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The need for communication

More specifically, the need for communication within and about a membership club like IM Buyers Club.

This post covers the three main communication purposes and the tools used for each one of them:

1. Communication for Product Access.
2. Information about New Products added to the club and General Information about our Niche.
3. Direct Contact Communication.

Communication for Product Access

IM Buyers Club is built on a need of communication for members to get access to products.

This process happens inside the support-ticket system where you open a ticket with the request and receive my reply as fast as possible with your access credentials and special instructions (if needed).

The purpose of this communication is focused only on one thing, access to products. And you, as a member with your request for product access, is the initiator of the thread.

I've noticed new members who expect it to be as when buying individual products directly from a vendor, or via an affiliate platform like JVZoo or WarriorPlus.

IM Buyers Club works differently.

Yes, you will, after having signed up, get an initial welcome email with access details for the club's asset area on ProductDyno (where also the link to our huuuge Graphics Vault is located) plus the login details to your membership here on imbuyersclub.com.

But that's about it when it comes to you passively receiving product access from the club.

From that point on, what  you will get back from your investment in the membership is up to your initiative by requesting access to the products listed on the "Invitation" page(s).

Technically, we can use the support system for other communication. There is a broadcast option and a messenger bot.

However, let's agree to limit the use of the support system to exactly your individual product access and any issues related to your products or subscription. In that way, you will know that when an email from [email protected] arrives to your inbox, it is only for you and often a reply to your request for, or question about, products.

And that brings us to the second purpose of communication, the information about new products being added to the club's assets.

Information about new products added and General Information.

This is where "the rubber meets the road" for your perceived value of your membership. And where YOU drive and I provide the road and pit stops (and  a road-map if you are lost).

What does it mean? Well, it means that YOU are (of course) in charge of your business and its direction while I just try to add as many tools as possible to assist you on your journey. But you decide which of them you need for each turn of your direction and for whatever gear your online business is in.

You can use the club only as a substitute for a "shiny object hunt" by requesting as many programs as possible while hardly using any of them. That will save you from buying stuff with your own money, but will not do much else for bringing your business forward.

Checking the "Invitation page"

So far, the main way for you to get information about new products added to the club is to visit the "Invitation" page and check what was added lately. This is and will continue to be the safest way not to miss any tool you might need. But, it demands your initiative and some patience before reacting to every sales pitch landing in your in-basket. It is also does not cater for a way to ask if new products can and will be added.

IM Buyers Club Private Facebook Group

Lately, we also  use the private FB group for communication to, from, and between members. It works well, also for members' questions about new products, but not all members are on FB or, if they are, maybe don't want to participate in the group for whatever reason.

There are other applications available for group communication, Skype, Discord, or other forum platforms. My own experience it that an application used ONLY for one purpose will not be checked very often.

From now on, I propose that we use mainly two channels for information/questions about new products and general information: Email for club-broadcasts (with your possible individual replies) and the private FB group for broadcasts and group conversations. If the censorship by FB will become more severe, preventing links to be sent, we might consider to move to Skype. Please share your thoughts about this in the comments below.

Email

Email broadcasts about new products and other information, is still, more than one year after opening the club for members, a sore point of mine. And, with all the tools available in the club, it shouldn't be. Or, just maybe, that is the reason why it is?

Criteria for IM Buyers Club email communication

Using the tools available for club-members also for the needs of the club itself has been a criteria from start. That's why I have tried with different email platforms, like MailEngine for WordPress, but found them either too complicated or lacking in functionality and/or performance.

The second criteria for email broadcasts, if no suitable alternative among the club's assets, is that it should be a free service and the third criteria that it should allow for RSS automation.

Leaving the more thorough evaluation and review of the different email systems available in the club (like MaxMailz in DotcomPal, the shared access to Sendiio, and the latest addition (sort of) of LetsMail) to a separate post, here is the solution I have decided to implement from now on.

Welcome emails

The automatic welcome emails sent to new members directly after subscribing will stay with a free account in Mailchimp. The main reason being the easy and reliable integration between Mailchimp and Thrivecart. The automatic welcome email from the membership plugin (MemberSonic) on IMBuyersClub.com will, of course, also remain.

Email broadcasts with RSS from blog posts.

Since Mailchimp, in their free version, does not provide automatic broadcast campaigns for RSS, your email will be imported into MailerLite, the only free email service providing both automatic RSS campaigns and an excellent direct import of lists from Mailchimp.

From now on, and starting with this post, you will get an email from MailerLite every time I publish a new post on IMBuyersClub.com. This will happen only a few times per week.

Note that the addition of new products on the "Invitation" page will not trigger any RSS email. I will, however, try to make a summary blog-post with what's been added every week and what might be added during the coming week.

Still, it's a good habit to check the "Invitation" page yourself before forking out your own money for any new product.

There is also a possibility to subscribe to the RSS feed from Feedburner (see the side-bar). But I have noticed that the feed there doesn't get updated as often as it should.

Email broadcasts with RSS from posts in the private FB Group.