dealhunter
Regular Member
- Oct 22, 2008
- 214
- 30
Great post, Thanks alot.
$2000/mo Membership Site Using Offline Marketing
- Thread starter grafxextreme
- Start date
theviralguy
Senior Member
- Dec 16, 2008
- 1,040
- 333
I am trying to setup a membership site over Joomla using this method. I'd love to share tactics with some others doing the same. Send me a PM if you would like.
- Nov 28, 2008
- 1,460
- 1,326
I've had a few PM's asking me about the difference between the membership site I propose in this posting and the ones the IMG's recommend or try to sell training for.
Why do I believe mine would be more successful?
When "membership sites" became all the rage a few years ago I joined quite a few of them to see what was available and how they were be presented. They were all hosted by the IMG's. Few, if any of them, are still around.
Why?
Because IMG's have a short attention span. They love the adrenalin rush of launching a new product but by the time it's about three months old they've gone on to other things.
The time to join any membership is in the prelaunch stage and the time to get out is three months after it's launched. Why? The quality goes downhill quickly after that.
In the beginning the IMG's are trying to impress their cronies with their cleverness so their cronies will promote their sites. Then they're trying to impress the first few subscribers of the high quality of the items or services they offer. But when all the excitement is over and the subscribers are not pouring in at breakneck speeds then they lose interest.
From then on you discover that they're not updating as often as they once were. That they're borrowing heavily from others. They're inundating you with third-party offers from their cronies. And the quality of the product or services has all but evaporated.
These are the people who are charging you huge sums to learn their "secrets" to running a "successful" membership site. Why shouldn't you follow their example? Because you don't have their cronies with massive lists to promote your site. You don't have access or the funds to hire their graphic designer, copywriter, support people, programmers, etc... In other words you don't have the skill level, experience or budget they have. Without these things you're doomed to fail.
All the business concepts I post here and on my own sites are intended and designed for noobs. People with very little experience, limited skills and budget. They're designed to place you into profit instead of frustrating you while you try to figure out how to compensate for skills, experience or budget you don't have. I'm not intent upon showing you how to build a successful business. My intent is to show you how to build a realistically profitable online business. Sounds the same but there is a difference in mindset.
When you create your membership site — keep this in mind. The real goal of your members is to make money. To earn a profit. Not just any profit but net profit. If you can show them how to do this then you'll cultivate what consultants call the "hyper-buyer". The ones you can't get rid of and DEMAND you sell them something.
By cultivating the "hyper-buyer" you've separated yourself from the "so called" IMG's who have to re-invent the wheel ever month in order to maintain their profitability. You move from someone who has to chase after new business to someone who is being chased after. Someone people WANT to do business with. Who are willing to follow your recommendations and will pay you for your expertise.
The name of the game is NET PROFITS not GROSS PROFITS. IMG's live and die by GROSS PROFITS. That's their "con". That's the con they make you believe and the ones they believe in. But any real business owner can tell you a business profits is not in the GROSS PROFITS, it's in the NET PROFITS. The profits you have in your wallet after you pay all the expenses. This should be your ultimate goal. This is the difference between the IMG's membership sites and mine. I focus on showing you how to earn NET PROFITS.
Hope this helps to clear up the confusion....
Why do I believe mine would be more successful?
When "membership sites" became all the rage a few years ago I joined quite a few of them to see what was available and how they were be presented. They were all hosted by the IMG's. Few, if any of them, are still around.
Why?
Because IMG's have a short attention span. They love the adrenalin rush of launching a new product but by the time it's about three months old they've gone on to other things.
The time to join any membership is in the prelaunch stage and the time to get out is three months after it's launched. Why? The quality goes downhill quickly after that.
In the beginning the IMG's are trying to impress their cronies with their cleverness so their cronies will promote their sites. Then they're trying to impress the first few subscribers of the high quality of the items or services they offer. But when all the excitement is over and the subscribers are not pouring in at breakneck speeds then they lose interest.
