We highly recommend WishList Member to create any of the membership models we covered in this episode.

The Big Question

I am often asked “Sandra I know you are in favour of creating recurring monthly revenue and membership sites. However I have a small list. Should I create a membership site?”

I reply “Yes and no. Yes you should create a membership site but not a membership site that follows the traditional/publisher model.”

The Problem

You see the traditional/publisher model promises fresh ongoing content on a monthly basis. The client pays for access to the content each month. The problem is the client never knows what they are paying for ahead of time. This “unknown” drives some people mad and they will instantly cancel their membership or never sign up in the first place.

As the owner of the membership site the stress is on you to create new and fresh content each month that your clients would enjoy and get great value out of it. This may not seem like a problem at the beginning but it will become a problem around the six month mark, trust me, I have been through it myself and I see clients and colleagues go through it too. Unfortunately you end up resenting your membership site and your members

If you have a small list chances are just a few people will sign up for your membership site. So you can imagine your frustration when you spent your valuable time and money to set up a membership site when only a handful of people enroll and less people show up to your live training sessions.

Two Solutions

Instead of following the Traditional/Publisher model consider the Micro Continuity Model or the Self-Study/Modular Course Model.

Micro Continuity Model

A micro continuity site is very similar to a traditional membership site, but unlike the traditional membership sites where there is no set “end date,” micro continuity sites have a set “end date.”

It’s up to you how long you want your micro continuity site to be active. If you are offering a six-month training program you may want to offer a membership based site for six months. Members would be able to access training materials, training schedules, homework assignments, appointment booking calendars, bonus materials, and the list goes on and on.

When the program completes you have the option of closing the micro continuity site or leaving it open so that paid clients can continue to access materials.

Self-Study/Modular Course Model

If an ongoing membership site is not your thing, you can also offer self-study programs by using WishList Member’s “sequential upgrade” feature.

Let’s say you have a three-week course. Each week a new lesson will automatically be sent to anyone who has purchased your self-study program. At the end of the three weeks, you have the option of allowing clients to continue to have access to the materials or you can cancel their access.

What I love about setting up a self-study program like this is that you are giving your clients bits of information over a period of time and not overwhelming them with all of the course information at once. I also love that it does not have a scheduled start date. Anyone can buy access to your self-study program at any time or day, so you can promote it all year long.

Each paid client will gain access to Lesson One on the day they register and will receive Lesson Two the following week, and so on. So while some clients are on Lesson Three, others may be on Lesson Two. It’s the perfect passive offering.

A tool to help you build your membership site

Traditional membership sites, micro continuity sites and self-study modular courses are just a few examples of how WishList Member can enhance your offerings and expand how you are using WordPress.

Believe me, I’ve created numerous membership sites with programs that were unintuitive, expensive, energy suckers. For $97 you can grab this WordPress plugin and create your own membership site with any of the above membership models.

Visit http://wpblogsites.com/wishlist for more details and to purchase the amazing plugin that has changed thousands of ways in which entrepreneurs are doing business.

Let’s look at the daunting task of cleaning out your closet. Most of us don’t want to do this task because it can be overwhelming and we think the closet my send us into some kind of clothing vortex. But we bravely walk into the closet with a bunch of garbage bags and thoughts of getting rid of clothes that no longer fits and giving clothing that is still in good shape to someone who can get great use of it. Those are all great thoughts and actions, until….we find the shirt we forgot all about. Everyone has one of these. You bought a shirt, wore it once then it somehow hid under some other shirts in your closet and because you didn’t see it, you forgot all about it. Now that you have been reunited you are in love with this shirt all over again! It’s like having a whole new wardrobe!

What do you think will happen when you go through your computer? I can tell you that you won’t find a new shirt, but you will come across lists, templates, documents, emails etc that you have written and completely forgot about. As you read the content that was “hiding” in your computer consider how you can use this content to create new ebooks, course material, home study programs or perhaps it is added to the content you offer members in the membership site you have been thinking of creating. It is a great way to reuse and recycle the content you have already created, work less and work smart!

By the way, you can use WishList Member and WordPress to sell your ebook, protect your course material, deliver your home study program and set up that membership site you’ve been dreaming up!

Need help setting up WishList Member? We can help!

Are you a Virtual Assistant who is looking to become a Membership Site Specialist? We are teaming up with Cindy Greenway and Tina Forsyth of HotSkillsVATraining.com and offering WishList Member training starting Monday January 24th http://hotskillsvatraining.com/membership/

What interesting things have you found while spring cleaning your closet or your computer? Comment below.

For example, could they turn that 6 week coaching program into a 6-week home study program?  Or could their one day webinar be broken down into a 5-day program?

Or perhaps their mp3 recordings could be sold individually or grouped into a package?

WishList Member, a premium WordPress plugin can be used to manage the sale of an individual digital product or a group of digital products.

Imagine how seamless it could be to create a home study program where new content is made available each week without having to manually add  new content for each participant.

A product like this can be sold at any time throughout the year and would increase your client’s revenue, making you look like a superstar!   (Remember, our clients want to make money in their sleep!).

Do you know how to help your clients leverage their content?  Any business owner would love to have someone support them in this area … they really have no idea what to do.

Learn more about what Virtual Assistants MUST know about Membership programs, join us and Wishlist Member Certified Sandra De Freitas on Monday, January 17th at 1pm Pacific / 4pm Eastern. Sandra’s insight (and hilarious sense of humour) make this call a must-attend.

I look forward to having you join us >>  http://tinyurl.com/2fpqr6q

Many people have tried to turn WordPress into a membership site but in the past it’s been quite tricky, time consuming and frustrating! I spent a good month trying to set up amember on my membership site 2 years ago. I was up until 5 in the morning trying to get it to work they way I wanted it to work

That’s why I was very excited when I found out about WishList Member last winter.

It’s a membership solution that was specifically built for WordPress and WordPress only.

The best part is, it has all the features you would want in a membership solution AND it is compatible with all of your other favourite WordPress plugins!

Plus, they’ve added some very cool features to make running and managing a membership site a whole lot easier.

Take a look at it for yourself. But if you have questions about WishList Member and you want them answered before you buy it, feel free to leave a comment on this post or ask me a question on Twitter.