How To Increase Membership Sales Using Different Revenue Models

Your ability to make money from membership site depends largely on your revenue model When you first start planning your membership, you must think about how much you will charge. You should also consider offering a free membership. nnBefore you jump up and down and ask how you will ever earn money from a free membership, consider this: people are much more likely to sign up to a free membership. nnOnce you start telling them about the extra benefits of the paid membership, they are more likely to upgrade. This can be an extra fast way to get members.nnHow to Offer a Free MembershipnnThere are several ways to offer a free membership in order to gather new members with the potential to upgrade to your new membership.nnOne way is to offer them an initial extra incentive if they sign up while also promoting the free items available in the free membership.nnThe next way is to remind them that the free members area is updated regularly as well; this will entice them to sign up if they know they will continue receiving free gifts, rather than just a one off download.nnRevenue Models for Paid MembershipsnnOffering a paid membership is undoubtedly the best way to earn recurring income online. Before you open your membership up, consider your options as far as fees go. nnDo you want people to pay monthly? Perhaps they should have a choice to pay quarterly or yearly for a discounted rate?nnAlthough you would be earning less overall, offering a quarterly or yearly payment plan locks the member in for a longer period, and delivers a larger cash bonus to your account. nnMake sure you promote the benefit of signing up for a longer term, in regards to how much they will save. Naturally, the savings should be enough to warrant someone to choose a yearly or quarterly membership payment structure over a monthly one.nnThe next part of your revenue model that you need to consider is an affiliate program. Will you have one; and if so, how much will you pay affiliates?nnThe key to gaining many affiliates is to provide many benefits to them, particularly a good commission rate. If your membership costs $47 per month but you only offer a 10% commission rate, affiliates are unlikely to bother promoting your site. On the other hand offering a 50% or even more commission rate makes your program seem highly attractive to affiliates.nnBut I would be giving money away, you say. Yes, you will be; but you will also be gaining many more new members than if you had no affiliates helping. nnWould you rather have no extra members and no extra money, or the 20 extra members that your affiliate sent you that earn you 50% of the regular membership rate? nnWhen you look at it that way, it is easy to see how an affiliate program can benefit you. Of course, once you have a new member on board, you may earn more money from them with upsells, one-time offers, services and other features.nnSpend some time thinking about your revenue model so that you are assured of getting the most out of your new service.