Day 3

Subject: [firstname], is your site conventional or  unconventional?

Hey [firstname],

Yesterday I alluded to different membership site business models; today I want to delve a bit deeper into the subject.

First of all, there's the site type.  Most people start a conventional membership site.  In this business model, you supply all the information on the site.  Usually this takes the form of written content such as articles.  You could also include audio presentations and podcasts.  This can be content created by you, personally, or it can be content you've outsourced and got other people to create for you.  It could also be materials you've purchased with PLR (private label rights).

Alternatively, you might opt to open an unconventional membership site.  This could be a site that has collected or collated data, one that allows access to software or an app (and software as a service is a massive, emerging market) or one that relies mainly on user interaction  think Facebook or Linkedin, technically both membership sites.

Or you could have a combination of conventional and unconventional content.  Probably the best example of this type of site is The Motley Fool http://fool.com which has market data, articles about investing, and interaction from other users.

Then there's your pricing structure 

Free membership sites are always popular and (as I explained yesterday) are a fantastic way to build a mailing list.  The most common type of membership sites are subscription sites, though.  In this model members pay a fixed fee every week/month/year to access the site.

Halfway between these two models is the freemium model.  Here, users can access parts of the site for free, but other parts of the site require payment of a subscription.  This gives access to better quality content or more up-to-date information/data.  It's a good idea to offer a free trial to encourage free users to become paid members.

I've only been able to scratch the surface of membership site types and business models in this e-mail, but I devote three chapters of my membership site guide to the subject.  Download your copy from [link to sales page] today.

Talk soon,

[Your Name]

PS. Tomorrow I'll talk about the most important decision you'll make when it comes to your membership site.  Be sure to check your e-mail then.