Archive for May, 2017

304: Don’t Be Forgotten or Passed Over Online, Create a Membership Site Instead

Do you fear being "forgotten" online? What if you put in all this time, money, and energy, and it doesn't lead to making money?

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What if, 1.5 years from now, you look back and realize that all the work you've done building an internet presence, putting in the work day-in and day-out, pursuing your dream, all amounted to nothing? (scary)

I'll be completely honest. You SHOULD be afraid of time running out, and going out of business, but (possibly) not for the reason you think...

Worried About Online Competition? You SHOULD Be!

• YouTube users watch over 1 billion hours of video content per day, and according to the Wall Street Journal, that's set to eclipse TV viewership in 2017.
• Over 6,000 books are published PER DAY according to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), (1200 in China and 800 from the U.S. alone -- every single day)
• As of late 2016, 60 million business are actively marketing on Facebook (4 million of them using paid ads)

Are You Worried About Giving Up, Burning Out, or Quitting?

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are 28.8 million small businesses in the United States, and only one-third survive ten years. 82% of businesses fail because of cashflow problems, either not being cashflow-positive or from mis-management.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that: 400,000 new businesses appear every year, but in that same year, 470,000 close up shop!

The good news is: being a lean startup or "one person business" is easier that ever. According to a study performed just a few years ago, 8.6% of the U.S. workforce consists of solopreneurs and is expected to grow to 24 million people by 2018. Compare that to a McDonald's franchise that costs $750,000 in LIQUID assets to start-up, in addition to about $1 million in startup costs and now you're forced to pay up to 12% in gross sales back to that corporate office... no thank you.

And, I'm sure you've experienced those moments of doubt, uncertainty, and panic about what you're doing with this "Internet" stuff.

Are You Worried That Your Internet Business Will Eventually Fail, Leaving You With Nothing To Show But A Lot Of Wasted Effort?

1. I'm sure that you have way more ideas in your head than you have time to implement in just 24 hours every day
2. Chances are, you've started more projects, websites, and membership sites, than you've finished
3. I imagine that, like me, you've seen one or two sites out there and been JEALOUS that they beat you to the market -- and -- probably set something up better than you had imagined
4. It is my hope that you've skipped right past the low-baller stuff like affiliate marketing, CPA, solo ads and banner ads and instead looked to the low-hanging fruit of making money online: membership sites

Now, have you thought about this?

What If, Without A Guide, You Sort Of "Fudge It" And Crank Away From Membership Content?

Again, without anyone to guide you, what if you created a "sales letter" and added some stuff to get people to buy?

What if you only "guessed" about price points, where to get traffic, how to setup drip content, weren't sure about membership software or where to host your site, your design (website theme)? Doesn't that seem like only 1 possible way to go right and about 200 ways to go wrong?

(In the same way you might embark on a cross-country road trip with GPS vs. no map and no direction... how likely is it, with random trial-and-error, that you'll arrive at your destination?)

Can I Make It Simple For You?

First, decide who you are and what you do. What solutions you have to offer. How can you help "me" to get what I want? (With stock trading, real estate, WordPress, etc.)?

Seriously, don't skip this. What will I HAVE at the end of your course and your training? For example, if you teach me how to sell on eBay, I shouldn't end your course with "some ideas" on how to sell on eBay. I should end with actual SOLD ITEMS on eBay! An important distinction.

Setup WordPress (I want to show you that) and install a simple membership plugin (I'll give you Wishlist Member for free too), and take payments with something like PayPal (also free, they just take a very small percentage).

Create something called a sales letter that convinces people to join, and a button where they can join and pay you money.

They pay that money, and create an account in a membership site of yours (even if they made ONE single payment with nothing recurring) to get access to some downloads.

Now, this is important.

Please Avoid "tricks!"

Don't drip content or try to pad stuff, just deliver a simple solution to a simple problem that people have.

Membership sites, including creating content, making a sales letter, getting sales, preventing refunds, and producing evergreen income, is within your grasp, as long as you give yourself permission to finish what you start.

