Being the best means taking cues from the best. When it comes to membership sites, thebest include such big shots as Monster. com, classmates. com, YouTube, MySpace and more. Here are 5 secrets of the big boys and how you can use them to launch your membershipsite. 1. Successful membership sites have a specific niche with a demand for their products andinformation. Think about classmates. com. What a fantastic niche! Imagine fitting the need ofmillions of people that want to connect to their old classmates, or are simply curious to seewhat everybody is up to. What is your niche? Even if it isn’t a niche that will reach millions,the tighter your niche, the more money there is to be made. 2. Successful membership sites know the value of maximizing their revenue by offeringmultiple revenue streams including:• Affiliate Programs• Advertising• Information productsMonster. com is a website that makes fantastic use of their market’s needs by offeringrelocation services, job counseling, resume and cover letter services, education tools, andeven money management tools. They also make money with advertisers and partner/affiliateprograms. Follow the same money making strategies and you’ll be sitting pretty. 3. Successful membership sites realize the importance of building your brand and increasingexposure to your site• Logo• Slogan• Repetitive design elementsYouTube has to be one of the most recognizable membership site logos around. Whetheryou see it from a distance on the side of a bus or at the top of a webpage, it’s instantlyrecognizable because it is simple, clear, and consistent. Three easy rules to follow whenyou’re designing your own logo and slogan. 4. Successful membership sites are successful at generating traffic via various techniquesincluding:• SEO• Content• Linking• Careful choice of keywords• Press releasesWeight Watchers and Elance are two membership sites that have capitalized on the power ofkeywords, word of mouth advertising, and valuable content. Whether you’re searching forrecipes, success stories, or even fitness advice, Weight Watchers has content on the subject. Elance operates a little bit differently, they’ve harnessed the power of the keyword “freelance”to make millions. Use these strategies to drive traffic to your membership site and success is virtuallyguaranteed. 5. Successful membership sites realize the value of keeping your members happy byoffering:• Articles• Trainings• Product reviews• Guest interviews• Content from other sites• Free products to download• Active forums. • Regular e-mail contact• Polls and surveys. Pick any major membership website and take a look at the benefits they provide to theirmembers. Monster offers a full range of services from education to relocation. WeightWatchers offers recipes, menu planning, and support for people with weight loss goals. EHarmony offers a bookstore, advice, and even parenting tips – that’s really jumping the gunbut it works for them. Give your members what they want and then go the extra step, give them what they don’tknow they want – yet. From The Desk Of,Bob Morfordwww. compusewer. info Article & Ebook Depositorywww. compuhosting1. com Free and Paid websites starting at $2/monthly
Secrets of Successful Membership Sites
5 Secrets of Successful Membership Sites
Being the best means taking cues from the best. When it comes to membership sites, the best include such big shots as Monster. com, classmates. com, YouTube, MySpace and more. Here are 5 secrets of the big boys and how you can use them to launch your membership site. 1. Successful membership sites have a specific niche with a demand for their products and information. Think about classmates. com. What a fantastic niche! Imagine fitting the need of millions of people that want to connect to their old classmates, or are simply curious to see what everybody is up to. What is your niche? Even if it isn’t a niche that will reach millions, the tighter your niche, the more money there is to be made. 2. Successful membership sites know the value of maximizing their revenue by offering multiple revenue streams including: • Affiliate Programs • Advertising • Information products Monster. com is a website that makes fantastic use of their market’s needs by offering relocation services, job counseling, resume and cover letter services, education tools, and even money management tools. They also make money with advertisers and partner/affiliate programs. Follow the same money making strategies and you’ll be sitting pretty. 3. Successful membership sites realize the importance of building your brand and increasing exposure to your site • Logo • Slogan • Repetitive design elements YouTube has to be one of the most recognizable membership site logos around. Whether you see it from a distance on the side of a bus or at the top of a webpage, it’s instantly recognizable because it is simple, clear, and consistent. Three easy rules to follow when you’re designing your own logo and slogan. 4. Successful membership sites are successful at generating traffic via various techniques including: • SEO • Content • Linking • Careful choice of keywords • Press releases WeightWatchers and Elance are two membership sites that have capitalized on the power of keywords, word of mouth advertising, and valuable content. Wether you’re searching for recipes, success stories, or even fitness advice, WeightWatchers has content on the subject. Elance operates a little bit differently, they’ve harnessed the power of the keyword “freelance” to make millions. Use these strategies to drive traffic to your membership site and success is virtually guaranteed. 5. Successful membership sites realize the value of keeping your members happy by offering: • Articles • Trainings • Product reviews • Guest interviews • Content from other sites • Free products to download • Active forums. • Regular e-mail contact • Polls and surveys. Pick any major membership website and take a look at the benefits they provide to their members. Monster offers a full range of services from education to relocation. WeightWatchers offers recipes, menu planning, and support for people with weight loss goals. EHarmony offers a bookstore, advice, and even parenting tips – that’s really jumping the gun but it works for them. Give your members what they want and then go the extra step, give them what they don’t know they want – yet.
