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9:21 pm
June 10, 2011
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QuoteI would really like to get a step by step procedure for setting up a membership site - along with best practices. Everything from taking orders and processing the payment on a landing page to having a few different levels of membership and then storing and directing traffic in the back end.
I think this is huge when it comes to generating some cash flow.
Got something music on your mind? I have a music blog called Musicgoat.com too. Come and submit a guest post.
5:24 am
June 7, 2011
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Hey Corey,
That settles it... I'll definitely do a training module on that. I may not be able to get that together as soon as July because I have some things already in the works, but I'll try to make that a priority. I think this is a big area that musicians are missing out on and it's something I've done a number of times.
Question though, do you guys want me to show you the cheapest and fastest way to do this, or coolest most advanced way to do this regardless of the fact that it may cost a little? There are a number of ways to go... and don't say both 🙂
I will mention multiple angles, just wondering what people want me to focus on.
Anyone else interested in learning how to create a membership site from the ground up?
For anyone who is new to this idea, what Corey is talking about is creating a program like this one (The Insider Circle), but for you as an artist. The idea is to fill it with premium content and charge a recurring fee for access to the content. A continuity program like this is an essential part of the big picture. Let me know if this is an area of interest for the rest of you.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
8:11 am
June 10, 2011
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I'd be open to knowing more about that, yeah! I hadn't considered that as an angle...
best,
Pickett
Preview the New Video Single, 'Beautiful One', Now!
http://www.m-overdrive.com/video
1:30 pm
June 9, 2011
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YES! Would love to see the membership model. If not for anything else I like to see how it it helps guard against stolen content (ie. Paid PDF's, illegal sharing of intellectual property, that sort of thing). I'm sure it would help maintain the value of the paid membership if that stuff was safe.
4:49 pm
June 10, 2011
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John Oszajca said:
Question though, do you guys want me to show you the cheapest and fastest way to do this, or coolest most advanced way to do this regardless of the fact that it may cost a little?
I think it you're going to charge for it there has to be a quality feel about it so I'd go with the later.
Cheers & Blessings
Dave Hoskins
Founder of conscious pop rock band LYRE
"It's like a U2, Coldplay, Lou Reed supergroup bring you songs of hope and encouragement."
5:04 pm
June 7, 2011
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Dave Hoskins said:
I think if you're going to charge for it there has to be a quality feel about it so I'd go with the later.
I think we're saying the same thing, but just to make sure... I meant if you wanted it cheap an easy for you to set up, not for me to create the training module. I just wasn't sure if you meant the collective you in "if you're going to charge for it", or you actually meant me... Okay, now I'm confused 🙂
I'll try to show both methods.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
5:14 pm
June 10, 2011
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Yeah John, I would definitely be interested in learning more about this. I know you said "Don't say both" when you asked about the cheap easy way vs the costlier but cooler version, so how about this approach? Right now there is so much material to absorb and put into practice with everything in MMM, and now the insiders circle (I'm not complaining....just stating facts!) and some of them have some cost involved. Would it be possible to give us the cheap easy way for now, and then later on, say maybe several months down the road, give some more in depth info after we have had more time to get our feet wet and start seeing some increased revenue from the methods you are giving us now?
What would a jam session with Gordon Lightfoot, Collective Soul, and Damien Rice sound like?
Check out Greg Parke and you’ll have a pretty good idea!
5:24 pm
June 10, 2011
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I would vote for cheap just cuz every dollar counts in this thing...
BUT. I don't think cheap has to mean ugly or lacking features. There are a number of standard open source forum platforms that most web hosts allow you to install automatically and for free.
My question about building a membership site would be what are the successful methods a band might use to draw people to pay a monthly fee to be part of the forum - and keep them there? I don't want to hijack this thread since it was specifically about the mechanics of building a membership site, so I've started this thread about how/why you would use this model: 'How do you draw fans to membership model'
5:28 pm
June 7, 2011
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Greg Parke said:
Yeah John, I would definitely be interested in learning more about this. I know you said "Don't say both" when you asked about the cheap easy way vs the costlier but cooler version, so how about this approach? Right now there is so much material to absorb and put into practice with everything in MMM, and now the insiders circle (I'm not complaining....just stating facts!) and some of them have some cost involved. Would it be possible to give us the cheap easy way for now, and then later on, say maybe several months down the road, give some more in depth info after we have had more time to get our feet wet and start seeing some increased revenue from the methods you are giving us now?
Yeah, totally. You guys run the show around here. I'll be constantly asking you guys what you want to learn and I'll be taking direction from you guys. I'll occasionally be sending out surveys to get everyone's input as well.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
5:30 pm
June 7, 2011
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Daniel Crandall said:
I would vote for cheap just cuz every dollar counts in this thing...
BUT. I don't think cheap has to mean ugly or lacking features. There are a number of standard open source forum platforms that most web hosts allow you to install automatically and for free.
My question about building a membership site would be what are the successful methods a band might use to draw people to pay a monthly fee to be part of the forum - and keep them there? I don't want to hijack this thread since it was specifically about the mechanics of building a membership site, so I've started this thread about how/why you would use this model: 'How do you draw fans to membership model'
Gotchya, I'll make sure to try and cover both. I'll respond to the other part in the thread you created.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
5:32 pm
June 10, 2011
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John Oszajca said:
Greg Parke said:
Yeah John, I would definitely be interested in learning more about this. I know you said "Don't say both" when you asked about the cheap easy way vs the costlier but cooler version, so how about this approach? Right now there is so much material to absorb and put into practice with everything in MMM, and now the insiders circle (I'm not complaining....just stating facts!) and some of them have some cost involved. Would it be possible to give us the cheap easy way for now, and then later on, say maybe several months down the road, give some more in depth info after we have had more time to get our feet wet and start seeing some increased revenue from the methods you are giving us now?
