I’m Thinking About Short Term Memberships

I’ve made several attempts to provide a product of value to the home staging industry.  I am about to embark on a third effort.  I will be spring boarding off a class I will be teaching as part of Allegra Diogurdi’s new course for Home Stagers, called Home Staging Training by Design.  Allegra is a Parson’s School of Design Graduate and long time home merchandiser.

She has asked me to teach one of nine segments of her course. I will focus on how to get more of the home stagers ideal customers to visit their web sites and suggest some strategies to get those that do to do something once they are there. IE.  Opt in to their lists.

For information on Allegra’s course go to: www.stagingtraingingbydesign.com.

The best skill I have to offer these home stagers is my knowledge of internet marketing.

Most of the home stagers have a limited, if any, hands on web site management skills.  While home staging is still relatively new,  some markets have significant numbers of home stagers vying for the top listing in their local markets.  The Home Stager who understands and acts on what I will teach should be able to eventually dominate their local markets – but it can take time.

It’s easy to list 20 things to do, it’s difficult to work ones way step by step through the process.  Especially when busy trying to build a home staging business.

That’s what I will do.  Break the steps into bite sized pieces and then feed it to them – one step every week,  or once every two weeks or every month, with separate prices for each option.

Everybody active gets free access to monthly 90 minute tele-seminar. 20-30 minutes on selected topic, 1 hour Q&A.  Go till all Q’s answered. During Q&A any topic from the lessons is game.  Invite Q’s in advance.

Upsell from course and tele-seminar is coaching.  On same schedule as their lessons.  $47 per half hour

I am planning on taking the material in my two ebooks, Why Most Small Business Web Sites Stink and my more recent one on How Main Street can climb to the Top of the Search Engines, and turning them into a specified term membership course.

Between the two eBooks I do a pretty good job of outlining the key functions of a web site stressing the need for an auto responder and list building. That covers what they are trying to accomplish online to market their home staging business.

The main street book deals with search engine ranking.  It’s easy at first to rank high in a town with no other home stager.  But as the recession has deepened, thousands of new people have entered the field.

Basic SEO tips on both on and off page factors will give even the hands off stager a better understanding of what’s important from a marketing perspective and how to get top listings, whether they do the work themselves or hire it out.

Part of my plan is to reuse the material in my two ebooks for the courses and still sell the combo package of both books for $9.97 or more. I have given the Main Street book  away to over 3000 people in the past 2 months and haven’t had a complaint yet.  I will retire it from the free realm and start selling them. Should I go to ClickBank? Maybe I can ask $17 and give Click Bankers 60%

I will email my list and ask for any testimonials I can get for one or both.  If you have enjoyed either, please let me know.

By chance I learned that the venerable Jimmy Brown will be broadcasting a VideoCast this Thursday that appears as if it might be right up my alley.  I know he does good stuff, so I am going to give it a good listening too.  It’s free and I can’t wait.

Free VideoCast Thursday.  http://cli.gs/vJv852 I will be discussing this new plan as it develops here and probably on my www.HomestagingBusinessTips.com/blog

PS:  If I can polish this approach up and make it work for Home Stagers, it would certainly work for many other occupations and businesses as well.

I am wide open to suggestions on my plan, items I should be sure to stress with my home stagers and any other question or comment you may have.