12-Week Fixed Term Membership vs One-off Delivery

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Hi. I could use your help.

For more than 10 years, I've sold Fixed Term Memberships on a variety of topics. Members were billed upfront and then the 12 weekly installments were sent through email using an autoresponder like aWeber.

Lately, however, I've been approached (12-15 times per month) with pre-sales questions asking me if they could get the content for all 12 weeks delivered in one download. Their angle was that if they paid in full, they should be entitled to immediately receive all the content.

So, I have two questions:

1) Should I offer the content in one downloadable file in addition to the 12-week email delivery?

2) If I go this route, should I charge the same price or would it be feasible to charge more?

The goal, of course, is to make it easier for the client to understand the information and do the homework assignments on a weekly basis; thus eliminating information overload and helping them achieve the objectives of the course.

With the weekly delivery system, I'm also able to ask questions, get feedback, offer live Q&A webinars, give them a free ebook every 3 weeks, and twice during the 12-weeks, they're offered a 20% discount on my coaching and mentoring services while they're enrolled.

I couldn't do all that in a one-download scenario. But I realize that not everyone wants to get their information or lessons *dripped* on a weekly basis.

The other reason for asking for your help and wisdom is that depending upon the final decision, there's a substantial amount of work and time involved to compile 12 weeks' worth of information into one download.

Thank you for any and all advice. I'm anxious to read what you have to say about this.

Thanks so much.

Candace
#main internet marketing discussion forum #12week #delivery #fixed #fixed term membership #membership #membership program #oneoff #pricing structure #product delivery #term
  • Hi Candace,

    I don't have specific experience doing this myself, so I am sure others will have a lot more to add, but there are a couple of thoughts that I had relating to the points you raised.

    Firstly, I guess there is the question of, if you deliver everything up front for a one time fee, what is the likelihood of refund requests. Now I know this might not be a problem for you at all, but it was one thing that came to my mind after reading your post.

    I thought perhaps you can offer some content up front with the balance after the refund period. So they are not waiting the whole time, they get a good chunk to see if they are happy to stay.

    Secondly, and this is meant as another potential option, but could you make the courses deliver more content, more frequently over a shorter period of time ie. instead of 12 weeks make it a 4 or 6 week delivery for the same content you are currently delivering over the 12 weeks.

    I will be interested to see what thoughts others have concerning your post and to find out what you decide.

    Lynne
    • [2] replies
    • Candace,

      I don't know how this applies, but ....

      I just introduced a monthly product, with no fixed term. Membership is monthly until the buyer unsubscribes.

      I only had the first five months content ready for delivery, but my partenr wanted to sell a bundle. So, I set up a button to sell all of the first five months product in one delivery. We priced it at a 50% premium.

      We did a launch webinar, and one third of our buyers bought the five kit bundle.

      I have to say, it caught me by surprise.
      • [1] reply
    • Lynne,

      Thank you for your thoughts. That's what I was wondering, too, about the refund requests for the whole bundle.

      At one point, about five years ago, I was paying $25.00 a month to deliver my products through an online download software vendor where I had the ability to make the product unusable if someone requested a refund or if they tried to resell it, but the guy went out of business and that's when I resorted to autoresponder delivery.

      I definitely like your idea about delivering a large portion of the content upfront, and then after the refund period, delivering the rest. I might not be savvy enough to know how to do this through an automated process compared to manually delivering the second half, but I could learn, I guess.

      Thank you, too, for the idea of compressing the time period from 12 weeks down to 4-6 weeks. That certainly is another option to consider. Thank you for that.

      In my guarantee, I tell them that if they request a refund within the first three weeks of receiving my installments, I will refund them 100%, no questions asked. The pure gold nuggets, however, along with free stuff kick in full-force in the 4th installment.

      Thank you, Lynne. Your comments are so helpful!

      Candace




  • What is the percentage of people who purchase your product who ask that question? Is is it 12-15 people out of 50, 100? If it's a high percentage, than perhaps you may be on to something - maybe you are losing sales. If it is a low percentage, you probably don't need to make changes to your system.

    I once purchased a membership with monthly billing. The program had installments and only one was released per month (per billing anniversary month). Only problem with that is you stand to lose money if the person decides to unsubscribe early.

    • [1] reply
    • Hi Deborah,

      Great question!

      It never used to be this way, and my business is somewhat seasonal, but in the past 3 months, for every 100 sales that are completed, I'll get about 12-15 people asking for access to all the content at one time rather than over 12 weeks.

      Since I didn't have the bundled package available to even offer them, I asked if they would like to be put on a notifcation list for when the download would be available within the next week. That's when everyone vanished!

      It kind of proved an Internet marketing point, though. If you have what they want, and they're ready to hit the "Buy" button, they don't want to be delayed in that instant gratification mindset that they're in. Does that make sense?