Is eHarmony Inadvertadly Promoting Free Dating Sites?
There is no doubt that most Canadians have been bombarded with dating commercials from eHarmony promoting their ‘free communication weekend(s)’ or offering the ability to register for ‘free’ and message members for ‘free’ for a certain amount of time – again usually during the weekend that follows the commercial’s air time.
Well what do we have here? We have the word free. And I’m under the impression that if you pump the word free day after day, week after week and month after month, into the ears of single people that don’t have too much money to spend finding someone special or to date, you just might entice them to seek out and join free dating sites – hmmm, what a twist!
It’s obvious that eHarmony wants to take the lion share of people that go online to find other people to date and they know that free dating sites are a force to reckon with when it comes to growing their member base especially when free dating don’t cost a penny. The only problem is, the only real way to compete with free dating sites is to offer something that surpasses what free dating sites offer and that really can’t be done unless they offer something for free. Now what would paid dating site members want for free? Most likely the ability to message other members for free – which again leads us to the word ‘free’, the thought of ‘free’ and the most likely to a search for a free dating site.
This theory hasn’t been fully tested but I’m sure there is a percentage of members of paid sites like eHarmony who have been sitting in their living room, saw the commercial, heard the word free and asked themselves “I wonder if there are dating sites out there were you can sign up for free’ and found sites like FreeDateClub, PlentyOfFish or KissCafe.
Matchmaking Sites Vs Online Dating Sites…eharmony Vs. Match.com?
The idea behind matchmaking has been around for as long as dating. There is always a situation when someone knows someone who would “be perfect” for someone else. And sure many relationships probably started out that way. It takes the pressure off the daters, because the middle man has done the work for them. But the problem is out of every one relationship that started out this was maybe ten have failed miserably. There our “professional” matchmakers that produce better odds because they study people and relationships as a career. But even they cannot guarantee that they will find someone’s perfect match. Matchmaking is not exactly a perfect science…Or is it?
eHarmony is a relatively new concept in online dating. When you look at the big picture, personals have been on the web for a long time before eHarmony was even a thought in somebody’s head. But apparently something in the online dating world had called for a change or at least that is what the founders of eHarmony thought. The whole idea behind the site is that a lengthy, intimate personality profile is the only information needed to find a compatible match. This profile is developed by a relationship expert, or a pyschologist specializing in relationships, or even better, a “relationship scientist”. They use the term “scientifically proven” effectively to give daters the feeling that something more important is going into their online experience. Their matches are “hand-picked” and delivered to them with a shiny red bow and all they have to do is pick which ones they want to talk to. This is a battle of science vs. free will. Sure they get to choose from their “perfect matches” but these customers go into the experience with the idea that whatever eHarmony gives them has to be the perfect person for them because the choices are based on proven science.
The problem with this is that it takes away from the dating experience which should be just as fun as the ensuing relationship. The typical personals websites, like Match.com and Yahoo! Personals, in a way are more like the outside world. Really the only difference is that dater knows who is available and looking to meet someone. But the ability to choose who they want to talk to and who they do not want to talk to is still there. No one swoops down and picks out two or three people and says these are the people who you should be talking to. On a large dating site, there are literally hundreds of thousands available singles, and the only restriction is set by the daters themselves. Do they want to meet someone down the street or from across the country?
If you have not figured it out yet, I am not a big fan of matchmaking websites. Sure they may work well for some people. Those who do not have the time to enjoy the dating experience. Those who have given up on the more conventional way that two people meet, those who do not know what they are looking for, or even possibly those who like having things just handed to them. Dating should be more like a system of trial and error, good and bad experiences, and most importantly meeting people who are not like yourself. How is it that you get to meet new and interesting people that you can learn from, when people are hand-picked for you because they are most like you. It is not like I do not believe in science, I am a scientist myself. But sites such as eHarmony use the term science too loosely. They definitely use it to their advantage, convincing many people that matches that are given them are the most scientifically sound choices for them. But what about the million other singles on their website that they never get to talk to because they answered some questions differently on a test.
The bottom line is that online dating does not have to be all that different from the real world. It should be a fun experience. You should be able to make your own decisions from the first point that you log into the website. Walk up to that person that catches your eye and say “Hi”. The worst thing that could happen is that you do not get a response or hopefully a polite “sorry, not interested”. Go ahead and make some mistakes that is part of the whole experience. But during the process you meet interesting people, experience new things, and maybe do something that you will remember for the rest of your life. And don’t worry people on regular dating sites do meet that special someone all the time, but the also get the satisfaction of knowing that they were able to do it themselves. I am proof of that. If you want to know more about the most popular online dating sites look through the reviews on the top 15 sites. And yes, eHarmony is there because it still is a popular site. How can it not be when you can’t go 30 minutes without seeing its commercials on TV.
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