes required for success. The more complete the strategy, the better the results.

Ask about your site, and you may be our next case study.

About The Author

Robert Swick has been creating Internet marketing campaigns since 1995 when he developed HelpNet, a payperuse Webbased service that offered Internet users access advice from professional psychologists and psychiatrists from across North America. As an Account Manager with a leading healthcare multimedia company, Rob managed web accounts from blue chip clients including Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Merck Pharmaceuticals, and Merck Frosst Pharmaceuticals. Currently Rob focuses his expertise on the development of Internet marketing campaigns involving search engine optimization, site improvement, and profitoriented email (permission) marketing. Website: www.alphasearch.ca

[email protected]

This article was posted on December 17, 2004

by Robert Swick

Mail Order: A Great Home Business Idea

Mail Order: A Great Home Business Idea

by: Dean Phillips

While the world continues to go catatonic over the Internet and its endless possibilities, thereกs another industry quietly going about its business, racking up billions of dollars in profits, year after profitable year after profitable year. What industry is that? Itกs the mail order industry.

Yes, long before the birth and explosion of the Internet, mail order shopping was a hugely popular and preferred method of doing businessand still is. In fact, the Internet has actually enhanced and contributed to the overall success of mail order.

The mail order industry was created by Aaron Montgomery Ward. Ward sent out his first mail order catalog in 1872 for his Montgomery Ward mail order business located at Clark and Kinzie Streets in Chicago. The first catalog consisted of a single sheet of paper with a price list, 8 by 12 inches, showing the merchandise for sale with ordering instructions.

กWardกs gradually expanded the catalog. They became bigger, more heavily illustrated, chock full of goods often referred to as กdream booksก by rural families.ก

Aaron Montgomery Ward was born on Feb. 17, 1844 and died on Dec. 7, 1913. He first worked for Marshall Field, a department store, as both a store clerk and a traveling salesman. As a traveling salesman, he realized that his rural customers could be better served by mailorder, a revolutionary idea. He started his business with only $2,400 in capital. Montgomery Ward was a mailorder only business until 1926, when the first Montgomery Ward retail store opened in Plymouth, Indiana.

And the rest, as they say is history!

Over the years, Iกve actually owned several profitable mail order businessesselling everything from books to vitamins to my copywriting services.

It really is an amazingly fun way to do business! Absolutely nothing beats the thrill of receiving checks in the mail! And even though Iกm no longer involved in mail order to the degree that I once was, I credit mail order for giving me the invaluable training, experience and skills I use on the Internet every single day.

Not having much success on the Internet? Try your hand at mail order. However, before getting started, I suggest you read the following books:

กHow To Get Rich In Mail Order,ก by Melvin Powers, กMoney In Your MailBox,ก by L. Perry Wilbur, กHow To Make A Fortune In Mail Order,ก by Al Stern and กBuilding A Mail Order Business,ก by William A. Cohen .

Many books have been written about mail order, over the years, but the aforementioned books are among the best ever written on the subject. Granted, they are somewhat dated in some areas, but the information itself is still solid as a rock.

You should be able to find these books at your local library, since they’re alltime classics. However, if you don’t have any luck at the library, try Amazon.com.

These books will provide you with valuable insight into the remarkable and enduring mail order industry, and you just might discover a fun new way of doing business you never even considered before!

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected]

Visit his website at: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

This article was posted on November 12, 2004

by Dean Phillips

Ignite Your Business Success

Ignite Your Business Success

by: Michel Richer

GIVE YOUR BUSINESS A GOOD START

So you want to start your own BUSINESS ? But you don’t know how to make it happen. Here is my best advice to you.

Your first ultimate start must include written goals and plans. Formulate a plan of weekly activity and be persistent in following it—if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Sticking to your plan is essential for success.

Don’t wait for everything to be exactly right to start…THERE WILL NEVER BE A กPERFECTก TIME! Start now, with whatever you have. The things you need will come to you as you work toward your goal. You cannot become successful in anything when you’re trying to do too many things at once.

Treat your business as a serious, fulltime business, and it will become one. Think of your first six months primarily as a training period. Don’t expect large earnings until after youกve educated yourself.

Be patient. Youกll work the hardest your first six months or so and get compensated the least. Big incomes never happen overnight. Always be ENTHUSIASTIC!! Don’t give yourself unrealistic expectations. Realize that what you accomplish is mainly in your hands, no one elseกs.

Also realize that, when you see a problem, 95% of the time there are factors you are unaware of. Don’t jump to conclusions. When you have a problem, present it in a concise letter as positive, constructive criticism. Offer solutions if possible, too.

Not only will this approach get you better results, but youกll be building your relationship with your upline instead of tearing it down. Be organized, but don’t allow the act of organizing keep you from the most important element of a successful business: MARKETING. Market and promote your business EVERY DAY! Don’t let little problems upset you. Concentrate on the many positives…and the กbig picture.ก

Always remember that the only thing that will never change is that there will always be changes. Don’t let changes upset you. Know that you will have to deal with changes and other obstacles, both big and small, continually. Be prepared to be flexible. Don’t be a negative thinker and don’t let the negative attitudes of others (even if they’re family members, friends, or peers) influence you.

All the great men and women in history had to overcome the naysayers who said it couldn’t be done—and then went out and did it. Think for yourself! Don’t be derailed by กperfection paralysis.ก Realize that you won’t be able to do everything perfectly. Do the best job you can, then move on to the next project. Keep learning and keep moving ahead.

HOME BUSINESS DYNAMIC

Every house is build brick by brick. So is your home business ! Of course we all want to go faster. But we have to start at the base first. Itกs a basic law. We are subject to time and circumstances. We have to learn. We have to experiment. With learning and experimenting we get experience. And with experience we become an expert.

We have to set goals. The goals will guide us one step at a time. It will will pave the way to our success. You cannot go on a road trip without knowing your destination. You need a map. You need time. You need to rest. You need to eat. And sometimes there is roadblock. When we hit a dead end we turn back and take another road. But we keep going to our destination.

Itกs the same thing with your home business. There is bumps and jumps and sometimes we crash. But we always keep our eyes to the goal. That is what give us the drive. Itกs our paradise. The goal become our existence. And it is.

By never, never giving up you will reach your goal one day. One mile at a time. Itกs impossible that you won’t reach it. Unless you die. Thatกs the only secrets to success. One client at a time. One step at a time. 100 client at a time. Until you reach thousand like me and make your $100,000 a year and +.

To make $100,000 a year, start by making $100 per month. After that $500 a month. And after that $5000. And so on and so on.

Day by day, your on your way to succeed, week by week your on your way to succeed, month after month your on you way to succeed, year after year your on your way to succeed.

Until you reach your goal in 2 YEARS. (Maybe less, Maybe More.)

We reap what we sow, but the harvest is never in the same season as the planting! Today you are planting…and will be at least for the next several months. Your harvest will come in time. Be persistent. Be patient. Think long term. Take action every day, (no matter how small) to build your business and you cannot fail.

Don’t quit. The only way to fail is if you give up. Remember always…กYou are what you think you areก

Copyright © Michel Richer

PERMISSIONS TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in its entirety free of charge, electronically or in print, provided it appears with the included copyright and author’s resource box with live website link.

Courtesy of: http://hombyz.com

About The Author

Michel Richer is the Business Manager and Webmaster of http://hombyz.com.

He is DEDICATED to helping you succeed on the Internet. With over 10 years experience in internet business and a solid REPUTATION in the industry.

Start Your Internet Business For FREE ! Complete Details At : http://hombyz.com/homebusiness.htm

This article was posted on March 09

by Michel Richer