Day 6

Subject: A site without members, [firstname], is like a car without gas

Hi [firstname],

One of the biggest hurdles you'll face in starting your membership site, is actually getting members to join.  In fact, landing your first member can be so difficult that many membership sites never see the light of day.  I don't want your site to be one of them, so today I want to share some of my top tips for promoting your membership site.

SEO (search engine optimization) will probably bring in the most members in the long run. However, it can take a long time to get your membership site onto the first page of Google – and popularity is a prerequisite.  If your site isn't popular and doesn't have lots of members, it won't make the front page of Google.  If it's not on the first page of Google, nobody is going to find it and it won't be popular.

What comes first, the chicken or the egg?

So, in the early days, the only way you can get members to join is to take out paid advertising – and probably offer a few “complementary” free memberships as well.

A tactic that tends to work well is to take out a solo ad. on a mailing list in your niche.  Because these lists tend to be highly targeted, you can be sure only people who are going to be interested in your site will see the ad.

Better still is to take out an advertisement on social media.  Facebook is perfect for this, because you can really drill down and get your advertising super-targeted.  Decide who your ideal members would be, and basically write a profile for them.  Be as detailed as possible. Then tweak the settings on your Facebook ad so that only those sort of people see it. 

Finally, don't forget referrals and/or word of mouth etc.  This always has been – and likely will always be – the best form of advertising.

Warmly,

[Your Name]

PS. There's still time to get your hands on a copy of my guide to starting a membership site.  Here's the link: [link to sales page].
