CHAPTER 64

BUILD LOYALTY AND CREDIBILITY WITH A MEMBERSHIP SITE

One way to strengthen the bond between you and your customers is to have a website established where only those with access privileges are allowed to see all of the content that is stored on the site. These types of sites are called membership sites.

Before you attempt to establish such a site I suggest that you survey your followers or customers and find out what the level of interest is for such a site. If there is significant interest then you can consider pursuing the project. Very few membership websites are successfully established without an already established audience, one that is ready and interested in the topics and content that will be shared on the site.

The membership model has its obvious benefits, but it is not necessarily a simple process to establish a thriving membership site. I currently own and run two separate membership sites that have a total of well over 13,000 members join since they were launched. In my opinion, both sites have had phenomenal success. In this chapter I show you several of the lessons that I've learned from having run these two sites.

A good membership website does not have to cost a lot of money. There are even free WordPress plug-ins that can be used to establish a simple membership site. If you want a more robust solution that includes virtually every conceivable feature, you can invest in a high-end solution such as MemberGate software. Be sure to tell them I sent you ...

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