I’ve been doing some research about the best alternative membership software platform to use for some of our clients who don’t want to use SocialSAM as their platform (for whatever their reason may be…eg. they don’t like our look and feel, etc).
Anyway, after a long and exhaustive search…after looking at almost every open source platform out there, I’ve found a pretty good solution. My criteria were:
- Multiple levels of membership with built in eCommerce/Recurring Billing
- Content Drip Capability (with every client having their personal timeline). Unfortunately, Wishlist Member does not have this feature.
- A Forum/BBS system for community members to collaborate – while not requiring them to log on to another system
- Flexible “skin” for better look and feel customization
The solution I found uses Wordpress with Buddypress and Digital Access Pass (DAP).
The beauty (and bonus) I found with this combo is that you don’t even need to pay a monthly fee with 1Shoppingcart/aWeber as DAP comes with its own built in autoresponder/list manager. Of course, it’s not as robust as 1Shoppingcart, but for most people, the DAP sequential autoresponder works great.
The other really nice thing about DAP membership software is that it has it’s own built in Shoppingcart/eCommerce system…so you don’t need to pay for 1Shoppingcart.com fees also.
AND, it has it’s own built in affiliate tracking system, making each of your members an affiliate to your network automatically. Smart.
Anyway, as I was trying to install these applications together, I ran into a lot of complications and problems. I got to say, I take my hats off to Veena and Ravi at DAP. They are AWESOME! These people definitely stand behind their product. I highly recommend their platform and their support is fantastic.
For the sake of helping everyone out, here’s 3 videos giving you specific step by step instructions on how to put these components together. Specifically, what to do, and what NOT to do.
If you need help setting up a membership website, let me do it for you. It will save you hundreds of hours of trial and error headache. We’ll show you how to “do it right”. For more information, come to www.thirdstagebusiness.com.
Enjoy. Please comment.
{ 1 comment }
