There was a time in the 1990s when it was unthinkable to ask for money for information. The Internet was free and that was how it was going to be, experts said. However, it didn't take long for all their predictions to come crashing down. Enter paid membership websites.

Soon after they came, we started seeing them everywhere. From sports to news and games, paid membership websites had arrived. And how! Stories of the membership income generated by the owners of these membership websites started coming out. Many of these reports said that the money being made was not just few hundred or even a few thousand. We were hearing about five or six figure incomes.

Just hype and hoopla or the real stuff?

First off, let us understand what paid membership sites are. These are informational hubs that provide specialized knowledge in a well-packaged form. When you look at their structure, you can easily begin to see how profitable they are.

Suppose you were to set up a niche website on fly-fishing. With some strategic advertising, you start getting members. You charge $50 for a membership and attract 200 members in the course of the first few months. What would your income be?

You would make a cool $10k every month, just by preserving your membership base. But you don't stop there. Suppose you were to spice it up a little and throw in a closed affiliate program for your 200 members. Suppose each of your members brings in 5 new members, what would the math be?

In one smart move, your membership base has suddenly expanded to 1000 members. Even at a 50% commission rate, you will easily make an extra $25k. And, you are nowhere near saturation. This is the power of membership websites; they are a recurring income model.

It doesn't stop there!

To further make money with membership sites, you could start handing out some multi-tier commissions to a public affiliate program, which would encourage down-line building. As the number of people joining you increases, you get a fatter membership income.

Membership websites are the best way to procure self-reliant, subscription-based, continuous revenue. That is how membership websites beat one-time offers when it comes to making steady income. With a one-time offer, you have to promote your product every time. With membership websites, you start making money continuously from the moment a member signs up.

How much can you make?

Your membership income depends on the magnetic power of your content. Fresh, updated content is what your members want. Providing content for membership websites is comparatively easy. Every move you make is targeted to please your subscriber base. Every thing you do, from creating new content to setting up an affiliate program, will bring you immediate revenue. Your ROI (return on investment) is instantaneous and massive.

So from the infopreneur's viewpoint, there are no useless gestures while making and maintaining a membership website. No setting up of a free blog waiting for people to come in. No need to provide content that caters to a wide spectrum of people. Just precise, targeted content and marketing.

How much money you make depends on the range of techniques you use to milk your market. There are a number of ways to make money with membership websites. You can make money through:

• Membership fees, which is your initial income.
• Renewals, which is the recurring income.
• Selling advertising space.
• Sending endorsement emails.
• Setting up an affiliate program.

And the secret is...

The secret to making huge profits with your membership website is to create an effective marketing plan and act on it without delay. Sounds obvious? You will be surprised by the number of marketers who forget to perform their marketing duties.

Make a to-do list of duties. Your marketing duty of the day may be a simple five-minute task like typing in a few comments about a new product or it could be as extensive as a one-year PR campaign. Whatever it is, keep chipping away at the huge list of people who have evaded you, one way or the other. This is the best way to multiply your turnover from membership websites.