From then on you discover that they're not updating as often as they once were. That they're borrowing heavily from others. They're inundating you with third-party offers from their cronies. And the quality of the product or services has all but evaporated.
These are the people who are charging you huge sums to learn their "secrets" to running a "successful" membership site. Why shouldn't you follow their example? Because you don't have their cronies with massive lists to promote your site. You don't have access or the funds to hire their graphic designer, copywriter, support people, programmers, etc... In other words you don't have the skill level, experience or budget they have. Without these things you're doomed to fail.
All the business concepts I post here and on my own sites are intended and designed for noobs. People with very little experience, limited skills and budget. They're designed to place you into profit instead of frustrating you while you try to figure out how to compensate for skills, experience or budget you don't have. I'm not intent upon showing you how to build a successful business. My intent is to show you how to build a realistically profitable online business. Sounds the same but there is a difference in mindset.
When you create your membership site — keep this in mind. The real goal of your members is to make money. To earn a profit. Not just any profit but net profit. If you can show them how to do this then you'll cultivate what consultants call the "hyper-buyer". The ones you can't get rid of and DEMAND you sell them something.
By cultivating the "hyper-buyer" you've separated yourself from the "so called" IMG's who have to re-invent the wheel ever month in order to maintain their profitability. You move from someone who has to chase after new business to someone who is being chased after. Someone people WANT to do business with. Who are willing to follow your recommendations and will pay you for your expertise.
The name of the game is NET PROFITS not GROSS PROFITS. IMG's live and die by GROSS PROFITS. That's their "con". That's the con they make you believe and the ones they believe in. But any real business owner can tell you a business profits is not in the GROSS PROFITS, it's in the NET PROFITS. The profits you have in your wallet after you pay all the expenses. This should be your ultimate goal. This is the difference between the IMG's membership sites and mine. I focus on showing you how to earn NET PROFITS.
Hope this helps to clear up the confusion....
vinnylingo
Newbie
- Jun 26, 2008
- 19
- 10
I'm enjoying your posts a great deal, grafxextreme. This might be off topic, but after your last post, I have to ask. Are there any (internet) marketing gurus you find worthwhile? Specifically Dan Kennedy and a couple of the more old school marketing guys. Abraham, Halbert, etc.
- Nov 28, 2008
- 1,460
- 1,326
Actually there are quite a few....
None of the newer ones who claim they make millions of dollars when it's GROSS profit they're discussing and not NET. That's where the difference is.
You can make $12 million a year but if it cost you $13 million to do it then it's not as impressive as some would have you believe. It's all smoke and mirrors.
Kennedy I love he came from the trenches. Always good stuff. Very detailed. Solid and always adding new twists. Interacts well with others. Never uses shills in the audience. The late Gary Halbert one of the very best. Lots to learn from this old master. Abraham, is very articulate got lucky with Entrepreneur's founding publisher and basically rehashes things over and over and over and over and over....or I should say he "repurposes" the same material. The main problem I have with Abraham is that if anyone studies his stuff and I do mean really study it you realize that he doesn't use the methods he teaches others to use.
All of the above have their "hyper buyers". Acolytes who demand they take their money. Demand they produce something so they can buy it. No matter how much they try to walk away and live a peaceful life these "hyper buyers" seek them out and demand more.
There are many old masters in direct response arena. Some you may never have heard of because they made their money and got out. Or, they never wrote a book or had to go on the "dog and pony" circuit. Or, they may be working in the background of start-up companies.
Back before I retired I worked as a sort of "spokes person" for some masters you've never heard of. They hated marketing. They simply wanted to do what they loved. Whether it was creating PR, copywriting, radio ads, campaigns, etc... They simply didn't want to "market" themselves. I was the "face" who generated the work and would subcontract work to them.
In fact, the next business I'm going to be posting on will describe how noobs might earn a very decent income doing something very similar. Marketing for those who are experts but don't want to market their own services.
But back to your question...
