Selling content online is still an elusive goal for many publishers.  How best to set up a subscription website, plan the content, and build an audience online?  There may be some helpful lessons to be learnt from the experiences of start up digital publishers who have successfully established subscription/ membership sites. 

Miles Galliford, founder of Subhub, has worked with hundreds of niche online publishers over the last few years, and has compiled a set of practical guidelines based on their experiences.

The highlights are summarised below, but the full articles are available in the Guides section on the members pages for the Specialist Media Network, including a PDF extract from Miles’ recent book, the Funnel of Trust.  It’s free to register to view these pages.  You’ll also get access to presentations from past conferences and exclusive research on how niche publishers are experimenting with digital media.

Focus on a specialist topic and become excellent at it

 Find a niche you know about and become the ultimate expert.  Stick to the HEART acronym for online content: Honest, Exclusive, Accurate, Relevant and Timely.

Understand how online publishing is different to print

 Make the most of what makes online content unique:  databases and search, real-time, audio & video, audience interaction, instant delivery of digital goodies.

Find a good CMS to manage subscription content & member data

 Ensure you can publish easily, track member data, sell products online, build relationships and have the flexibility to evolve.  And excellent technical support is crucial.

Use social media to build visibility and credibility

 In your target markets, embrace the power of social media to publish and share content and build communities of interest. Contribute great content and interact with the group to build visibility and credibility.

Build a network using Linked In

 This takes patience and persistence, but steadily building connections, providing value and being helpful will pay off in the long term.

Think like an Olympic athlete

Success in online publishing is a marathon, and the winners are those that are focussed, invest the time and remain persistent, rather than those with the greatest resources or the flashiest websites.

Read these articles in full here when you register for free membership of the Specialist Media Network.

Miles is running a free workshop at the Specialist Media Show on 24 May 2012 on successful subscription websites. 

Register for the show now so you get the chance to reserve your seat first when workshop booking opens.