24 January 2011 ~ 15 Comments

How Not To Launch A Membership Site

Articles

Biting Off More Than You Can Chew: A Lesson In Changing Direction Quickly

Izzy and I have gotten asked about the launch of our membership site, which was supposed to be today.  Well a funny thing happened on our way to the launch…

From Guide To Course To Membership Site In 23 Days

The quick backstory is this: Izzy and I were planning to create the Foolish Guide to Niche Membership Sites as a stand-alone product.  Then we realized there was a ton to teach plus we wouldn’t know what problems people were having implementing if we didn’t have a way to communicate and update the Guide.  So a membership site concept was born.

Jump to the end of December and we started planning out an idea of multiple Guides as a membership site.  As we were creating it, we got emails from listeners saying, “I hope you include more advanced stuff in this site because I’m not a beginner.”

Oops!  Our whole first month was going to be an Introduction to Internet-based Business.

What we thought was going to be a straight-forward progression of content has turned into two separate training programs.

Double The Training Programs

Training Track 1: Internet Business 101 where we cover in the first month the getting started information and get progressively more advanced each month.

Training Track 2: The Foolish Guide Series where we build our guides over the course of 3 to 4 months and incorporating live feedback from our members.  We will be building 3 to 4 guides per year (instead of our impossible idea of 1 per month).  These guides will be the equivalent of what our competitors charge $1000 to $2000 for.

The big thing–the one Izzy and I are excited about, is the interactivity.  We do know a lot, but we don’t know everything especially about specific problems our members are actually having.  So we came up with several ways all of us can interact, members can get their questions answered and we can create training that is totally relevant.

Interactivity and Collaboration

1. We are going to have at least one teleseminar or webinar per month where you can ask your questions live.

2. We are going to hold weekly office hours in the forum.  Izzy and I will set times that we will be available on a first come, first serve basis and will answer as many questions as we can during our office hours.  We also intend to poke our heads into the forums at varying times during the week to interact with members.

3.  Also, members will be able to submit their sites or ideas for a hotseat where Izzy and I will provide direct consulting to help with your business issues.  This may include critiquing the website, copy or content and provide insights for growing and monetizing your content.

4. Members can meet and collaborate with each other.  Having 10, 20 or 100 people brainstorming on your project is more powerful than having a couple of minds at work.

My typical thing would be to ask you to send me questions by email, but I realized that it would be best to have any questions or ideas you have to be put in the comments below.  This way everyone gets to see what ideas are being put forth and can add to the conversation.

This wasn’t the Big Birthday Blowout I had envisioned for our launch, but as we say in the show, business is never perfect so take action anyway.

Enjoy your Foolish Adventure,

Tim “Countdown Delayed” Conley

PS. Seriously, we want to here your ideas and questions so please go add them to the comments section.

  • http://twitter.com/CondemnationInc Condemnation Films

    Hindsight is always 20/20. But you are definitely making the correct changes. The best approach for this would have been to treat it like an online learning course. Discussion and interaction are key essentials to any type of online learning/training otherwise your audience is just there to absorb the information you provide leaving you no real way to assess if they actually comprehend the message. I completed two Master degrees online using the same format you have now switched to and if this format had been offered in the beginning, I would have been all over that original deal. Congrats on the changes!

  • Many questions

    It will be like a coaching site then… I like it! but will be limited, like 1 review at month or… what? And when you are going to launch?
    Finally, one last question: the course of wrodpress and other stuff… when you will offer it again?
    Sorry, too many questions…

  • 5i5Z9v1

    As they say,’Timing is everything.’ Tim, you and Izzy could not have appeared at a more fortuitous time. I’m about to construct, then launch, a subscription site for me and my daughter. Every time I come up with a question, your very next episode seems to answer it! And now this…

    There is strength in numbers. And when the course is chartered by two pros as yourselves, I’m looking to a bright horizon!

    Thanks for the expertise. And Izzy, get back to work! :-)

  • Mike

    I was kicking around the idea of starting a membership site/social network myself so I’m really curious to see how this turns out.

