After interviewing Leah Fisch on how to build a membership site, I decided to launch a membership site for my Biology Blog.
I must say – it has been an interesting journey. Ok, interesting is not the right word – maybe CRAZY. But it has been fun.
Listen to This Episode
So what I decided to do was to record this podcast episode about 13 things I learned throughout this process.
It doesn't end there though, I will be continually learning as I build and grow, and of course, I will share all of that with you.
My Thirteen Things
- Don't always assume people know what you're talking about
- Don't be afraid to email often if you are providing value
- People outside of Internet marketing don't always understand marketing
- Be prepared for the unexpected
- You don't need a lot of content to launch a membership site
- You don't need to have everything figured out. Just the first week
- Sales copy doesn't have to be complicated – What are the benefits?
- Get continuous feedback from your audience and make improvements
- Make sure you are clear about who your target audience is, what they want and where to find them
- Use the same content in multiple ways for optimum value
- Don't try to reinvent the wheel – Use what's there
- After the launch is when the REAL work begins
- Bonus: Track EVERYTHING!
Now of course, I go into many more details in the actual podcast episode, so make sure to have a listen.
Transcript
Click here to download transcript.
Resources for this Episode
About The Podcast
Learning With Leslie is a podcast dedicated to helping you build a business around a blog. No, not one of those blogs that will fall by the wayside when Google has a mood swing, but one that will thrive no matter what gets thrown at it.
I share tips and strategies that I’ve learnt building blogs since 2008 and interview experts who are knowledgable about various aspects of blogging so that we can learn from their experiences.
If you’re a blogger, thinking about becoming a blogger (pun intended) or are not even sure if blogging is right for you, go ahead and tune in to see what this blogging thing is all about.
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Love the new podcast graphic Leslie. Also, great information about starting a membership site. This has been very helpful.
Thanks Lucrecer. Glad you like it 🙂
I thought it said 151 things I learned from launching a membership site…next episode maybe?
Haha, by the next episode, I just might have that many 😉
That was fun to listen to Leslie..love your open heartedness in sharing and learning as you go. Gosh….i guess there are loads of people who don’t know what a webinar is…you are going to learn so much on this journey. Thanks for sharing X
Yep, it’s definitely a learning experience, which is why I LOVE it 🙂
Good podcast. This will help a lot of people. Amani and I were just talking about building as we go. Kudos!
Here is another tip: Done is better than perfect. You have to launch!
MAN, why didn’t I think of including that one in there. That is so right. And you guys should definitely think about doing that. It’s not as difficult as people make it out to be. The funny thing is that it’s as difficult as people make it out to be . . . wait a minute . . . did I just contradict myself? 😉
What a great share! I would second what Chip said too, done is better than perfect. Simply because perfect never happens, but when you track like you talked about and make adjustments and change – excellent happens.
I must say Bonnie – I just love the name of your blog. That’s all 😉
Hi Leslie. Thanks for this episode. I just started EngineeringLean (dot) com and I hope to make it a membership site. This will be very helpful. I also run a Bible review site (BibleBuyingGuide (dot) com). I don’t think the topic would allow for a membership site. I have 2 questions:
The first is about increasing my traffic. I’m getting over
200 visitors a day, but I want 10 times that. I’m having trouble ranking for
words like ‘Bible reviews’. What should I do?
The second is about monetization strategies for a review
site. I have a few kindle books that I’ve written and I link to Amazon and
Christianbook. I think a course or membership site wouldn’t work for Bible
reviews. What other strategies would work for me? Should I expand my focus? I’d
like to make Bible Buying Guide a full-time job.
Or… would EngineeringLean (dot) com be better suited for a full-time job that could create dependable income?
Thanks for any advice you can offer.
Randy
Wow, that’s a whole lot more than I can answer in one comment. In terms of traffic, check out my episode #99. I go into that in detail. In terms of monetization, there are so many ways, and you’d be surprised at what kinds of sites can be monetized. If there are people who are passionate about the topic, there are usually people willing to pay.
Thanks! I appreciate it.
You’re very much welcome.
Hi Leslie,
Great value, thanks for sharing.
Do you have any intention of offering an affiliate program for I Biology?
All the best!
I do plan on doing that eventually, but for me – the initial phase is internal. I build that first and then welcome affiliates.
Leslie, do you use aWeber AND DAP? If you use both, could you explain here? Thanks!
I do use both. I use DAP for handling memberships, but Aweber for communication. They integrate well so that when someone purchases a membership, they get added in aweber.
Thanks for the information Leslie
You’re welcome 🙂