This blog post is inspired by a question that came up earlier this week in one of the forums I’m in. Have you had questions about what system to use when you’re just getting started? There are so many moving parts, and it can be quite the puzzle.

Take a look at her question below. Maybe you know someone in your life who’s working out the same puzzle? Pass this blog post along.

Or maybe the person is you.

Her question

I’m re branding and I’m frozen at moving forward because I not sure what to do with the backend. A friend recommended office autopilot but it’s expensive as an ongoing monthly payment. Another said you can just use plug ins. Seriously stifled can anyone help?

    I need it to:

        Collect emails – straight to my email marketing
        Take registration for workshops and retreats
        Send auto responders
        Do payments and send receipts
        Eventually – membership area for online classes where I can post updates, play sheets, replays

My answer (or suggestion)

Hi, Maybe this will help a little?

While getting started, why not keep things simple?

Mailchimp can handle your email opt-ins – free for less than 2000 subscribers. If you need a full series of autoresponders (for an 8 week ecourse or something else) their prices are pretty fair. Or if you just need a message sent immediately after they sign up, with download goodies, that’s built into the free version.

And use a simple shopping cart. e-junkie is $5/month and even has an affiliate system. I prefer WP Simple Paypal shopping cart (free WP plugin) that syncs with my paypal account – its a breeze. Another inexpensive option is WP e-store.

Workshops are sometimes best sold through eventbrite.

Membership sites are great, but you might also flow with some of the trends, like using a secret Facebook group for all your support components. I’ve hosted full day “virtual” workshops via FB (with front & back end phone calls using freeconferencecallHD.com and assignments delivered through the Docs section of the FB group). It’s all possible, in a really simple format.

And, at the same time I’m really drawn to Office AutoPilot too. It’s probably where I’ll turn when I jump to the next stage. I love their videos 🙂
about a minute ago

But for now, if you’re still developing content & offerings, keep things simple. Don’t rush.

~ Loralee

p.s. She wrote back and said she thinks she’ll buy Office AutoPilot after all. So maybe this wasn’t such great advice