Use this checklist to see if your subscription web site idea has what it takes to be a success.

1. The site must offer a unique 'experience' and information unavailable anywhere else on the net. This usually means original material written from a unique perspective. If there have other sites that offer free material recently written by this same author, it can dilute the value of the subscription site.

   The winning concept is "if the visitor to your site wants to read this material, then the only way to do so is to become a subscriber to your site." If potential subscribers believe the same material is available free elsewhere, they will not join.

2. The site must target a very narrow niche market with very specific information on a tightly focused subject. It is far better to have a topic that hits the 'hot button' of just 5000 people who are intensively interested, even emotionally involved, with your topic, that it is to have a topic that 'everyone is interested in', but no one is emotionally involved with.

   Keep in mind that most people make buying decisions based on emotion, not logic. Make sure your subscription web site topic has a strong emotionally (as well as logical) appeal to potential subscribers.

3. The site must offer a sense of community. Potential subscribers should be made aware that there is a strong community of people who come together at this one site to share information, thoughts and opinions on this one topic which they are emotionally involved with. They need to know that when they become members of this community, they will be able to network with others in this community (through a discussion group).
4. The site must offer a sense of exclusivity. Potential subscribers should feel that by joining the site they will be joining an exclusive club (similar to a gated community), where only those inside the gates get to share the benefits of the gated community. Knowing that joining the site adds them to an 'exclusive club' with benefits not available to the masses, adds to the perceived value and appeal of the site.
5. The site must have a 'group leader'. The site needs a 'captain of the ship' who pulls the community together, keeps it focused on the subject matter, and provides a continual supply of updated information that keeps subscribers coming back.
6. The site must have a 'compelling reason to join' - Even if you have all the above going for you, unless your site gives a potential visitor a 'compelling reason to join', they probably won't join. They'll just file the site as 'interesting', and then go on their way. Ideally you want your visitor to say, "This is exactly what I have been looking for! I want to join immediately!" If you can create that kind of feeling in your targeted market, you will do well.

>The site must follow a viable business model - If your business model requires 5000 paying members in order to break even, you are probably doomed to failure before you start. But if you have low overhead, and need only a small number of members to be profitable you have a much better chance of success.

7. The look of the site must be immediately appealing to your visitors Too many sites are confusing, have no overall theme, are difficult to navigate, and scream 'amateur'. When visitors reach your site, they should immediately feel comfortable with what they see. Anything else gives them a reason to head for the exits.
8. Every element on the site should give visitors a subconscious reason to join the site. Fine tune the site so that every element (especially on the front pages) gives the visitor another reason to join.

   Do this by having departments and article headlines that include intriguing hot button' headlines. Have interesting content teaser copy, that just begs to be clicked. When departments or articles are clicked, the visitor already has a reason to join - to see the content they clicked. That's when to display the 'join us' page.

   If the visitor has come to your site, it is usually because they are looking for the information you offer. Make sure your main page gives them a good impression of what is within your site. Avoid the hard sell - let your content do the work for you.

9. The site must be easy for you to build and maintain. If done by manual coding, maintaining a content rich subscription web site can be very time consuming. Add in time required to review and process all the elements of the subscription side, and the time requirements could easily exceed your resources. You can eliminate this problem by using an fully automatic content management and subscription web site publishing tool.
10. The site must have password sharing blocking - If a member posts their user name and password on a discussion board or news group, you could have thousands of unauthorized visitors a day using that password to get into your site. To prevent this, you must have an automated procedure to detect and immediately disable member accounts that are being used inappropriately. Ideally your subscription web site management and publishing tool will do this for you.
11. The site must have readily available reporting tools - Knowing what is going on within your subscription web site is the quickest way to find and resolve problems, and provide better content to current and potential subscribers. Reports should show you where your visitors are coming from, what they are looking for, what they search for, and in general, what is going on at any moment, as well as history and developing trends at your site. And of course, you should be able to view all income transactions and all site activity records quickly.

If you get the above twelve items on the above checklist right, you will greatly increase your chances of success with your own 'by subscription' web site. But if you get just one of them wrong, you can expect problems, some quite severe.

Related Articles

·  Topic Ideas for Subscription Web Sites ·  Subscription web site topics - the biggest mistake when choosing your topic ·  $15,000+ a month with a subscription web site