Important Tools You Will Need to Build a Successful Membership Site

Jeremy McGilvrey Dec 8, 2021 - Building a membership site may seem like an onerous, monumental task that’s not for the weak of heart marketer. This is a misconception that many beginners and even intermediate marketers have - and it’s far from the truth.

With some study and application, even a newbie to online marketing can build a relatively profitable membership site. Of course, reaching a 4 to 5 figure monthly income will take a bit longer, but it’s within your reach.

In this article, we’ll look at the basic tools you’ll need to create your membership site. You’ll be amazed at how easy it really is.

A domain -

It goes without saying that you need your own domain to build out your membership site. Do note that you may have an umbrella site for your niche, but it’s highly recommended that you build each new membership site on a different sub-domain.

For example, you may own a site fitnessgorilla.com. This is your main domain where you make blog posts, etc. on fitness, diets, and so on. But what if you wish to have a membership site on recipes.

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You’ll build out the membership on a subdomain (subdomain.fitnessgorilla.com). Members who sign up will get new recipes monthly.

In the future, you may have different memberships for topics such as bodyweight training, paleo recipes, muscle building, and so on. Each will have its own sub-domain (e.g. paleo.fitnessgorilla.com).
The reason each site needs its own domain is so that the membership plugin you use does not create conflicts within the main site due to different membership needs… and everything is just kept neater and more manageable.

Hosting -

Good web hosting is a must. You want your sites to be secure and load fast. You may choose to start with a shared server when you’re a beginner, but as your site gets bigger and has more members, you may upgrade to a dedicated server. This will mean faster sites, enhanced security, more flexibility, and so on.

WordPress -

While this is not a tool per se, it’s an easy-to-use platform that will make setting up membership sites a breeze. Install WordPress on your domain and build your membership site with it.

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Membership software -

You have no shortage of options here. In fact, the sheer variety of choices you have can be mind-boggling.

There are generally two types of membership software.

The first type is membership plugins sold on sites like Code Canyon where you pay a one-time fee and install the plugin. You can build a membership site with levels and ‘drip feed’ within minutes.

The second type is membership software such as Kajabi, MemberPress, etc. These generally cost more and have a yearly fee. You’ll often find people recommending software like Kajabi as the be-all and end-all of membership software.

Take these reviews with a bucket of salt. They’re usually written by affiliates for the software hoping to make a commission. Currently, Kajabi costs $159 a month (billed annually).

That is pricey. If you’re a beginner marketer - plonking down such a significant amount on membership software when you don’t even know if the membership you’re building is viable yet - is not a wise move.

Use a cheaper plugin that’s reliable and has a one-time fee. It will be more manageable for you financially. Once your membership site is profitable, you can get more advanced software and upgrade your site.

Autoresponder -

This is so basic that it shouldn’t even be mentioned… but it’s so crucial it shouldn’t be left out. You’ll need an autoresponder account to build a list and send emails promoting your membership site to people who have downloaded your freebies.
You’ll also need to email your paying members every now and then so you can build a relationship with them. You absolutely MUST have an autoresponder.

Amazon S3 -

This service provided by Amazon is called S3 (a simple storage service). If you have lots of videos or huge files on your membership site, it’s best to host them on Amazon S3.

It’s inexpensive and you’ll not clog up your hosting account’s storage. It’s also much faster to download files from Amazon S3.

Payment processor -

You’ll need to set up a payment processor to accept payments and also charge your members monthly. You can use PayPal or Stripe. These are the 2 most commonly used processors, but there are others out there too.

Affiliate tracking software -

Affiliate tracking software such as iDevAffiliate, Post Affiliate Pro, Affiliate WP, etc. will help you manage your affiliates and you can have options to decide if you’ll pay them a fixed rate or a percentage of sales and so on.

If you’re planning on having affiliates promote your membership site (and you should), you’ll definitely need affiliate management software.

Other tools -

Besides the ones mentioned above, you’ll need accounts with different social media platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, etc. It’s all free, and very useful for getting organic traffic.

You may also wish to have a survey tool such as Survey Monkey. This will help you conduct quick surveys of your members to see what types of information they want or check their level of satisfaction with your service.

You can even use it to do a quick exit survey to discover why people are quitting your membership.

These tools and services will help you immensely when building a membership site that’s efficient and profitable. Don’t panic or worry about the technical details.

Most membership software comes with tutorial videos and documentation to help you. When it comes to WordPress, autoresponders, etc. there’s a wealth of information available on YouTube and Google to help you out.

You just need to get started, and today is as good a day as any.

Jeremy McGilvrey Digital Marketing Agency
Address: 1 Riverway Ste. 1724, Houston, TX 77056
Email: hi@jeremymcgilvrey.com
Tel: 800.746.1522
Website: https://www.jeremymcgilvrey.com

Jeremy McGilvrey is an Award-Winning Digital Marketing Agency and provides premium services in Landing Page Design, Sales Funnel Design, Business Websites, and Email Marketing Consultant services.

This release was published on openPR.