Private Site Survey Results

Two weeks ago, I asked you to give me your feelings about Private Sites. I wasn't referring to iCop, which is a professional association. That's different from the
membership sites that are springing up all over now.

It isn't possible to give you percentages on how many said this or that. The answers were all over the place - which I expected. It does give us an over-all grasp of the way people feel about private sites though.

I asked four questions. I will give a synopsis of the responses after each question. (Four percent of our readers responded.) At the end, I have another question for you.


1) How do you feel about private - or membership - web sites?

Of those who responded, 1.5% don't like private sites at all and will not use them. The point was made that those on a limited and/or fixed income, who really love and benefit from the Internet, are shut out when sites go private.

A full 33% of respondents had only negative comments, such as:

Most are over-priced
Totally devoid of substantive content
Simply made up of content that is readily available on-line
Aren't worth the price
Over-rated and abused
Disappointing
No time and/or forget to visit

The comments from those who like private sites were carefully qualified. Everything depended on the individual site. One respondent stated that they provide an "active exchange with people of like minds and knowledge that can brainstorm ideas."

Yes - that would be the best-case scenario!


2) What would you want to receive for your membership?

Here, of course, the answers included everything imaginable: information, products, services, marketing strategies, how-tos, email boxes, software downloads (either free or discounted), and forums.

"Something that will make my business stronger."
"Free sign-ups to my ezine/any businesses I am promoting."
"Content that I can't get anywhere else."
"Bonuses that I couldn't find elsewhere for free."
"Information for "Newbies" to expert."
"Not the same old tired worn-out garbage that can be found in
every corner of the web. Less on theory & hype and more on
experience & results."


And, of course, nearly everyone mentioned the value they expect for their money:

"Equal value and preferably more value than I'm paying for."
"Member perks worth or above the fee charged."
"Over-delivery of useful benefits."
"More value to me than the cost of the membership."
"Double, but usually 3 to 5 TIMES, my investment back."


3) Should membership be by the month - a year - or "lifetime?"

Nearly everyone was against a "lifetime" membership. The idea being that the site could go down before their life ended. (I couldn't help but laugh at that one.) Maybe I used the wrong term. Maybe I should have said "one-time fee."

Several mentioned that they didn't feel lifetime - or one-time fee - membership sites were updated properly. One of the biggest, if not the first, private sites was mentioned as an example of being allowed to grow stale.

Most wanted a monthly membership that they could stop at any time. Of those who favored a yearly membership, most also mentioned wanting to be able to get a refund if they decided they wanted to cancel.

4) What is a fair price for the length membership you chose?

For monthly memberships, the respondents suggested prices from "a buck or two" to $30 per month. Most suggested a rather wide range. The cumulative answers would give us a mean (middle figure) of $15 per month.

For yearly membership, the range was from $25 to $144 per year. The mean here would be about $60 per year. However, something around $100 was mentioned most often.

COMMENTS

It seems to me that everyone who answered did so from the point of view of the potential customer, or member, of a private site. This is basically what I asked, so that's okay.

But now, I wonder if you would consider answering the question from the other point of view? We'll make it really easy ...

BASED ON WHAT YOU READ ABOVE - if YOU were now going to open a private site online, how would YOU set it up?

1) What would you include in the site?
2) What would your term of membership be?
3) How much would you charge?
4) What would your refund policy be?

This may be an exercise in online business. It isn't as obvious as it may seem. Please really think about exactly how YOU would handle this type of online business, as if YOU owned it!

Now, let's see how many can come up with the system that will not only be best for your financial bottom line - but will get you the highest number of faithful, happy members and keep them for the longest time.

Please be completely honest about what you can live with. When we're finished with this, I think I can show you something very interesting.

About the author.

dr. jl scott is the Director of the International Council of Online Professionals (iCop) - and also the publisher of THE iCop WHISTLE BLOWER! - the ezine dedicated to exposing scams and lack of ethics on the Web. For your FREE subscription:
WhistleBlower-on@i-Cop.org

private@i-Cop.org
http://www.i-Cop.org