Look, I realize that these days, you have a ton of things distracting you. But! Here is what you should NOT do if you fear having a failing online business:

• do NOT ignore everyone around you jumping on the membership site, online course, WordPress, passive income bandwagon. You will NOT wait it out! Membership sites and online courses are not fads, anymore than the Internet was a fad, or Facebook was a fad, or PayPal was a fad
• do not run into panic mode and give your content away for free, or run to low-ticket offers, or delete your list and try to sell to a "handful of $5000 clients"... without name recognition, traffic, a huge list, affiliates and JV partners, and other offers, that simply won't work
• do not continue on the path you're going now, hoping that things will stay the same. Imagine if you marketed online in 2017 with only a 2007 knowledge of how things are done? What about a 1997 mindset? You must keep up to date, and membership sites are the answer

Here's What You MUST Do Now:

1. Decide that you'll create a membership site (more specifically, a course) instead of "playing" with blogging (which takes years to pick up), coaching (best way to get a coaching client, hand-holding based on your course), or thinking about it without taking any action
2. Solidify what SOLUTION you could deliver to your people in four simple milestones of 60-90 minutes per milestone

These are just two of the actions you should take if you care about your future, your financial well-being, your legacy, and your family.

It's time for you to stop fearing success, stop fearing membership sites and create passive income (leverage) for yourself in 2017.

Hop on this path to get started:

Membership Cube: Create Your Membership Site Today

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303: Ten Closely Guarded Membership Site Insights (Breakthroughs) to 10X Your Online Income

Here's what Lance Tamashiro and I have to say about membership sites:

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This is perfect for you if you've been CONFUSED with all the overwhelm/choices when it comes to creating a COMPLETE and PROFITABLE membership site...

Ever heard anyone say: "just use one of these 10 plugins, one of these 10 themes?" And been left more confused when you started? Yeah, me too...

Membership Site Solution

What helps instead: is, first, have a clear plan of action. Use WordPress to host it on YOUR OWN website. We'll give you the theme (design) and plugins to take payments and do everything else.

We include a special tool inside our Membership Cube course that sets it all up in 1-click:
Your theme, plugins, and "framework" for content so you can edit to make it your own...

Worry about the "fancy" stuff later. It's easier to edit crap than air. Don't let yourself get bogged down with unnecessary choices.

Second, keep things simple. Don't get in your own way creating 2 months or 6 months of content out of the gate. What's the point if no one will see it?

Focus on completing that membership site and creating the BARE MINIMUM so that someone could join TODAY. If that means you only have time for a single web page (sales letter) with a one-time payment button for $50, that's something you'll put in place TODAY (a must-have) and improve on a rainy day if and when you feel like it (a nice-to-have).

Create a way for people to buy access first,
because you don't want to wait until the last minute to do that AND you don't know if you'll feel like it later...

Do It Before Your Time Runs Out

Third (and in keeping with having a clear plan and keeping things simple), do it FAST. Chances are you're the most excited about your membership site NOW and, six months from now, if a "membership site" is a burden that you never setup, you'll never finish. Do it NOW while it's still fresh on your mind...

Fourth, only focus on the things that matter (this is called "80/20"). Drip content, how "pretty" your site looks, are NOT things that could double or triple your income, so focus on the low-hanging fruit instead...

Fifth, sell something that solves a real problem, as opposed to what seems "interesting" to you. This alone is HUGE and most of your competition (most) doesn't get this...

• what if you sold access to a membership site about how to knit your own cable knit sweaters? Is that an actually a DESPERATE problem people are willing to pay money for? (I doubt it)
• how about a course on how to flip real estate or lose weight (Yes! People are asking for that, looking for that, and buying that, so you just have to add your own unique spin on it)
• a course about how to get better grades, how to learn to play the tuba, how to save money couponing, how to quit your day job in 9 years... are people really asking for that AND looking to pay money for it?(Probably not)
• on the other hand... drone racing, dating, weight loss (some very specific solution or method), stock market trading... people want those things

Have a Purpose (Don't Just Run Out the Clock)

What's great about having a real purpose, keeping it simple, doing it fast, focusing on what matters, and solving a problem: you can get to the money FASTER because you're not letting a bunch of things get in your way... you have course-correction. It's good to make mistakes in this case, because every mistake leads to more money...

Listen, I started with info-products and membership sites by teaching something super nerdy... computer programming... and was it a super sexy topic? Heck no, it wasn't...