What I look at when it comes to "gurus" is what are their NET PROFITS. Many gurus will boast about their GROSS and get people very excited about how much they made and convincing you that you can make that much also. But the question to ask is what is their NET profit? How much do they have in their wallet after they pay all their expenses?
This membership business for example. I listed how much your initial expenses would be. Your monthly expense will probably run a realistic $125/mo. (business cards, holders, Internet access, gas, hosting, etc...) So your first goal will be to get 13 paid subscribers at $10 each. At that point you're at a break even point.
But as you gain more people you're going to have to invest perhaps $40/mo for new videos or other items to help you build your membership base. In other words you're always going to be needing to re-invest back into your business to ensure it's profitability.
What I've done, which most may have overlooked, is to provide you a way to self-liquidate our business expenses by selling the membership at $10/mo. The real profit is NOT in the $10/mo membership. The $10/mo membership fees only pays for the maintenance and growth of your business and gives you some short-term cash influx (pays your rent, groceries, etcc..). The real profits is in first the affiliate marketing you lead your members through and eventually as your sales funnel narrows into the bigger profits of where you're leading your members.
I mentioned in the first post about coaching. Done correctly this can lead to realistic $100 to $500 per month fees per member. Master mind groups. Webinars. All of this is where the real profits are.
And you don't have to worry about KNOWING EVERYTHING. As my psychology professor told his class, years ago.."You only have to be more sane than the person you're trying to help".
If you follow through with this type of business you'll discover all types of opportunities opening up for you. You'll have members approaching you who want to JV with you. Your expertise will then produce residual royalties for you without any cash investment into their business ventures.
At this point, you may not see what the future can be in this type of business. But something like a membership site, if built correctly and for long term profits, can be extremely profitable for you.
This type of future may seem far fetch to you at this point. Especially if you're a noob. But the thing to remember you won't always be a noob. In a year, two years or three years you'll have mastered many skills and have a lot of experience under your belt. What you're doing now is building a foundation for the master you'll be in the future.
None of the newer ones who claim they make millions of dollars when it's GROSS profit they're discussing and not NET. That's where the difference is.
You can make $12 million a year but if it cost you $13 million to do it then it's not as impressive as some would have you believe. It's all smoke and mirrors.
Kennedy I love he came from the trenches. Always good stuff. Very detailed. Solid and always adding new twists. Interacts well with others. Never uses shills in the audience. The late Gary Halbert one of the very best. Lots to learn from this old master. Abraham, is very articulate got lucky with Entrepreneur's founding publisher and basically rehashes things over and over and over and over and over....or I should say he "repurposes" the same material. The main problem I have with Abraham is that if anyone studies his stuff and I do mean really study it you realize that he doesn't use the methods he teaches others to use.
All of the above have their "hyper buyers". Acolytes who demand they take their money. Demand they produce something so they can buy it. No matter how much they try to walk away and live a peaceful life these "hyper buyers" seek them out and demand more.
There are many old masters in direct response arena. Some you may never have heard of because they made their money and got out. Or, they never wrote a book or had to go on the "dog and pony" circuit. Or, they may be working in the background of start-up companies.
Back before I retired I worked as a sort of "spokes person" for some masters you've never heard of. They hated marketing. They simply wanted to do what they loved. Whether it was creating PR, copywriting, radio ads, campaigns, etc... They simply didn't want to "market" themselves. I was the "face" who generated the work and would subcontract work to them.
In fact, the next business I'm going to be posting on will describe how noobs might earn a very decent income doing something very similar. Marketing for those who are experts but don't want to market their own services.
But back to your question...
What I look at when it comes to "gurus" is what are their NET PROFITS. Many gurus will boast about their GROSS and get people very excited about how much they made and convincing you that you can make that much also. But the question to ask is what is their NET profit? How much do they have in their wallet after they pay all their expenses?
This membership business for example. I listed how much your initial expenses would be. Your monthly expense will probably run a realistic $125/mo. (business cards, holders, Internet access, gas, hosting, etc...) So your first goal will be to get 13 paid subscribers at $10 each. At that point you're at a break even point.
