Hi, Can anyone point me in the direction of a good resource for learning about setting up a subscription based website? All I seem to get when I google it is links to jaw-droppingly expensive software. I am in very early stages of planning a subs based website but have never gone this route before. Any and all advice would be appreciated.
Hi there e10 ... you may want to try looking at some of the software packages available at http://www.siteinteractive.com/ ... they have a membership management software product! cheers Frank
Thank you Sayles. I'll bookmark that but I am not even that far along yet. I am looking for a site or forum which discusses subs based sites in the same way I suppose as you might find seo or adsense discussions here.
Thanks to you too, AfterHim, but that's still not really what I am after, unless I am missing something in the vbulletin forum. I did look. I am not looking for a software right now, though I will be doing that later. I'd like to find some discussion on the pros/cons of a subs based site, testing your market, protecting your content and idea... I can't get by the fact that in order to get paying subscriptions I am going to have to prove the content. But to prove the content - how much must I give away? Should I charge more for restricted access or less and let it be a free for all. I need a place to bounce some ideas around without revealing the concept but where people are talking about these and other subs based issues.
e10, it depends on what you're selling and what your competitors are doing. www.boxedart.com - is a good example of a membership site - they're able to give away previews of their designs. www.stockedphotos.com - is run by the same company, is able to offer all their photos but with watermarks on them. www.coursework.info - offers essays, but only the first 200 words or so of each one as a preview. I run some subscription sites and I give nothing away apart from the titles of content because that's how my market works best. So you could consider either: 1. Giving previews of all content 2. Implementing some copy protection - like watermarking 3. Offering the bare minimum Again, it depends on your market and product.
Thanks Blitz, That gives me something to think about. I am considering a set of html pages to build up seo and traffic to support a members-only database of downloadable content. Technically I am whistling in the wind here so will eventually have to buy a software but am looking into different subs models.
I run a subscription based membership site. Ebooks/software/scripts Those are easy because you can have pages set up showing the products. http://www.monthlyinfoproducts.com Software to run this site came incredibly cheap, easy to set up and easy to run.
e10, having a problem finding a suitable resource for you. Just am not finding anything. (business opp for you? ) I don't want to hijack your thread but maybe if you like we can share our experience with you?
Hmmm ... well a biz opportunity for someone I guess. Hope they give us a fat commission for uncovering this hole in the market (Hear that Shoemoney?) Anyway, any advice at all would be a start. This is what I am thinking at the moment - perhaps you can tell me if I am on the right track. New domain or buy related site established but not expensive as the traffic will likely not be so relevant to the end product. Build content, links and all the standard seo stuff to get the site ranked initially. Meanwhile in the background over a period of 3 to 6 months be working on the specialised content that will only be available to members on subscription. Launch subs membership drive with paid advertising in Adwords, relevant newsletters and announcements in local media. Run all the way to the bank to cash in the cheques and buy my ticket back to Thailand.
Okay e10 ... so your plan basically is to set up a site (optimized and all that seo stuff) but charge members for access to very specialized content right? From my experience this can work, but the bottom line is going to be - what are the benefits to the members. Typically what will work is if "there is something in it for the member" - for example, sign up for a membership and I'll help you make money. I've seen this work very well for a couple of gentlemen in a small town near the city I live in. They started a company recommending and tracking penny stocks. They provide their members with weekly articles and track their investments online, for members to view, on the stocks they have recommended and invested in. They are reeling in $750K plus a year on membership fees and their resubscription percentage is about 90%. Not bad for a couple guys in a town of about 5000 ppl. I think they charge $229 /year for the subscription.
Thanks Sayles and everyone else for your input here. I know that the content is good. I have discretely sounded out a few trusted contacts within the industry sector I am aiming at and everyone of them told me it was a great idea and one that they would pay for. From where I am now it looks like an incredible amount of work and a very large learning curve and I am procrastinating like crazy because once this ball gets rolling I think it might just roll right over the top of me. I used to have a mad old Texan friend who used to say Goddamn it girl! Shit or get off the GAWDDAM pot! That's how I am feeling now. Scared to get started and afraid to throw away what might just be the best idea I have ever had.
Hey E10, I run a subs site on the tattoos site in my sig. For the script it was easy and cost around $100 custom coded from a freelancer, sometimes its better to get something coded exactly as you need rather than buy a script that needs modded. Subs are a great way of building residual income, I can show thumbnails as my products are images. 12 month subs are good if you set them up to auto repeat through your card processor, most people forget that they signed up to a subscription so you get paid again in 12 months and come year 2,3,4 you get a hefty amount of repeats - as long as you make it simple/easy for them to cancel.
Hi SJi2671, It is a very different topic but your tatt site works quite like I'd like this new one to. I want the membership part to be quite discrete with the public content providing enough targeted visitors to stand alone. The only ones that will even know that there is more content onn the site are those who will be paying subs... I think hiring a freelance coder is a good idea. The security of it is a concern though.
I honestly don't know Shoemoney. I'm starting with the domain and the foundation content which will take me a while to set up and while I am doing that I will be looking at all the options. Thanks for mentioning Paypal though - for me the simpler the better so if they have something suitable, that might just be all I need. So... are you going to start a subs forum and throw me and Sayles a bone ????
Yah Shoe ... just wrap the bones in $100 bills!!! PS. and don't forget to send us a cap and t-shirt too!