There is an online business model I’d like you to get acquainted with. This business model is Membership Sites. Although Membership Sites have been around for sometime now, the past few years have seen a huge leap in the amount of Membership Sites online.
Membership sites can come in many forms. They can be totally free sites requiring only a sign up. Or, they can be paid Membership Sites requiring a sign up and a recurring payment. Payments can be once a month, every three months or whatever payment structure you decide on….depending on what the market dictates. Sometimes Membership Sites are free but offer a paid upgrade (such as a gold membership) with more info, videos etc. Once the sign up is complete your reader is mailed a password for entrance. Some Membership Sites include a forum where you can share ideas with others and develop relationships. Personally I think adding a forum can be a very important element as people then get connected to others and it becomes a circle of friends….beyond just the business model.
The beauty of a paid Membership site is obvious…recurring residual income….not to be confused with passive income because it does require on going attention and work. But, the beauty of it is this….your work reaches all your readers at one time through your Membership site. This creates leveraged income. Leveraged income delivers value to one person or a group of people at the same time.
How many people can you reach with your Membership site?
We are all familiar with musicians and actors…they often receive residual income for a product they produced one time such as a CD or movie. The same principles apply to paid Membership sites. Your customer signs up once and they are billed on an on going basis….producing recurring income for you. Get enough readers interested in your topic to sign up and stay signed up and you can create quite a nice recurring income for yourself. And, retire early… 😉
The trick isn’t so much to get your readers to sign up….but to retain your readers once they do sign up!
Membership sites do take monitoring…and continual great content to keep your readers coming back. You can write your own content or outsource some or all of it depending on your budget…or possibly some of both. If you are really passionate about your topic, writing your own posts will allow your personality and passion to show through and that’s something that your readers will connect with. Readers feel more than we give them credit for and “feeling” someone’s passion through your content can be addictive to your readers.
Bottom line is you want to keep your readers. They are your cash cow. Keep them happy…and hungry…always looking forward to coming back for more. They signed up to your site to learn something…teach them well, and they will come…and stay.
Create enough residual, recurring income for yourself….and the lifestyle of your dreams will manifest. More importantly you create FREEDOM for yourself. You are no longer tied to a brick and mortar environment but can operate your business from any where in the world that you can get an Internet connection.
Now that’s freedom! Next we’ll continue our exploration into Membership Sites and the value they add to your life….and finances. 😉
To your FREEDOM and mine,
Kathy
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