This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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A membership site or a one-time product purchase, what is the best option? Welcome to Side Hustle School. In this episode, we're gonna explore the pros and cons of creating a membership site versus offering a one-time product purchase. And just think about this from the perspective of a consumer as well as a side hustler. When you're shopping for stuff or you look at something online and you're like, maybe I want to buy this, the way the offer is presented is gonna make a big difference on your decision, whether you're gonna sign up or not.
If it's like it's a one-time purchase versus, oh, I have to pay to join this membership program or a subscription, that's a much higher barrier, that second option. But as a business owner, you're like, well, I want people to pay subscription fees. Like, I'm gonna make more money over time. But will you? Well, sometimes you will, sometimes you won't.
So that is the difficulty and also the opportunity. So learn which model might be more sustainable for your business as well as the best fit for your audience. That's the choice you need to make. Let's talk it out. Detailed question from our listener and my answer coming up in just 30 seconds.
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Hey, Chris. I'm considering monetizing my content and debating between creating a membership site or offering a one-time product purchase. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each model? And which one is more sustainable in the long run? How can I decide which option is the best fit for my business and audience?
I've been listening to your podcast for a while and it's been a fantastic resource for me. Thanks for all your great tips. [Music]
Well, I always encourage people to think about these kinds of issues from both perspectives, the perspective of the business owner and the perspective of the consumer. As I mentioned a little bit in the introduction, just think about for your own purchases, think about when you're shopping, there's that decision point that you have to make, which is a very emotional decision of, am I going to buy this or not? And even if it's something that's pretty practical, it's always like there's a thought process, a psychological process that occurs and the barriers to getting people to sign up for subscription or membership are higher than a one-time product.
But of course you want to make more money. So this is the other side, right? Not just more money also, it's like you want customers to be around for a while. You want them to be involved. You want to build customer relationships and loyalty.
And so this is why it's going to come down to, what are your goals? What is the product or the offer? And what does your audience need? That's how you make the decision. Some things could go either way.
Some things could be a one-off purchase or a membership. Other things are clearly aligned with one or the other. Imagine a gym, like you don't just pay a one-off fee to join the gym, like you have to pay every month because you're accessing it every month. Same thing with a lot of digital products. On the other hand, there are things that you just buy once and you get the benefit and that's it.
So it should be a one-off purchase. It would be weird if it was like a membership or a subscription. But for everything that could go one way or the other, that's when you kind of think about those pros and cons. What is the business model that I want to build? Like I would like to have consistent recurring revenue.
That would be great. What's the best way to do that? Membership site could be the answer or it could be I want to consistently drive new customers to a lower priced product that will have a higher conversion rate. Might be easier to attract them. So the choice really kind of goes down to your content, your audience, your business goals.
And you might also consider a hybrid approach. So this is something that people do to really be successful is like there's a one-time product to attract customers. It's kind of a funnel and then you upsell them gently, preferably to a membership for ongoing value. Or sometimes you sell the product and the membership is about service. Like the membership is like, I'm going to show you how to use the product.
I'm going to provide a warranty. I'm going to provide some ongoing service to better support your use of the product. These are some of the factors you consider as you make an informed decision about how to monetize your content. Good luck. Thank you so much for your question.
Listeners, thank you for being out there. Episode 2,766 is drawing to a close. Of course we have new episodes every day, seven days a week, always free. And let me know how I can be helpful. We want to serve you.
And this is like a membership site, but it's free. So think about it like that. It's fun. Zero dollars a month. Much more is coming up.
My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
