Are membership sites still profitable?

[Purres]

Hi webmasters, need your suggestions to make my decisions. are membership sites still profitable as it used to be.

Your honest contribution will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Nytshade]

Hi Purress,

Yes membership sites work very well and I don't think they'll stop. The one thing that got me to cancel most of my subscriptions is that most people who run membership sites don't ask their subscribers what they want. They just give you what they think will be best for you.

Some people use a cheap or free membership platform and they never test to see if everything is working fine, most people don't.

Sometimes you just get bombarded with content after content, like a robot.

What I'm trying to show you is that people who run membership sites are the ones who give membership sites a bad reputation. Membership sites are one of the best ways to make a passive income.

My advise would be to go for it, it's a really great business model. Just make sure you survey your subscribers and give them what they want, they'll stay longer.

Hope that helps.

 

[Developer]

... are membership sites still profitable as it used to be ...

OMFG YES, and let me tell you what I find works AMAZINGLY well...

I started a site about a year ago and all I use it for is to setup little "mini membership" sites. Each sites offers tidbits about their respective niches. I post 4 - 5 articles each month and send a notice via mailing list to all members.

Now, I only charge $4 - $7 per month BUT with many members for each "mini" site, the $$$ adds up quite nicely.

The key is to remain actively involved, and on point, as much as possible. No one wants steal or irrelevant information. All keeps things updated and continuously provide fresh valuable content.

Setting up a "mini" membership site like this is extremely simple to do too and can even be done on topics you know NOTHING about.

For example, if you've ever met me in person, you would know I am THE LAST person who you would ever expect to receive health and fitness tips from. I am overweight (partially due to a disability, but mainly due to my love of food, LOL), I smoke almost a pack and a half a day, ALL I drink is soda (or "pop") AND I LOVE LOVE LOVE my deep fried foods...

Now, even still, a few of my very very successful minisites focus on the H&F industry.

As I said above, I know nothing about it (but learning more and more each month), but going out and doing a little bit of research isn't that difficult. Plus, each "research session" I find enough info for 5 or 6 months worth of content. Drop-feed those into a blog or an autoresponder series and you're all set...

Now, obviously there is a little more to it than just what I posted above, but I am sure you get the gist.

Anyway, the answer to your question? YES and they're relatively easy to setup and maintain (if don't right)...

 

[Ron Killian]

It's like anything, it works if you work it. What you get out of it depends on what you put into it. Don't know why the model would stop working.

Developer spelled it out quite well. As usual As did Nytshade.

Membership sites are one of my favorite models, right next to digital products.

It can be surprising how long some members can stay on. Nothing like recurring payments.

Also, there are so many different versions and ways you can go with the model.

 

[Web Marketing Tool]

Yes they are. Just be sure to have good content or some other value that you add to it. I've done website work for 100's of membership sites and normally the ones making money are the ones that have value added (although I've also seen some totally bogus ones make lots of money). I would say about 30% of the sites I did work for made money, which I consider to be a pretty good success rate compared with other businesses. And yes, it can be surprising how long some people pay and they aren't even using anything (like how people pay for a gym membership).