    Really enjoying your content guys, keep up the good work.

    Michael

  • http://twitter.com/davebrook Dave B

    No question here, just happy it’s delayed as I need a little more time to prepare to “compete” for membership admittance … in the meantime I highly recommend people read “Crush It” by Gary Vaynerchuk it’s very inspiring!

  • http://queengeekllc.com QueenGeek

    As always, I love the idea. I like the teleconference idea…reminds me of a few of Pam Slim’s model (escapefromcubiclenation.com)….2-way conversations going on & very informative. I hope you have some during lunch time for the working stiffs.

    I’m very interested in the technical aspects and since you (Izzy) has tackled some of those typics, it would great to get more details not only from you but others. Tecky aspects such as pay subscriptions via iTunes, aweber + amember and other membership type software, forum details, etc.

    I wonder how the brainstorming w/others will work as a level of trust and non-compete would need to exist to get honest feedback and help.

  • John Lortz

    With the great content you’ve delivered in your free episodes, I can’t wait to see what’s behind the member wall. Having participated in a couple good sized training courses (Video Boss and Rapid Video Blogging) that both included community components and access to ask the instructors questions, I know the value in both, and I’m grateful you’ll be including that here.

    But what I REALLY like is the fact that your offering Tracks so that I can pick and choose what makes sense. After putting out some dollars for those other courses (money well spent), I’m glad to see your intent on letting us choose our direction, and therefore (I’m assuming), keep the cost down a bit… Or at least spread it out over time making it easier to afford.

    Bottom line is… I think the plan sounds great, and I’ll scrounge up the money somehow. Thanks guys.

  • http://twitter.com/jenniferswilson Jennifer S. Wilson

    I am 100% on board with making sure you don’t ignore the non-newbies.. and even nurture their growth and success. I feel there is already a lot of 101 info out there and so much has been covered in blog posts and video tutorials. The true value in a membership site is not how to set up Feedburner (I think Google can help with that), but the human dimension of what makes a niche content site profitable (marketing and more). This is what takes someone to the next level and what I don’t see as much in other courses or membership sites.

  • http://www.thedigitalcelt.com Nancy

    I have a couple of questions for you.
    Will the memberships be limited?
    If someone joins ‘the club’ a few months after the launch, can they have access to material from previous months?
    If I pick one track, can I change my mind and move to the other?

  • http://FoolishAdventure.com Tim Conley

    Just to let you know, Izzy and I are reading the comments and questions. We’ll make one big response so our answers can be found in one location by everybody.

  • FrankC

    I’ve enjoyed the current pattern where you and Izzy discuss a topic. And just as informative (or can be) is the Comments section (and questions) WITH your responses. Following these threads can prompt more information through YOUR ANSWERS that may not have been in the original presentation. Love it so far.

  • http://twitter.com/16x9cinema Carl Olson

    Product, launches, website launches, software launches, even the Saturn 5 launches had delays. But think about it… what if the Rocket Scientists did not delay a Saturn 5 launch and fired up the F1 engines anyway when it wasn’t ready? Probably would have been an epic disaster. Yet, we do not really remember the delays in launch. What we remember is the success of 12 men walking on the moon. :)

  • BradK

    I love the idea of an interactive membership site for content creators. I have been working on my membership site for the past several months. As we get closer to launch would love to see a Tim and Izzy version of the Product Launch Formula.

  • Sillyme

    Want to know how it all works? Listen to this man…..
    http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html

  • http://www.liznessstudio.com Liz Ness

    Looking forward to the launch and completely understand holding off until it’s ready. Can’t wait! PS: I love how you’ve been discussing things — one topic at a time. Very useful.

    As for me, I’ll be looking forward to learning as much as I can about the marketing side of an internet business. I’m fairly technical and feel confident in the tools/content side of things — I’m just not sure how to get customers (I mean, I’m catering to a niche and creating stuff they want, but how do you let those that don’t already know about you, know about you — or, in this case, me?). =)