Yeah, totally. You guys run the show around here. I'll be constantly asking you guys what you want to learn and I'll be taking direction from you guys. I'll occasionally be sending out surveys to get everyone's input as well.
Cool John. Can you teach my son how to turn off the lights and do his own laundry too?
What would a jam session with Gordon Lightfoot, Collective Soul, and Damien Rice sound like?
Check out Greg Parke and you’ll have a pretty good idea!
5:46 pm
June 7, 2011
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Greg Parke said:
Cool John. Can you teach my son how to turn off the lights and do his own laundry too?
Yeah, but it will cost you 🙂
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
2:40 pm
June 10, 2011
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Awesome! Glad to see this is getting some attention. By the way, an artist named Matthew Ebel has a great example of what I am looking to do – here is his site http://matthewebel.net/ - he has been doing it for a few years now and clams on the CDBaby DIY podcast to make his house payment just from what he earns via a membership site.
As far as where to focus, I would like to see both obviously but initial focus on inexpensive might be good just to get the ball rolling and giving the artist an idea if it will work for them without breaking the bank.
Also, overall I am more interested in the mechanics of how to best set stuff up. Stuff like integrating wordpress and paypal. Blocking people from content at different levels.
I will shut up now.
Got something music on your mind? I have a music blog called Musicgoat.com too. Come and submit a guest post.
4:16 pm
June 10, 2011
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Corey Koehler said:
Awesome! Glad to see this is getting some attention. By the way, an artist named Matthew Ebel has a great example of what I am looking to do – here is his site http://matthewebel.net/ - he has been doing it for a few years now and clams on the CDBaby DIY podcast to make his house payment just from what he earns via a membership site.
As far as where to focus, I would like to see both obviously but initial focus on inexpensive might be good just to get the ball rolling and giving the artist an idea if it will work for them without breaking the bank.
Also, overall I am more interested in the mechanics of how to best set stuff up. Stuff like integrating wordpress and paypal. Blocking people from content at different levels.
I will shut up now.
Hey Cory,
Thanks for the link to Mathew Ebel. A great example of a membership site!
What would a jam session with Gordon Lightfoot, Collective Soul, and Damien Rice sound like?
Check out Greg Parke and you’ll have a pretty good idea!
9:35 am
June 10, 2011
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John Oszajca said:
Question though, do you guys want me to show you the cheapest and fastest way to do this, or coolest most advanced way to do this regardless of the fact that it may cost a little? There are a number of ways to go… and don't say both 🙂
Personally, I'd like to vote for the coolest, most advanced way. If I'm going to charge people, I want it to be good. 
10:12 am
June 15, 2011
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When I look at this Matthew Abel thing I am just not feeling it... this is a bit over the top in my opinion... There are some nice ideas, like subscription on future albums and access to the back-catalog. But... If someone would pay me a monthly fee, personally I would feel pressured to come up with new material, to give people good value for there money.
I think I'll stick to selling an album when it's released and offering a nice discount on my complete back-catalog...
3:47 am
June 7, 2011
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Jap Jap said:
When I look at this Matthew Abel thing I am just not feeling it... this is a bit over the top in my opinion... There are some nice ideas, like subscription on future albums and access to the back-catalog. But... If someone would pay me a monthly fee, personally I would feel pressured to come up with new material, to give people good value for there money.
I think I'll stick to selling an album when it's released and offering a nice discount on my complete back-catalog...
I can understand that. Though Mathew Ebel does reportedly do very well. That's one of the reasons I suggest an annual membership instead of a monthly one. That way you can load it up with content up front and then just take your time adding content over the remainder of the year. I haven't tested this but something tells me that for music, the monthly ding will just get a little tiring because unlike info products, music is not solving a specific problem. With that said, a $30 - $40 annual fee sounds pretty painless. And if teh artist did really cultivate his tribe within the members area I would be happy to pay it each year.
But ultimately I cannot recommend a continuity program enough. From a business model perspective, it's almost essential. Imagine having 1000 fans paying $40 a year for premium content, as well as front-line sales and special events. Suddenly you have a sustainable career.
For what it's worth... To my mind a successful model for a musician or any personality driven career looks like this...
Consumer level product(s).
Consumer level membership program.
High end product(s).
High end membership program.
Live shows.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
3:49 am
June 7, 2011
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Charley Langer said:
John Oszajca said:
Question though, do you guys want me to show you the cheapest and fastest way to do this, or coolest most advanced way to do this regardless of the fact that it may cost a little? There are a number of ways to go… and don't say both 🙂
Personally, I'd like to vote for the coolest, most advanced way. If I'm going to charge people, I want it to be good.
Okay, cool. Will do. The only thing I might add though, is that for the most part it's not the membership site itself, it's the content and the personality of the host(s) that make a membership site successful. But I'll make sure to cover everything. I've already started setting up some interviews on the subject.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
Hi John.
I would like to learn the coolest, most advanced way (as long as it doesn't require html knowledge). If we're going to charge a fee, we need to deliver - not just the content, but the overall ambience and cool factor. Cheap is just that - cheap (cheap-looking, cheap-feeling). There are other places to save money. Not this one.
Dan
7:28 am
June 7, 2011
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Cool, good to know. Just recorded the interview for next month with one of the owners of Wishlist Member (a membership plugin). I plan to show you how to do it both ways. Quick and cheap and more high end as well.
Having trouble with your marketing? Wish you could have an experienced direct-to-fan marketing expert look over your actual campaigns, music, or content and offer feedback? Or perhaps you’re just looking for a little one-on-one assistance so you can ask questions that pertain to your specific goals and get a second, more experienced, perspective? Click here to book a session with me now.
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