      Candace

  • As long as you are clear that the content is delivered over 12 weeks you don't have to give them their content early. Using it as an upsell is up to you but if it is going to be more work than it's worth I don't think you should feel forced to provide that option.

    What would your favourite magazine publisher do if you called them up after you subscribed for 12 months and demanded they deliver all 12 copies by the end of the week?
    • [ 3 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Fraggler,

      Thank you! You're right. I never thought about it from that perspective. A magazine publisher would *never* be bullied into catering to the elitist minority who felt they should be entitled or privileged to *have it all right now* just because they asked for it.

      I also had never considered what you mentioned to using it as an upsell, which goes hand-in-hand with what Kirk mentioned. <You want it now? Pay the 50% Premium.>

      Hmmm...

      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • I like the way Fraggler thinks. An upsell for those wanting that option would be a great alternative. I'd be hesitant at giving them the option up front...for one simple reason. When faced with several choices...many people choose none. give them one path to flow through, and the ability to make choices as they go.

    Brandon Yeager
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • I'm not sure if this will be applicable to your situation but: If they are hungry for your great info now, direct them to your back catalogue and let them go nuts.
  • Hey Candace:

    I've been doing FTM sites for clients since Jimmy D. Brown came out with his Membernaire and Russell Brunson followed up with MicroContinuity.

    Prior to that... I did coaching using weekly lessons for my real estate students for years.

    It has always amazed me when the very same people who complain of information overload seem to want the 10lb. box of three ring binders all delivered at the same time.

    Everyone wants the end result.. somehow, owning the whole course makes people feel closer to the goal than a lesson a week does.

    However, what I've experienced is simply this: If the course moves too slow for them, they probably need the next level or a more advanced course OR...

    ... they are learning but not implementing.

    It's rare that I've seen anyone move faster than the course allows who actually makes any faster progress than others.

    Kinda like baking a cake, you know? You can turn the oven up and try cooking the cake faster but somehow, it just never quite comes out right.

    One of the great advantages of using the Fixed Term or "Drip Feed" model, like the old correspondence courses used to do, is your ability to keep control of the refunds, like stated above.

    Especially in certain markets...

    I did traditional membership sites for years - pretty steady 2-3 month attrition rates and, for many of my clients who tried the traditional model, much higher refund rates. I didn't get many refunds... though, I focus very, very hard on overdelivering value and being the person folks want to reach out to...

    Big difference being the hunted rather than the hunter - that kind of positioning keeps people thrilled to just own your products if you do it correctly.

    Here's something else to consider:

    Weekly communication - reminding clients and customers that a new lesson is ready - plus, using the right kind of zeigarnik's in each lesson you deliver (like, a cliff hanger letting member's know what is coming next!) keeps your members engaged.

    Many of the "get it and go" programs just end up collecting virtual dust and once they have the program - how do you justify the weekly communication if you aren't really sure how fast or slow they are progressing?

    I love the FTM model... it's a linear approach to teaching and learning and you know what? It works.

    Thinking in terms of what is best as a teacher for your students or clients - not just about making money (although, that too of course!), I still see the FTM model as superior.

    No leaches doing the grab and go - get refund for more than a lesson or four (one months worth).

    No downloading everything then stopping the monthly continuity - which, is a huge part of why you put courses together in the first place, right? To get the residual income streams coming in?

    Huge opportunity for regular communication and top of mind consiousness with your target market.

    And... don't forget the convenience of not having to have the entire course completed, all 52 lessons, bonus lessons, gifts, tools, checklists, cheat sheets, etc. before you launch as well.

    For many newer marketers, that last one is the real deal killer.

    Finally, in my opinion, if you are offering something your market wants and that they can't find anywhere else... and what you have is very, very good - you won't get people asking for more faster - you'll get a tribe simply asking you for more.
    • [1] reply
    • Hi Sodette1.

      You offered so much useful information in your response, and I thank you for all your input and thoughts.

      Several issues you mentioned hit home with me, and I hope others reading these threads will benefit from everyone's contributions.

      I liked this comment:

      "It's rare that I've seen anyone move faster than the course allows who actually makes any faster progress than others.

      "Kinda like baking a cake, you know? You can turn the oven up and try cooking the cake faster but somehow, it just never quite comes out right."
      I have five writing courses that I've created, each targeted to different audiences. They can buy the course and do it solo, or they can buy the course, and I'll hold their hand until the book is written, edited, published, and marketed.

      My audience is real-world people who have a book inside of them that they want to write but they don't know how to do it, or they're so confused, that they don't know where to start. :-)

      They wouldn't know what PLR or Internet Marketing was even if I held a Webinar to explain it to them. In fact, they're interested in only one thing...learning how to write a book in the shortest amount of time possible.


      "Weekly communication - reminding clients and customers that a new lesson is ready - plus, using the right kind of zeigarnik's in each lesson you deliver (like, a cliff hanger letting member's know what is coming next!) keeps your members engaged.



