AEC SOBI2 workflow

I have been working with paid membership sites using Joomla, SOBI2 and AEC Automatic Expiry Component.

After chasing my tail for a couple of weeks, by George I think I get it... mostly.

SOBI2 controls all of the directory listings but just the directory listings. Everything must be set to free.

AEC control all of the payments AND the membership levels. (Your do not want to have to manually set to Author or Publisher - sobi2 does this for you!)

I only have this running with three membership levels right now because I do not have ioncube on my host to allow advanced usergroups. Free Basic at $150/year or $15/month Pro at $247/year or $24/month

Some customizing of the Entry form, Vcard and Details templates must be done in SOBI2 - but it cannot be done without a query to AEC to determine the subscription the owner has.

The AEC - SOBI2 - AEC workflow looks something like this:

(click the image to view full image)

Butterfly Marketing without the Software

You know me.

You know I love Joomla!

You know I am going to find a way to apply Mike Filsaime's Butterfly Marketing with Joomla.

What are the keys?

A Community site

That is free

With paid upgrades

Quality downloads

Discussion board

An in-built affiliate program

Automated affiliate email series

But what about having staged content reveals... after sign-up you immediately get product one.
After 3 days you get product two and video one.
After 7 more day you get automated email two, product three and video two....
and what about having a coaching discussion board where paid members can ask for coaching?
And premium audio content for paid members?
And real world mailings to platinum members?

Get the idea?

So far that looks like a Joomla site, with Acajoom, timed content release based on date of sign-up, several levels of discussion board and, of course, the AEC component for paid members.

Most Important Element of a Website

As a designer/developer/marketer, I work with a lot of small businesses. They always ask me "What is the timeline for development?"

My real answer would be: "It depends on how much planning you have already put into it."

Planning.

Why do you want a website?
Why will people want to go to your website?
What incentive can you provide to get them to join your community or mailing list?
How will you regularly communicate with list members? customers? affiliates?
have you written the emails that you will send them?

If you plan on having a newsletter - have you planned it? Frequency, Content, Uniqueness?

Plan

What action do you want someone to take from your homepage?

What action do you want them to take from your email? from your newsletter?

What is your personality? What is your persona? How will you bring that to life on your website?

How often will you update your website? your blog?

Whether you are using wordpress, Drupal or Joomla! the planning is the most crucial element. Without Focus and Purpose you are just wasting time....
Need a plan? Download my "Creating a Website for an Expert" at http://www.clicktostart.com/expert