Is Micro-Continuity Right for You? Questions to Ask Before Starting Your Own Membership Site

Transcription

1 Is Micro-Continuity Right for You? Questions to Ask Before Starting Your Own Membership Site Presented By Connie Ragen Green And Based on Training from Kelly McCausey of SoloSmarts "Membership Sites with Recurring Income Allow You to Create Multiple Streams of Online Income Almost Effortlessly." ~ Connie Ragen Green 1

2 3 Important Questions to Ask Before Starting Your Monthly Subscription Site There are several great reasons to start your own monthly subscription service. You might want to start one to grow your audience, make more money, and expand your business. But before you jump right into this new business venture, there are three important questions you need to ask yourself. Question #1: Is this is a profitable niche? It doesn t matter if your subscription service has the best content on the web if no one is willing to pay for it. You don t have to spend six months researching a niche audience in order to figure this one out. Just look around. Are there other products that are selling well in the niche you plan to build your subscription service on? If there are, then you can check this item off your list. But if you find that there are no existing products, then your niche may be too narrow or your audience may be unwilling to spend money. Question #2: Is this subscription site going to interest my existing audience? Many solopreneurs that launch successful subscription sites have already built an existing audience. This is essential because you want your existing readers and subscribers to join your new membership site. Don t launch a subscription service for dentists if your primary audience is lawyers. You ll only confuse your followers and overwhelm yourself by serving two different audiences. Question #3: Is this a recurring need? You want to build an audience that consistently needs what you have to offer. It s okay if your product seems pretty basic so is toilet paper but people still buy it each month. Remember if your audience doesn t need or want to use your product each month, then it might be hard to generate sign-ups for your subscription service. If you have an idea for a subscription site, then you should carefully evaluate it by asking the questions above. A great guide that will teach you how to start your own subscription site is Little Monthly Payments at This step-by-step resource shows you how to generate an idea for your subscription service and implement it. 2

3 4 Advantages of Creating Your Own Subscription Service If you re an established solopreneur, then you may have considered creating your own subscription service. By starting one of these services, you can sell the same item (like social media graphics or short reports) to hundreds or even thousands of subscribers. But that s just one benefit of creating a subscription service. If you d like to learn more about this business model, then read on to learn more. Advantage #1: More time. As a solopreneur, time is one of your most valuable assets. With a subscription service, you don t have to go out looking for new buyers in order to get paid again. You just release a new product each month and reap the profits. You ll save time that you can use to grow other branches of your business or to spend with loved ones. Advantage #2: Keep costs down. While you may have to pay for a few technical tools in the beginning, the long-term cost of running a subscription service is low. This is not a business model that you ll have to sink hundreds or thousands of dollars into every year. You pay the initial costs then just up-keep or maintenance costs for things like hosting and domain names. Advantage #3: Subscriber loyalty. When you consistently provide good content to your subscribers, they will become loyal. This is important to growing your business because happy, loyal customers are often willing to tell their friends or co-workers about your product. This can put even more money into your pocket each month. Advantage #4: Subscribers spend more. Once you ve converted a subscriber into a loyal customer, then he is likely to look at your other products and services. A customer that feels like he s receiving a lot of value for his $10 subscription will be more willing to pay for your $100 coaching session than a cold prospect would. This means that you shouldn t be shy about sharing your other products and services with your current subscribers. Starting a subscription service is a big task. But that s where a course like Little Monthly Payments can help you. You ll find that the process of launching a subscription service is broken down into easy to follow steps that you can start taking today. 3

4 Don t Make These 5 Mistakes with Your Subscription Service In the initial excitement of starting your own subscription service, it s easy to overlook seemingly small details. But overlooking these things can cause your subscription site to quickly fail and your business to lose loyal customers. That s why it s important that you avoid making these five mistakes when you start your subscription service. Mistake #1: Promising More Value than You Can Deliver The whole point of starting a micro-continuity site is to charge buyers a small amount each month and give them something valuable in return. But don t offer more than you can possibly give. For example, maybe you re a web designer that wants to provide cheap graphics each month to your subscribers. Don t throw in a free website critique each month for every customer. That s too much value and can actually have the opposite effect. Buyers may suspect that you re compensating for a poor subscription service by adding something so valuable to the mix. Instead, keep it simple and only offer what you can reasonably deliver each month. Mistake #2: Not Having a Clear Plan for Regular Content You don t have to create content a year in advance, but you do need a plan for how and when you re going to ship your monthly resources. If you don t have a plan in place, you re more likely to become disorganized and miss your own deadlines. Your plan doesn t have to be complex but do write down the steps you need to take each month. For example, maybe you offer monthly reports for your subscription service. You should write down every step you take each month from brainstorming your report topics to gathering graphics for the covers. You ll also want to include the names and contact information of any content providers you outsource to. Mistake #3: Failing to Provide a Start Here Page When it comes to paying for a subscription, most buyers make the purchase then attempt to log into their account. If they can t find the resources they bought, they may panic or worry they ve been taken advantage of. This is why having a start page in place can be helpful. On this start page, tell new buyers exactly how they can access this month s resources. Mistake #4: Not Preparing for Technical Issues 4

5 Regardless of how well an online business is managed, there are always technical glitches. Maybe half of your subscribers can t login to their accounts. Maybe your download link doesn t work in a certain browser. These are technical issues that might be small, but when you have a large number of subscribers, you may find yourself spending more time on technical support than on promoting your subscription site. This is why you should have a dedicated support team in place. Hiring a virtual assistant or two can help you streamline your technical support so you can focus on other tasks that boost your income. Mistake #5: Failing to Offer an Affiliate Program The best advertising method is still word of mouth. Most popular affiliate programs offer a percentage of the sale, usually around fifty percent of the purchase price. But despite the profit cut, it s still a good deal for subscription site owners. This is because you only pay your affiliates for visitors that actually converted into buyers. Creating a subscription service is fun and exciting, but it also takes a lot of work and preparation. Remember to keep the five points above in mind as you work to launch your own subscription site successfully. Summary You can see that setting up and running your own membership site with monthly subscriptions takes some thought and planning. I have been using membership sites as a business model since 2008 and love the communities I create, as well as the recurring income. Once you have gone through this special report you will be ready to begin! To Your Massive Success! Connie Ragen Green Get Started Today at Affiliate Disclaimer: Many of my recommendations are provided through an affiliate link. This means that I personally use each product, course, or training I recommend and that it has received my "Green Seal of Approval". At no time will you ever pay more, and many times I have negotiated a special pricing so that you receive additional benefits through my link at no additional cost. 5

6 About The Author Connie Ragen Green is a bestselling author, international speaker, and online marketing strategist who is dedicating her life to serving others as they build and grow successful and lucrative online businesses. Her background includes working as a classroom teacher for twenty years, while simultaneously working in real estate. In 2006 she left it all behind to come online, and the rest is history. She makes her home in two cities in southern California; Santa Clarita in the desert and Santa Barbara at the beach. In addition to her writing and work online, Connie consults and strategizes with several major corporations and some non-profits, as well as volunteering with groups such as the international service organization Rotary, the Boys & Girls Clubs, Benevolent & Protective Order of Elk's (BPOE), the women's business organization Zonta, and several other charitable groups. As the 2016 recipient of the Merrill Hoffman Award, presented to Connie by the Santa Barbara Rotary Club, being honored with this award has strengthened her resolve to serve others around the world in any way she is able to by using her gifts, talents, and experiences in a positive and sincere manner. Please pick up one or more of my books as a way to get started on the path to online entrepreneurship. If you're not sure where to begin, simply hit "reply" to any of my messages and I will respond to your questions promptly. 6