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Ben L Collins, the Google Sheets expert behind the educational website benlcollins.com Ben L Collins is deeply grateful for the membership he has received from his business and the creator economy of digital media around the globe. "When you're making something, whether it's an artist, or you're developing a course in technical design or an building membership - whenever someone decides to use their wallet and gives your cash, you'll appreciate how fortunate you are to be when you are able to do that kind of job and connect with so many people.
"If one is willing to initially check out my products If they're interested enough that they're willing to pay for it I'm going to do everything I can do to make it as perfect as possible for them," he continues.
Ben is a fan of the idea of membership as it's so many more things than just the one-time fee "We're not talking about an agreement to consult where someone hires you to complete a task that's well-organized and everyone is aware of what they're getting. It's more like a relationship in which the person says, 'I want to join the bandwagon of your organization for the coming calendar year or for a month or a quarter. I love what you're up and I'd love to join you and be part of the group."
The membership program gives you a really strong incentive to make the most of your time that you could, and strive to make great material. "People expect that I create high-quality content however, I'd like to do so - for their benefit and my own. "
Ben states that it's useful in establishing a bond with the community "I believe that I'm helping them rather than just this randomly-purchased course. However, you don't have any idea if anyone even looks at the course. This is a more concrete experience with your membership or closer. It's about creating a more intimate connection that is more than just simply an exchange."
Beginning with "always-on" through microdeliverables
When the covid-19 virus struck, Ben delivered e-courses on data manipulation including Google Sheets for 10 years. "I taught more than 15 classes via Teachable and perhaps even 25 courses as certain course offerings were relaunched. While teaching the course is a must to commit at least more time and effort into marketing than the actual course. This is fascinating, but I'm not a fan of it and don't enjoy."
Ben L Collins Ben L Collins had been running e-courses for the past 10 years before covid struck
Ben realized that he liked to work on spreadsheets with technical information as well as helping others. "People would come to me to ask "How do I get that accomplished? The problem is a fascinating one to work on.
"Membership was a topic I'd been thinking about for maybe at least two several times," says Ben. "I loved the idea since it's a steady income. It's not a requirement to come up with something new every time for profit, where you can see a significant increase, but then you're left with nothing after that." The author explains that it's an established platform that lets the creator focus on creating as well as connecting with their audience, more than having to oversee marketing.
"For many years, I've considered the notion of membership however I've never conducted research. I was worried that it might feel as that I'd be in the loop in this kind of model where I had to be always doing things. I was always able to withdraw and be able to keep going through the classes." But he had completed his goal he was trying to do.
"I'd pretty much done everything I needed to learn in full course. It was hard to find an alternative course that wasn't becoming more specialized as the market becomes smaller with higher-end techniques." he says. "There wasn't any economic incentive to enroll in one of these classes I could consider."
Ben adds that he had an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion. "I thought 'I need to make 100 Teachable video tutorials and they all have to form a coherent thing. It was difficult to get enough energy to sit down and make the whole thing in one go. It's impossible to know for sure if people are going to purchase the product. "
Ben says that online classes need the author to release their work before they attempt to sell it. With this, it's impossible to determine for sure if it's going to be a success. "It may take 3 to 6 months to create a really great course. If your course isn't able to be sold on the market, you won't be able to market the course today, " he adds. "I found that I wanted a more ongoing relationship with my followers, with Microdeliverables as well as microdeadlines."
Chess Playing a game of chess Google Sheets
Membership was suddenly logical. "I'll make a commitment to a daily newsletter. We can also have guidelines and templates, but they don't need to be one gigantic issue that is all linked with one another. It could be a smaller amount of content, and easier to understand for me as well as easier for the readers."
Also, from a user standpoint, not many users finish their online classes "It's hard to buy an online course with more than 10 hours of video. It's difficult to get through the 10 hours worth of video which is why you put it off from doing it. If you get only one email per week, you could take 30 minutes during your lunch break to gain many benefits during throughout the week, before putting it aside for the coming week." Ben explains.
The spring of 2024, Ben started to think hard about membership. Over the course of summer, he laid down and sketched out the design before launching in September.
Email is king
When he talks about his job, Ben is keen to appreciate his fellow worker. "I'm very fortunate that my wife has been able to do everything I've mentioned prior to. She's run an own company; she's created a variety of items, and she was able to create an electronic database." Ben received a many tips and suggestions when he started his journey to join "that helped tremendously" One of these was how to create an email list.
Ben's wife was working as a content marketer when the time came to begin building his community online. "She was part of an agency that was responsible for marketing their customers, and also creating SEO-related posts, blogs as well as social media. This was extremely helpful, evidently to the task I had to complete at the time," Ben adds.
"Emails are the most important means of interacting with the people you want to reach," he continues. However, he admits that this may not be true for youngsters, however the author says: "The problem with social media, and especially the newer platforms such as TikTok lies in your disconnect with the people you follow.
You create a piece of content and the platform shows what's trending and viral. it doesn't matter if you've got a million or 10,000 followers. If your article isn't a viral popular according to algorithms that it is, then it's unlikely that all users are going to see the article. The risk is a weak relation. This is a matter of decision-making of the platform. Should they alter their algorithms or fall out of fashion There have been numerous social media networks disappear - therefore, having an email list is vital.
Strategies for members who wish to become membership managers
"If somebody was starting the account at this moment, I would advise them to "Just start!" Ben smiles. "With retrospectively, I'd rather have started this a couple of years back. Things that require time. If you can get going sooner and the faster you'll have."
Ben at Zoom Ben hosting an online Zoom session with his subscribers
It's easy to do a little further research "You may convince yourself that there's something missing, or there's another approach. I've done that in the past. When you finally click "Go" after which you put an item in the universe, and begin to interact with actual people the thing starts to acquire a new meaning. It becomes a matter of finding solutions to problems that you have to resolve, not just these imaginary issues."
The author recommends that people not think too much about it "If you're addressing someone's pain issue - when someone is in need to address a concern and you are able to do so, go out! You can improve it over time."
More details
For more information and to sign up to Ben's daily Google Sheets tips, go to benlcollins.com.
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