But as you gain more people you're going to have to invest perhaps $40/mo for new videos or other items to help you build your membership base. In other words you're always going to be needing to re-invest back into your business to ensure it's profitability.
What I've done, which most may have overlooked, is to provide you a way to self-liquidate our business expenses by selling the membership at $10/mo. The real profit is NOT in the $10/mo membership. The $10/mo membership fees only pays for the maintenance and growth of your business and gives you some short-term cash influx (pays your rent, groceries, etcc..). The real profits is in first the affiliate marketing you lead your members through and eventually as your sales funnel narrows into the bigger profits of where you're leading your members.
I mentioned in the first post about coaching. Done correctly this can lead to realistic $100 to $500 per month fees per member. Master mind groups. Webinars. All of this is where the real profits are.
And you don't have to worry about KNOWING EVERYTHING. As my psychology professor told his class, years ago.."You only have to be more sane than the person you're trying to help".
If you follow through with this type of business you'll discover all types of opportunities opening up for you. You'll have members approaching you who want to JV with you. Your expertise will then produce residual royalties for you without any cash investment into their business ventures.
At this point, you may not see what the future can be in this type of business. But something like a membership site, if built correctly and for long term profits, can be extremely profitable for you.
This type of future may seem far fetch to you at this point. Especially if you're a noob. But the thing to remember you won't always be a noob. In a year, two years or three years you'll have mastered many skills and have a lot of experience under your belt. What you're doing now is building a foundation for the master you'll be in the future.
angelas111
Elite Member
- Jan 4, 2009
- 1,648
- 1,052
I was thinking about promoting a membership site like this as an affiliate until i can get my own up and running. I think if I started seeing some progress in gaining members it would motivate me to do my own. does anyone know of a good site like this to promote as an affiliate? i am all about residual income. i have a couple of projects that are making me money (epn) but they are high maintainence. i really like the idea of a monthly membership.
jetton
Registered Member
- May 2, 2008
- 57
- 121
grafxextreme, what company do you use to print your business cards? I've used Overnight Prints and they are really good but I'm always looking for cheaper
I have a brick and mortar store in my home town. I use www.gotprint.com for my cards. I can get 5,000 full color front and back for $42.00 plus $10 for shipping. 1,000 cards full color both sides is only $16.00. It usually takes about a week to 10 days to get the cards though unless you pay more for shipping.
- Nov 28, 2008
- 1,460
- 1,326
Just curious if anyone has responded to your inquiry?
This is a very good idea. Get together and brainstorm how to set up the lesson plan. If you get at least ten people who are interested I'll share the key principal that will help ensure your success and profitability in this business venture, to only the attendees of the brainstorming session.
This information alone is worth $5000. And that's not a PFA (plucked from air) value. That's a real value that can ensure your future success and profitability not only in this business venture but in any business venture. This is a principal that you'd have to be part of a marketing consultant's "inner inner circle" to learn and understand.
I'm only willing to share it with those who are serious. Skorpion let me know if any one shows any interest in your idea. This is where we separate the curious from the serious. The dreamers from the doers.
Sure, I just sent you a PM. So far I have 3 people interested in a brainstorming group. We need 7 more!
Just wanted to let everyone know that once we reach 10 ppl we will holding a private skype chat for those who are serious about taking action on this. Grafxextreme is willing to help us out here. Come on guys!! 6 more!
It would be great if everyone who attends could offer ideas within the group. We all dont know it all but if there are more heads throwing ideas and plans for action back and forth than we can leverage this thing and come out with some valuable information that will give us a better chance of success.
It would be great if everyone who attends could offer ideas within the group. We all dont know it all but if there are more heads throwing ideas and plans for action back and forth than we can leverage this thing and come out with some valuable information that will give us a better chance of success.
I just came across this thread tonight, but would like to jump right in as this seems very doable. I'd like to join in on the brainstorming. Let me know.
Thanks!