Help with setting up a subscription service

Discussion in 'General Marketing' started by Moresco79, Jul 11, 2006.

  1. #1
    Hi all.

    I've identified a great niche which has a solid demand and third-rate supply.

    The "supply" would involve giving information to people on a monthly basis.

    Can you help me understand what services are available to make this as pain-free and automated as possible? Ideally I'd like visitors to come to my website, decide to sign up for the subscription via credit card or Paypal, and then be added to a list which could receive a brand new piece of information each month. The information itself is simply written word, so would a newsletter suffice?

    I have noticed that Aweber will provide opt-in scripts and monthly newsletters, but I'm guessing there are services which also incorporate the subscription element into their service.

    Sorry if this post seems a little wild and general. I hope you can give me some pointers!
     
    Moresco79, Jul 11, 2006 IP
  2. Neil.Harvey

    Neil.Harvey Peon

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    #2
    Hi

    I would probably go for amember.com which is a subscription/membership management php script (installed on your own server).

    That could be used to allow your customers to join and plus it has a built-in email function to send updates to your customers. Then I would use WordPress blog (as it's easy to add new pages on the fly) or a similar script within the protected members area to give your customers the content each month.

    You could just send your customers the content via email. But with the aggressive filters these days, some customers might receive the email. So would I suggest making the content available on your website, and just send a simple email update to notify your customers.

    And not only that, by placing the content on your website. You can then also offer/recommend other related products.

    There is probably a lot more ways of going about creating a subscription membership. But the above is how I would do it, as it's cheap and amember works great with automating the signup process.


    Regards
    Neil
     
    Neil.Harvey, Jul 11, 2006 IP
  3. Moresco79

    Moresco79 Peon

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    #3
    Hi Neil.

    Many, many thanks for the reply.

    The only reason why I would send the subscribers the email is for sheer convenience purposes. It makes a great selling point "...direct to your inbox every month..."

    Something I am curious about though. If I was to set up with a site like Amember which took credit card payments, how would I "see the money"? Is it deposited straight into one's bank account? It's my first time dealing with this kind of thing, so I'm curious to know how it works!
     
    Moresco79, Jul 11, 2006 IP
  4. Neil.Harvey

    Neil.Harvey Peon

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    #4
    Hi

    Using amember it as many payment modules. 2 being paypal and 2CheckOut.

    I personally use amember with paypal, so I receive the payment directly in my paypal account. When someone joins, they enter their details and then sent to paypal to complete the payment. After that, the customer returns to your website with their membership already setup :)

    Re:
    The only reason why I would send the subscribers the email is for sheer convenience purposes. It makes a great selling point "...direct to your inbox every month..."

    That's a good point, so you could still send via email and also have it in the members area, in case members misplace the email etc. And again the other reason I would have the content on your site is to add related products :)


    Hope this helps

    Regards
    Neil
     
    Neil.Harvey, Jul 11, 2006 IP
  5. websiteideas

    websiteideas Well-Known Member

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    #5
    I'm curious about your idea. What kind of information are you thinking of providing if you don't mind me asking?
     
    websiteideas, Jul 14, 2006 IP
  6. Moresco79

    Moresco79 Peon

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    #6
    Hi Websiteideas,

    Basically it's giving HOT job leads to a certain market on a monthly basis...

    And the great thing is that *not anyone* can find these hot job leads. You need to have top contacts in the market who can get the information - and I have the contacts :)

    I envisage next-to-no competition for a VERY hungry market.
     
    Moresco79, Jul 15, 2006 IP