Comments on: Creating your own product: E-book vs membership site

By: Marko Saric

Marko Saric — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:47:37 +0000

@Migs – Thanks for the comment. Hopefully the process I go through with this e-book release might help you / inspire you to release the book you have.

By: Migs

Migs — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:19:46 +0000

Marko,

I have to admit, when I first started blogging, I got involved with a membership blog coaching group, which will remain nameless. Also, they had good material at the time but it quickly became outdated. I do appreciate their advice and resources but for almost $90 a month, not only couldn’t I afford it but I’m likely to find the same or similar tips elsewhere (and for free).

I agree with your approach on this, and I understand the points others are making about membership sites. What would the internet become if we all launched membership sites?

Looking forward to your ebook release. I still have an ebook I wrote up a few months ago but haven’t ran with it yet. School is a beast for me at the moment. Really demanding… Anyhow, keep it up man. It’s refreshing to read different perspectives on this topic compared to seeing all the big boys earn their share of the pot.

-Mig

By: Marko Saric

Marko Saric — Wed, 13 May 2009 06:57:13 +0000

@TAG – Thanks! It is easy to get someone to subscribe / buy, but if you want him / her to stay or come back for more you must provide value. And I feel membership sites are done mostly from perspective of getting quick revenue from milking the customer, instead of creating a good product, providing value and building a long term relationship.

By: TAG

TAG — Wed, 13 May 2009 04:17:44 +0000

I really appreciate you writing on this topic. With several “gurus” offering product launches this week and next surrounding this very topic (membership sites, product launches, and info products) one can get a bit overwhelm on which path to choose. But as you mentioned it should be about the customer with long-term benefits for you and the customer (win-win).
You’ve really helped us realign our focus where it should be which is providing our customers/readers with valuable content in a quick, simple format and at this moment that’s e-books.
Thanks!

By: Marko Saric

Marko Saric — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:36:51 +0000

@Kai Lo – Great point! Providing customer support to all the members could be a very demanding job.

@Mandy – Yeah, it is an interesting trend. Many bloggers will “buy” the earn money with membership sites dream, but I doubt many will succeed. It all comes down to your product and the effort you put into it. Nothing is easy, no matter how it may seem.

By: Mandy

Mandy — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:02:51 +0000

I think it can be very easy to jump on the band wagon and start a membership site, all the hype about earning $10,000 per month or more will definitely lure people in (after all we’re only human). But if the target market that it’s aimed at is wrong or if they’re full of fluff, in 6 months they’ll come crashing down because people won’t stay, they’ll ask for refunds!

It’ll be interesting to follow this new trend and see what happens? I’m glad to see you’re looking beyond this and thinking about your readers and not your wallet. Yes there is a place for membership sites but there is also a place for well written step by step ebooks. Good luck with yours I’m looking forward to it!

By: Kai Lo

Kai Lo — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:44:55 +0000

Definitely go for e-book format. In a membership site, you have to spend a lot of time interacting with members. I’m not saying you don’t interact with readers on your blog, but you’ll have to do it more frequently.

If it is $30 per month, people expect to get their money worth. If it takes you awhile to reply to members, they might get upset. Also, worst case scenario is what happens if you end up going to hospital for a month or two. In that case, now you are really pissing people off.

Definitely the e-book. After you publish it, you can go party and relax for a bit. In a membership site, you have to deal with good members and bad members. Bad members are obnoxious, but you have to deal with them because they are paying $30 per month. That is a lot of headache if you ask me.

By: Marko Saric

Marko Saric — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:32:11 +0000

@Sharon Hearty – Welcome to the Thesis world. As @Tony Frost said, there should be some tutorials on it at Thesis site. It is a pretty simple process.

@Adam Pieniazek – I agree. In membership sites you can include video / audio lessons where you can basically walk the customer through the process of setting something up / doing something.

By: Adam Pieniazek

Adam Pieniazek — Tue, 12 May 2009 10:39:13 +0000

There’s certainly value in both, they’re different products and should be looked at differently with different target markets involved. The membership sites might be more suited for customers who need a bit more hand holding while e-books are great for people who want to quickly ingest information and apply it themselves.

By: Tony Frost

Tony Frost — Tue, 12 May 2009 08:52:05 +0000

@Sharon Hearty
Re the webiste; someone over at the Thesis forum should be able to give you instructions on installation.