Why should I build a website using WordPress?

WordPress is free and makes it easy for you to edit your own pages. Things have a come a long way since the early days of the Internet, so it’s no longer required to spend tens of thousands of dollars to build a website. You also get a common look and fell to all your pages without having to edit each page individually.

Why do I need an email autoresponder?

An email autoresponder is a way to capture your web visitor’s contact information, such as name and email address. Then you can contact them whenever you want with helpful information, or a sales offer for example. Many visitors won’t contact you directly until they’ve built up a relationship with you. You can get them to sign up for a few newsletter, or free report, then over time send them a series of emails to try and get them to buy something if that’s your goal.

What is a Content Management System?

A content management system, or CMS for short, allows you to add and edit content from the browser. This is because the content is stored in a database and gets inserted into the common look and feel of your site (known as a ‘theme’ or ‘template’). So basically the content is separated from the graphical/layout aspect of your site.

What is a membership site?

A membership site is a website that charges usually a monthly subscription fee in order to access content. It can also be called a virtual learning environment, interactive learning environment or e-learning to name a few. Think of it as having a social network like Facebook but for a smaller niche market of passionate customers on your topic who pay to get access.

Can’t I just take advantage of my expertise by selling books, ebooks, DVDs, or consulting/speaking?

Sure you can. We’ve found that due to sites like Facebook and MySpace people want to be part of a community and interact with fellow members. What better way to enable this than to create a membership site? It also is great for generating recurring revenues as long as you are providing value with your content and interacting with customers in the forums.

Why would someone pay to access content when there is so much free content on the internet?

People will pay for useful content. With the information overload out there, they are looking experts like you to put it all in perspective, filter out the garbage and so on. People like to be part of a community or group. It also makes them feel special due to the site’s exclusive nature.

Why should I create a membership site?

Everyone who owns a business wants to retain a relationship with each customer. We want to sell products to them over time and get their feedback. A membership site will generate recurring revenues each month – the automatic charging makes it easier for customers to remain a member because they don’t have to think about the decision each time they decide to buy from you. Think about banks, cable companies, etc – they charge you every month on your bill without any effort on your part. Sites like teachingsells.com,  jimmybrunoguitarinstitute.com, workshoplive.com and seobook.com have already been doing this for years.

What features should be contained in a membership site?

A membership site should:

• be able to protect your content (not allowing unauthorized access)
• allow you to create multiple levels of membership at different pricing levels
• allow you to charge by the month, week, day or for a lifetime
• provide the ability to create email marketing campaigns
• allow you to create affiliate programs so that others can sell subscriptions for you and get a commission
• allow you to create discussion forums for your customers
• allow you to upload and edit content without knowing how to program
• allow you to embed video, audio and images into your site
• allow to you modify the look and feel of the site
• integrate with PayPal and other payment systems

What is involved in setting up a membership site?

A membership site is much more complex than a regular website. This is because it requires a database and lots of functionality to make it work. To get a site running you need to:

• Create the page content and structure
• Design the site to look the way you want it
• Create the membership levels
• Create the forms for logging in, signing up, forgotten passwords
• Create and manage the affiliate marketing campaigns
• Create and manage the email marketing campaigns
• Back up the data on a regular basis
• Dealing with user questions, technical problems

After launching the site you will need to interact with the users who have questions, get user feedback, upload new content, deal with any technical problems with the site