Subscription Services?

[Gina71]

Hi Everyone -
I'm hoping someone can help me find information about subscription based information services.

For example : people sign up on my site to pay a few dollars each month (automatic payment thru paypal or something) to receive information services/newsletter/magazine online on a regular basis OR to receive membership access to a special site full of information?

I am using a company that does automated emails and newsletters - but how do I regulate people who are paying for my service. So if their payment doesn't go through, they don't receive the newsletter.

I am certain there are services out there. I just can't seem to find them.

Thanks in advance...Gina71

[flyingduck]

I'm in the same situ now looking to build a membership site.
The 'guru's use membersgate, but that costs $4,000 for
the 'basic' package!

I know you have to have the software, gateway that is
compatible with your site therefore you need an online merchant account.
I'm checking in to ACE but you might want to pm me to compare notes.

[jetpacklife]

I built a for pay subscription service in the past. I used Paypal subscriptions, and their notification system. I just had to run a couple of scripts on my site to keep track of who was active. You should be able to hire a programmer or find a inexpensive product to manage it. However, in the beginning, you could just do it by hand.

That said, I generally recommend providing it for free with ads supporting it. So many of the big for pay services have gone free. The economies of scale let you grow much bigger on a free service. After all, the information doesn't cost you any more to produce to provide it to 100 people or a 100,000 people.