The #1 Element of a Successful Membership Site

In one respect I feel pretty lucky. I have great communication with numerous other membership site owners.

I talk with many regularly via email, some via phone and have also met quite a few at various conferences related to membership sites.

Since people have been pretty candid with me about their successes and struggles, I won't breach that trust by giving out specifics about individual sites.

I can, however, give some insight into general characteristics which emerge through talking with them.

The #1 successful element by far shouldn't be that surprising to anyone. Unfortunately, far too many people don't think it through enough and make the same mistakes that other struggling sites make.

That element is: choosing the right topic for the site.

Ok, seems obvious right? If its so obvious, how come so many people repeat the same mistake that others have done before them?

Well, part of the problem is that people jump onto a topic much too quickly before thinking it through all of the way.

Common Topic Mistakes

There are a couple common mistakes I see when people are selecting the topic for their site.

• One excellent point was brought home at a recent conference. The site was answering a question that no one was asking. That is, it provides excellent information about a specific topic but apparently the "demand" for that topic isn't very strong or compelling.
  
  
• Another common mistake is picking a topic that is too broad. That is it is not "niche" enough. The problem with this is that you are attempting to appeal to too many people, on the basis of too many things.

The goal with a good niche site is to instantly be recognizable to your target audience as a "must join!" site. The more specific and niche targeted you are, the more your market realizes that you are offering unique content which is very specific to their wants or needs. (Hint: focus on the wants first!).

Want examples?. Here are some hypothetical topics for subscription sites:

• Chevy's (too broad)
  
  
• Chevy Corvette (still broad - some subscribers but a lot of work to cover them all)
  
  
• Chevy Corvette's from the 60's (likely to do pretty well with good interest)
  
  
• 1967 Chevy Corvette's (now your talking! A specific niche. Those people who want, have or need one, know they need a membership to your site)

Note: those are just examples, but hopefully you get the idea.

The best thing you can do is focus on a topic you are passionate about. Even if you aren't "an expert" in it, you are willing to learn and research about it.

A Confession

I will be the first to admit that I fall into the category of not niche enough to some extent.

While I enjoy a level of success with this site, it could likely be many times more successful if I was laser focused on one particular type of small business web site. It could be for a particular type of business or specific business model online.

Part of the problem is that two years ago, I didn't heed the warnings put out to me. I was told then "not niche enough" by people who's advice I trusted. In the back of my mind I suppose I knew that as well (to some extent) but I also thought I could beat the odds a bit.

I am not claiming defeat by any means and have enjoyed a level of success. After all the site was profitable pretty quickly. The problem is, I see other site owners working less with much more successful sites.

After talking to owners making $30,000... $50,000 even $60,000+ a month it certainly makes me reflect on things.

The difference between us?

The niche topic of their site