Internet marketing membership sites can be a big help to you when beginning your internet marketing business. There are both advantages, and possible disadvantages to these membership sites that you should consider.
Advantages
All in one place
When first starting out in your internet marketing business it can be very tempting to search around on the internet looking for all kinds of tools and resources to help get your business rolling. In fact, the time spent looking for the right tools and resources can be tremendous, and can steal time away from your primary objectives. And the possibility of information overload increases with the more research you do.
Also, when you sign up to get on other people’s emailing lists, as you invariably will do, the time spent just managing your email is a real drain on your time. Time better spent on marketing.
Membership sites can make your research much more efficient by providing most, if not all of the tools, resources, and study aids in one place.
Less needless buying.
And speaking of email, if you’re on a bunch of lists, you will be bombarded with countless offers of this product, or that tool, or some other ‘must have’ resource for you to buy. And if you’re not careful you can spend significant money on these products, and end up with paid for products that you will never use, or maybe not even know how to use, or just plain forget about.
A good membership site will cut down on needless spending by providing you with just the products you really need, and the training to properly use them.
Matching styles of teaching and learning
If you find someone who teaches how you prefer to learn, there is synergy there. If topics are easier to learn, your learning curve is lessened, and you can more quickly move into your main objective which is marketing.
Leaders/owners of membership sites may give more freely to their members.
Once you join a good site, the owner/leader will probably be offering tools and resources for free that you’d have to buy from other sites or marketers. This can more than make up for the monthly cost of joining.
Trial period.
Most good membership sites will offer a free, or greatly discounted rate for a given time period. Sometimes a couple of weeks, or up to a month. This gives you enough time to poke around and see what’s really available there, and if it suits your needs and style.
Disadvantages
Breadth and Scope.
One thing to be careful of is that some membership sites may not have all of what you are looking for, or really need. This is where having a free or reduced price trial period is a good thing. It gives you time the see everything you’re paying for, looking for gaps in the materials that you may need.
Training and tools from only one view point.
Another thing to look out for is if there is only one person involved with running the site. This could possibly limit the view point of the training materials. If the owner/leader is an SEO expert, then its possible that everything may slant towards SEO, possibly spending less time and effort on other important topics.
Is there enough materials.
A membership site may at first appear to have a lot of resources, tools, and other training materials, but is there enough to last a while. If you think you can get through everything in a couple of weeks, and there’s not a lot of new material available, then you might want to look elsewhere, or at least join the site on a temporary basis.
So as you can see, there are both pros and cons for you to consider when checking out an internet marketing membership site. Be sure to keep your eyes open, and your mind critical.
Author Resource:
One good membership site worth checking out is at http://www.website-instruction.com/recommends It is designed especially for internet marketing beginners. Visit the author's blog which can be found at http://www.InternetMarketingforBeginnersBlog.com