I quickly realized that my buyers were made of up two groups: other nerdy programmers like me who wanted to pick up some new skills (who refunded often and didn't pay all that much)... and...

Actual business owners who had websites and wanted to use my plug-ins and templates to make more money with their online business. People who wanted some simple instructions on how to write copy for web pages, create podcasts, and so on...

The point is: put some stuff out there, see how people use it and adjust your business based on what those HIGH DOLLAR buyers use, and want. Not just what you "guess" will sell...

Do people care about how many years you've been in business, how many hours you put into creating videos or even how many hours of videos total? Not really... they care about the RESULTS that you will give them.

Technical Challenges Shouldn't Stop You

Six, and getting into technical terms here but not too much, membership sites are just "on" or "off." If someone buys, they have access. If they refund, they don't have access. If they pay you money on a payment plan (which you can add later), they get access. If they cancel that payment plan, it sends a signal to your membership site to cut off access. On or off. Simple.

(Also not getting technical, but membership sites allow you to have "levels" which means you can sell multiple products from just one site.)

Seven, everything is un-doable on the internet, and even moreso with membership sites. I know someone who has been "thinking" about creating a membership site for the last 6 years, and still doesn't have one, and I know the exact reason!

The reason: he thinks "the cost of members downloading content" will cost too much. He hasn't made progress on his membership site in 6 years because a problem that does not currently exist (no content AND no members). Don't become another statistic. Stop thinking about it, because most things that you think are problems, are NOT problems. (Your web host does not charge you when people download or watch content).

Eight, bring your students (buyers) from point A to point B (this is an "online course" that you'll sell for $100-$500 per person).

How much does a book cost? 99 cents on Kindle? How about an audio book? 9 dollars on Audible? What about a uDemy course? 20 bucks? Why?

Because, a regular "book" only contains chapters. Lists. Tips. That's "cheap"...

Instead, figure out where your course will END, and what people will HAVE at the end. Not what they'll learn or know, but what they'll have setup...

Then, break it down into four milestones. Example:

END GOAL: podcast is setup with episodes, traffic, and guests
Module 1: create and publish your first podcast episode
Module 2: add music, graphics, and more content
Module 3: rank your podcast
Module 4: promote your podcast with pre-selling, sponsors, and affiliate products

Each "module" is 60-90 minutes with an assignment (we call it a challenge) to make sure your people don't get overloaded with tips and possibilities. Instead, they take action.

Bonus: by having a membership site that has a clear end-goal (light at the end of the tunnel) -- and not useless monthly tips that last forever --

Nine, and speaking of taking action, DON'T create the content first. Don't launch with all the bellsand whistles like extra bonuses and training calls, software, and coaching.

Save that for the next time you promote your offer. That's a bonus you can add in. And, you can wait until you get some initial customers and ask a few of them (1-on-1 and privately) if XYZ bonus that you were thinking of adding would be welcomed. That way you're giving your best buyers what they want, again, instead of guessing... so...

1. Have a clear plan of action (so you know when you've arrived at your goal)
2. Keep it simple
3. Do it fast
4. Focus on what matters (don't spend too much time on upsells or video #20 if no one has joined and watched video #1)
5. Solve a real problem
6. Membership sites are just "on" or "off" (they're a member in good standing or they aren't)
7. Everything is un-doable with membership sites (don't stress out about future technical problems that may or may not happen)
8. Get your buyers from Point A to Point B (milestones)
9. Don't create the content first -- make the membership site first, including the buy button

And... the BEST thing I can tell you today to get up and running with your membership sites:

Ten, don't start with a "monthly forever" site right out of the gate.

It makes a lot more sense (to me) to create one solution that solves one problem. Charge one single payment. They pay, they get access. If they stop paying, they lose access.

That's the best bang for your buck right now. You can add payment plans, upsells, and monthly stuff later. What's important right now is that you create a membership site tonight, so you can get it in place, get that first paying member, make money --

Finally get rewarded for your online efforts (as opposed to continually starting new projects, not finishing, and not seeing any real results)...

Create a membership site. Keep it simple. Our Membership Cube course will get you to do that:

Join Membership Cube Now to Get Everything You Need for Your Membership Site
(in One Place)

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