      "Many of the "get it and go" programs just end up collecting virtual dust and once they have the program - how do you justify the weekly communication if you aren't really sure how fast or slow they are progressing?      "



      Again, thank you so much for taking the time to help me sort through what I should do.

      Candace



  • If you did decide to offer both, could you not explain all of the extra benefits that customers will get for the 12 week course (webinars, one-to-one help etc) and explain that this will not be available for one time download customers? If there were a lot more value involved with the membership course I know which one I would go for.
    • [2] replies
    • Another model I've seen is... Give them one lesson at a time and then have them email you when their complete with the lesson for the next one. This is more work obviously, but may make some of your potential customers happy. Knowing that all they have to do is email you and you'll get them the next one. Within a reasonable time frame, 24-48 hours excluding weekends.
    • hi candace, i just wanted to give my two cents. when we are supplying information to the general public who doesn't currently have that information to succeed with whatever they are doing, then our main goal is to help those people with not only giving them information, but utilizing that information correctly.

      i know a lot of people are in to internet marketing for only the money.....and let's face it.....the money is there. if you are in it for the money, but most importantly helping people, this is the way i would go about it one of two ways....

      1: utilize a weekly or monthly subscription where people can cancel at any time. you can still offer a 7 day or 30 day refund before they have to decide to continue or discontinue.

      2: keep doing what you are doing, and just express to your members that too much information all at one is a bad thing. when people recieve an abundant of information, it's hard for other people to know where to start with it and in some cases, just too much to take in all at once. in the long run, information spread out gradually will be better for their long term success as long as in each installment, you are giving them something that they can use NOW and not have to wait for other installments to utilize.

      if they insist on the whole package, you can deal with it in one of two ways. you can raise the price and offer no refund after they have recieved your first installment and looked it over and are happy with it(make sure you have a few gold nuggets in that first one). this will protect your sales. the other way is to just offer a refund period for the whole package knowing that if they couldn't make any money off what you are selling to even pay it, then you wouldn't want to take their money anyway.

      the second route in offering refunds will get more people to buy and request a refund, but those are the people who wouldn't have bought it at all anyway. out of those people who wouldn't have normally bought, you might just make a few extra sales. also, the worse case scenario is that for a little extra time, you just added someone to your list who is interested in your niche. if you can't get 'm with this sale, maybe you can the next time.

      lastly, i don't think there is any right or wrong answer here. it all boils down to how you do business and how you want to run your business which includes moral and ethical practices and the strong or weak mindset in actually helping people over the money to be made online.
  • The way I do it ... $19 a month gives them access to everything on the site. There's so much information there, that it would literally take months to go through it all.

    BTW, people are telling you how they want the info. I would listen.
    • [1] reply
    • Candace,

      AutoResponse Plus has a feature where you can allow the email recipient to request the next message in the sequence immediately (and automatically), rather than have him or her wait for the scheduled email. So, you can still drip-feed the content if you want to, but the people who don't want to wait can get it sooner with just one click. Of course, you could offer the whole package at once, which makes a lot of sense for a product that has a fixed term as opposed to something like a newsletter that could go on for many years.

      Regarding the FTM model:

      From a business perspective, collecting monthly fees is great, but as a consumer, I don't like monthly fees, nor do I like the idea of someone hindering my progress by controlling when I can see the content. I also like to go through the material in its entirety before taking any action so that I can get the big picture. Some of your students might have unique perspectives that will affect their own implementation of what you're teaching, and you can't assume that everyone who signs up for your course has the same intentions or goals. Therefore, trying to control how they consume the material is, in my opinion, not the way to go, especially if you have a significant number of customers who want the whole thing all at once.
  • I too have gone through and used Jimmy D. Brown's Fixed Term Membership course Membernaire and Russell Brunson's Micro Continuity course. One of the things I picked up from Jimmy that really works well, is the time released bonuses if you stick with the course for x amount of months. The beauty of this is people stick past the refund period to get the first bonus, then they stick around longer to get the second bonus a few months later , then the third bonus , and finally a big bonus at the end. This is a powerful way to lower refunds and attrition. I think if you decide to release all the content up front you have to jack up the price and still offer a time release bonus after the refund period is over. Or you could always offer an option for half the course up front and the other half after the refund period. (and of course sell it at a higher rate) or last but not least, if they want it all up front, make them agree to waive the refund period. Ofcourse you can't do that if you are selling it on clickbank or something like that. Good luck, and good question.
    • [2] replies
    • Depends how much you need the business, I guess.

      I have a subscribeer list of 50.
    • Depends how much you need the business, I guess.

      I have a subscriber list of 50. I am so confident of quality, they pay for the PAST month, by paypal, themselves, without subscription, not the coming month. 82% have been with me from the start.

      I am planning on expanding it fivefold in the coming months so may need to look at automatic payment, but the principle of paying after will remain.

      No web site, no autoresponder, just an email. It works for me.
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