025: Membership Sites for Beginners: The Best Plugin or Platform to Create Simple Membership Sites with WordPress Today

Problem

  • Download page: frustrating checkout process, people can share it, not scalable
  • Setup membership site: get stuck about details, dead-ends, pieces fit together (Authorize.net, Stripe, etc.)
  • How to get members, how to retain members, how to grow and not create a chore for yourself

Solution

  • WordPress (lost password, no FTP, schedule content) — membership sites are just “on” or “off”
  • Wishlist Member, PayPal, $97 (that gets it done tonight)
  • Solve a real problem in 4 modules of 60-90 minutes (exciting stuff with a real demand & competitors)

Case Studies

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023: Structure, Create and Price Your Wishlist Member Membership Site in WordPress

Today’s Sponsor: Membership Cube

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Structure

  • 4 modules (60-90 minutes)
  • 3 bonuses (software, checklist, quickstart video)
  • Front-end product: they can upgrade for the difference

Create

  • Camtasia Studio (plus iPhone) to record
  • Video Player plugin (or YouTube) to put it online
  • Get transcript, screenshots, PDF for the written component (Lulu + Kunaki)

Price

  • Launch: $97 or 5 x $19.95
  • Re-Promotion: $197 or 5 x $39.95
  • No trial (except as a “special” limited time gift): 99 cents for 7 days

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022: Drip Content Quick Membership Tutorial for Wishlist Member or Member Genius

Our Sponsor: WP Drip

WordPress Membership Site Crash Course

  • Setup WordPress, Wishlist Member, and WP Drip
  • Add a “Core” level with the main content
  • Pages: Module 1, Module 2, etc. Posts: ongoing weekly or monthly content
  • Give them everything they need today, even if it’s a 30+ day course (seems obvious but has to be said)
  • Drip content (space your posts/pages out, day 3, day 5, etc.) and sequential content (upgrade rules, add to level “Bonus 1” after 30 days)

Drip Content Quick Tutorial

  • They get 30 days upfront, and you probably only need to drip once per week or month: not every day
  • “Sync” your autoresponder to give them reminders every once in a while to login (by hand)
  • Don’t overdo it: people are the most excited when they first join that site

Private Tags Within Posts or Pages

  • Link in menus (top links) and widgets (sidebar links): as they become available
  • List of upcoming content (with specific dates they’ll access each thing)
  • Special “snippet” or “shortcode”: [ protect “NameOfLevel” ]protected PDF or page link[ /protect ] so that dashboard page grows on its own

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021: Mine the Gold or Sell the Shovels?

Today’s Sponsor: Membership Cube

Is it possible to kill your own business? We’ll answer the following questions and more:

1. How do you decide what to charge for or what to give away for free?
2. How do you deal with competitors?
3. Are you giving away your best secrets? Aren’t you creating competitors?
4. Are you making things “too competitive” and flooding the market?
5. Are you pricing too low and screwing over the marketplace?

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020: Pain of Disconnect: Simplify Your Marketing and Reduce Refunds in Your Membership Site

Today’s Sponsor: WP Notepad

CONVENTIONAL LOGIC
– big box of crap: they’ll never be able to download or use it all
– drip content: barely give them anything so that they’ll never cancel
– give them something new per month so they’ll stick around for that “one” thing

ACTUAL SOLUTION
– give them a reason to keep logging in (i.e. videos play directly on the site instead of downloading)
– WP Notepad: note taking area, checklists
– software: occasionally add new features (i.e. Backup Creator and Google Drive), or Feedback Patrol in Dropship CEO

RULES TO LIVE BY
– sell what you sell: avoid upsell, sell one solution to a problem (this makes it easier to explain anyway)
– you can’t fight the refund or chargeback period: offer a money back guarantee, and position this as: if it doesn’t do X, get your money back
– make it so they won’t quit: surprise bonus, coaching call, deliver what they asked for

LATER
Membership Site Tracking
How to Manage All Your WordPress Membership Sites
How to Setup a Membership Site in One Hour or Less

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019: Crack the Code Mentality vs. Teaching the VCR Instruction Manual

CONCEPT
– combine a few tools together to get a “better” result than usual (i.e. process to make an outline, process to speak out a book including hardware, process to get the book transcribed, process to publish the book)
– free tools if possible, or included ones (very few prerequisites)
– get to the endgame (published book) as fast as possible
CASE STUDIES
– magic software: Video Sales Tactics personalized button and headline, WP Import with searchable articles
– library: Graphic Dashboard, Profit Dashboard
– process: Make a Product, Income Machine, Dropship CEO (templates and repeatable step by step process)
LESSONS
– there’s a balance between speed, understanding and power: go mostly for speed
– some people are buying just to see it’s possible, others are buying to do it once and farm it out later
– most students will procrastinate or disregard rules, so repetition is important: checklists, challenges, and recaps

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018: Membership Directory Case Studies Using WP Kunaki (Included with Membership Cube)

VO Success Formula: directory of other members to network
– collect and list entire address, email, website, phone number (for a list of businesses)
– or just website URL (for example, a list of small business owners or voiceover artists)
– browse by country and state OR by zip code (with mobile locator)

Dr. Charles: Vampire Facelift
– promote brands like Vampire Facelift, O-Shot, etc. People in a specific town find a “provider” near them
– providers pay $97/month for the training and to be listed in the directory
– retention: if they cancel, they’re out of the directory ($2500+ per patient)

Potential Uses
– certified software or plugin installers: add specific buyers who show they can install your plugin to a list of official installers
– service or gig swaps: members can buy or use other services (other examples: authors who review each others’ books, speakers who send their overflow gigs to others)
– certified people you’ve trained: for example, a video creation or article course where the “graduates” can advertise their services in your directory

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017: Membership Site Directories Using Wishlist Member (or Member Genius) and WP Kunaki

Today’s Sponsors: WP Kunaki and Member Genius

– collect addresses with the built-in popup (it keeps asking and you’re notified once they verify)
– quick phone call to say thanks, quick postcard or SendOutCard after they buy
– Lulu manual or Kunaki DVD

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