5 Mistakes to Avoid with Membership Sites

Membership Sites: Tips for Successful Micro-Continuity

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 micro-continuity membership sites 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 monthly or annual membership sites, 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

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 membership sites 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. I am recommending my popular training course on how to set up a membership site to help you launch your new membership site successfully.

I’m author and online marketing strategist Connie Ragen Green. I work with entrepreneurs to create multiple streams of online income and would love to connect with you. Pick up my Online Entrepreneur’s Blueprint and get started right away.