Hello. Tim here.

By the time you read this, I will be in Denver in my new home.

Here's to new adventures!

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1. How to Build a Membership Site Business

Membership sites are amazing businesses. They are profitable, fun, and can be applied to almost every business model.

In addition, building a membership site has many advantages over other models, because if you are able to create a thriving community, the members will become your best advocates.

If you're thinking about creating a membership site business, follow this simple framework to fast track your success.

Step 1 - Be Specific

Your membership site needs to be about something unique and specific.

If you try to create another "run of the mill" membership site, you will probably fail. You need to sell to a specific audience. For instance ...

• Copyblogger Academy is for writers
• Corey Wilks' site is for aspiring coaches

Step 2 - Use Circle

The biggest problem I encountered was finding the best platform to host my community. I tried using MemberPress, Facebook, Mighty Networks (which was a complete disaster) and now I finally have found the perfect platform with Circle.

There are many reasons why this is, but the biggest reason is because Circle has a payment gateway built into the platform.

This makes it easy to create different levels of membership and different payment plans without creating problems with your billing and accounting.

Step 3 - Create Great Sales Copy and Automations

Learning to write copy is a lifelong skill and learning how to create automations takes years of practice. However, to truly generate the sales and success you want.

Step 4 - Make Introductions

The hardest part about membership sites is creating engagement. If there is no community, the members will not stay. The best way to manufacture community and engagement is to be a community facilitator. Get to know your members and make introductions so that your members can get the full experience of the community.

Step 5 - Can't Stop Won't Stop

A membership site is highly profitable. Once you build the site, you can sell it an infinite amount of times. This scalability takes consistency, so be consistent and patient.

I am going to be fully transparent with my work at Copyblogger Academy. It's been such a challenging learning curve and I am extremally proud of it. Now I want to continue sharing my experience so that you can learn from my mistakes instead of learning from your own.

2. We Bought a Company, Here's the Plan.

In this episode, Ethan and I discuss what we plan to do with the new SaaS company we bought. We also talk about different ways to make the company as profitable as possible while continuing to make the service desirable.

​Click here to listen to the episode.

P.S. - I was very sick while recording this so please excuse my voice.

3. How I Sold My First Company

Tim Stoddart @TimStodz I sold my first company two days ago. It wasn’t a huge one, but it felt good, and I learned a lot. Here’s how it went down + some lessons you can take away: 🧵 pic.twitter.com/AbKSTMQBk7 December 7th 2022 3 Retweets 93 Likes

I received a lot of feedback and questions last week after making the announcement that I sold New Lyfe Clothing, which is my first "company exit" of my career.

Although it wasn't huge sale in terms of dollar amount, it was a great experience and it gave me time to reflect on the journey that was New Lyfe Clothing.

It was a great time in my life.

​Click here to read the full thread.

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5. How to Be a Purple Cow

In most cases, it's more important to be different than it is to be better.

There can only be one winner in the race to be the best, but if you can find a way to be different, you create a category of one.

​Click here to watch the video.

6. The Creator Economy is a Bust

​The message in this 11 minute episode completely changed my life. This is what gave me the courage to become a writer and build a big business.

7. The True Meaning of "Minimum Viable Product."

True confession: I built my online business in the most backward way possible. And I’m here to share my sordid tale (and the true meaning of minimum viable product) so you don’t make the same mistakes I did.

I want to save you from years of frustration, months of waffling, and full days of stumbling around in a fog.

If only I had this information when I started!

But it brings me some consolation to know that you’ll have it. That you won’t need to experience the painful process of birthing your online business ideas quite the same way I did.

8. There's Never Been More Opportunity to Be a Copywriter

Why do you think there is such an uptick in interest for the search term "copywriter?"

It's simple ... because there has been an uptick in demand.

Let me tell you a secret about writing copy. IT'S HARD!

There's a great phrase in copywriting circles that says "everyone thinks they're a good writer until they need to write sales copy."

But when you become good at writing copy, you start to discover that it's a super power.

Companies will pay top dollar for great copywriting (trust me) and as an entrepreneur, your copywriting will be one of your most useful and lucrative skills.

9. Off to a Good Start

Last week, I wrote about all the mistakes I've made over the years with building Copyblogger Academy.

The relaunch has been off to a good start.

I've gained another 42 new members. The next steps are ...

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• bring the current members into the platform (so I'll have about 1000 paying customers)
• create and launch the automation
• create the affiliate program
• be consistent to build the best membership experience on the entire internet

I'm really proud of this work. It's been hard, but I'm doing it and I know it's going to be huge.

10. Final Thought - "We're All Going to Die."

As I write this, I am sitting in a hotel room in Kansas City.

I have another 9 hours of driving today before I finally get to Denver.

I felt sad leaving my house in Nashville.

I remember walking into that house for the first time feeling like it was a castle. I couldn't believe that I could actually buy a home, none the less a home with high ceilings and a big shower.

I felt like I had made it.

More than 4 years later, I'm a totally different person.

I am happy to be moving somewhere new, but as I was walking out of the empty house for the first time, I felt a deep wave of sadness and nostalgia.

We found Alice (our dog) in Nashville. We got married there. We had our son and recently our daughter in Nashville. It's where we started a family. We met our neighbors who have become some of the best friends I could ever imagine having.

It was an adventure, and now I'm looking forward on what's to come.

Nashville become very safe and expected. I knew everyone at the gym and I said the same things to the same people in the same order almost every day.

As my wife and I were first talking about the idea of moving, we kept reminding ourselves that "we're going to die one day."

When I focus on that point, when I focus on the reality that I am going to die, suddenly I stop taking things so seriously.

What's the worst that can happen? Maybe I will lose some money? Maybe I will have to spend more money to fly home and see my family? So what? ... I'm going to die one day.

When that day comes, I don't think we will look back at these new adventures with regret. I think we would regret NOT taking the risks and not attempting to the live the life that makes us feel most alive.

I'm excited to get to Denver. I'm excited to get settled and live a normal life again.

More than anything, I'm excited for the unknown.

This will be one awesome adventure. I want to go on as many adventures possible before I die.

Love you guys.

Talk to you next week.

Tim

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