Subscription Software

Convert Your Free Members into Paying Subscribers

Show your visitors that membership does have its privileges! If you haven�t already put the protected membership area of your website into place, that�s the first order of business. Pick up some quality subscription software that will streamline the subscription process and manage your membership database.

If you already have a good base of subscribers who have been receiving your content and using your site for free, it�s important to give them a �heads up� that soon they will need to become paying members in order to keep using your site. Give them an explanation for the change. �We�re growing FAST, and in order to keep bringing this valuable information to you, we need to pay the bills!� Send emails to give them all the new and exciting information about the switch. Also post it prominently on your front page. Give them a deadline to expect � a month�s warning would be a good idea. �Effective June 4, our terrific content will be available to paying members only!� Tell them what they will still have access to as free members.

During this transition period, beef up your site, add any new content, and keep them informed of the updates and future plans. Finally, offer them a special membership rate if they sign up during the transition period.

It�s a good idea to continue offering some free access � existing free users won�t feel completely shut out, and new visitors to your site will have the option to try for free. Your job now that you have both free and paid sections of your site set up is to keep recruiting those free users.

Tease Them
Your front page should have items that offer clues to what visitors would be able to access if they were to join. Give people a reason to browse farther into your site. Provide downloads with the promise of more if they become a paying members. It could be software, music files, or special reports � as long as the item holds specific appeal to your site visitors.

Well-placed links to a variety of articles that promise useful information will help draw them in. Certainly, don�t give them the whole article, just the lead-in or maybe even only the headline if it�s a grabber.

Many websites with a membership base have message boards where community members can interact. If this is true of your site, perhaps have the latest discussion topics or the openings to the latest posts fed onto your front page � but don�t let the visitors in! Plenty of recent posts and new articles will demonstrate that you have a dynamic website with a lively group of members. If there�s action, people will gladly pay the cost of admission.

Lots of �good stuff� is your site�s biggest selling point. Make sure that your high-quality and abundant content is obvious on your front page; and that the link to become a member is there in the middle of all that action. Payment plans choices � monthly, quarterly, annually - will make membership available to a broader spectrum of people.

Sign Up Now!
How many times have you seen this on a site? Did you sign up? Probably not. It�s important that you explain what they are signing up for and why. Spell out how membership, both free and paid, will benefit your visitors. Describe what they will get, how often, and how much. �For weekly horticultural tips, access to the last 100 years of the Farmer�s Almanac, and a thriving community of gardeners worldwide for discussion and backyard pest trouble-shooting, join now!� If they realize they will profit from being a member of your site, they will clamber to join.

Choose a flexible subscription software like Profile Manager solution, so that you can customize your signup page to only ask related information. Keep it short and keep it related. The signup rate will increase greatly if you keep it short. People don�t like typing. Especially their personal information which they have typed thousands of times before. How many times did you leave a sign up form because it was long and boring?

Keep in Touch with Your Free Members
Your free members are merely paying members who haven�t paid yet. Keep in touch with those free members by sending a weekly tip via email, or a sample article from the members� only section. Give them just enough to whet their appetites. Tantalize them with news of new items on your site, and keep them notified of special offers. Gently remind them of the benefits of membership.

Some subscription software will let you have multiple levels of subscriptions. This is a very good functionality and you should use it. Once someone is already a member and spending hours in your site, they won�t mind paying too much, since they have already tried and tested your site and all they have to do now to complete the payment is to click on an �UPGRADE!� button.

Freebies
In addition to all they get by becoming members, reward new paying members with a freebie! Free gifts encourage folks to join. It doesn�t have to be pricey, but it does have to be pertinent to your audience. Give them an e-book, a music CD, a pound of coffee, or the ever-popular tote bag. Who doesn�t love a free tote bag? �Become a member today and receive this lovely brass key fob.� Whatever you decide to use as an incentive, make sure it�s something that would be desired by your visitors, and make sure they know about it! Advertise it on your site and in any emails you send out.

Trust Me
People won�t turn over their money if they don�t feel it�s safe to do so. They need to feel comfortable with you and your website. Your site needs to look clean and function properly so you appear competent. If you have broken links or stale content, visitors will assume you aren�t �tending the store.� Keep your site up to date and check the functionality frequently. Visitors need to know you�re there and that their money isn�t going into a vacuum.

Build trust by letting people get to know you. Have an �about us� section explaining who you are and the purpose of your site. A FAQ should be available to answer common questions.

A professional membership site should have a privacy policy stating that you will not provide members� information to any third parties. Visitors will feel much safer signing up if they know you�re not selling them out.

Offer your contact information, and if they contact you, respond promptly and courteously. Include testimonials from happy members on your website so new folks will see that others feel your site is reliable and valuable.

Once they join, send a confirmation email so they know that everything went smoothly with their transaction and that you are darn happy to have them! It�s a simple way to let them know you are there and that you appreciate their subscription.

Stay in touch, tell them what they�ll get for joining and why they should join, build trust, and make it easy for people to become subscribers. Keep your website exciting and your teasers enthralling. You�ll soon have members by the bunch.