ePublishingDaily

Doing the daily rounds of my rss reader, del.ici.os, Google News and dozens of other ways I track what’s happening in my niche you really do end up understanding what’s coming and what’s going.

What I’ve noticed is that niche membership sites are becoming popular, a far cry from 5-6 years ago I can tell you that from experience. :-)

When I started looking into it I realized it’s a fast emerging trend - there are numerous software and other services out there. It’s also starting to appear in the blogging industry - there’s a post coming soon of a new membership plugin for WordPress.

There’s even a membership site on the the topic of … membership sites - MembershipSiteAdvisor

Obviously, there’s not much there for you unless you’re a member but they have this article - How to Start, Run, Promote & Profit From Your Own Membership Website.

I wonder if the free nature of the blogosphere lends itself to a membership site? Imagine if Darren Rowse and his ProBlogger site turned into a membership site. Would there be an outcry or would folks just accept it as doing business by going the exclusive route.

Wouldn’t it be a pleasure to have a site with no advertisements and no affiliates rammed down our throats - 100% pure content.

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And so I lead you onto what’s coming next.

The whole month of November will be Membership Site Month here at ePublishingDaily. Yes. That means that every post will have a membership-flavor to it.

I’m scouring the web getting together a massive amount of information on creating and running successful membership sites.

There’ll be the usual tips and hints, link outs to some top quality articles on the subjects, reviews of quite a few products and services and my own editorial spin on the issue of membership sites.

Watch this space…