Many online business owners just dream about the idea of creating their own membership site but are stopped in their tracks with the complexity, cost and chaos involved in implementing such a task. However, if you have the content and plans for the make-up of your site, then a Virtual Assistant can fulfill the set-up component using Ning and 1Shopping Cart. Sound too easy; let’s investigate the steps that a Virtual Assistant can take.
- Set up your Sales Page. If not already in place, a VA can format a web page that explains the benefits of membership in your mastermind group, class or workshop.
- Choose your Price: If you cringe at the idea of creating products and auto responders in your 1Shoppingcart account, a VA will create a recurring product for the monthly membership cost. The product can then be added to the sales page for immediately payment.
- Create your Member Network: Head on over to Ning.com where you’re VA will have loads of fun creating a private site where only you and your members come together. Essentially, Ning is a personalized social network site created by you for you!
Features and Benefits of Ning:
- Customize your site with your brand logo and colours, make it an extension of you
- Encourage your group members to upload a photo of themselves and interact with other members through personal invites – similar to the “will you be my friend” feature on Facebook
- Create teaching videos for your members and upload them to your site for group members only
- Record your member calls and upload the audio
- Engage your members with the live chat feature – perfect for interaction when your members are online together
- List your upcoming events so your members always know what’s up and coming
- Use the blogging feature to encourage communication and conversation between members
Ning is a fully functional social network all ready for you to customize. No need to pay monthly for a membership software program. With the combination of a savvy Virtual Assistant, 1Shoppingcart and Ning you can have a membership site up and running in no time.
Just image how impressed your members will feel to be part of YOUR network. They’ll probably think you did it all yourself!
Because we learn more about community everyday at VAnetworking.com, virtual assistants understand the benefits of membership sites for their clients who will want to expand and contact community. Virtual Assistants are constantly, through the resources offered at VAnetworking.com, expanding their experience with services such as Ning and 1ShoppingCart to be able to offer to clients.
Thanks for this post Theresa!
I’ve had a Ning site for one of my online businesses for a few months now and it’s made a dramatic difference. My users are more engaged with me and with each other, which means they use my site more often.
The chat feature has made the biggest impact. We’ve started meeting once a month to share ideas and to encourage one another. The first thing people ask me at the end of each chat is, “When can we do this again?”