Top 5Things You Need to Know To Get the Most Value out of Your Online Marketing Institute Membership

Online marketing is changing all of the time. It's one of the most rapidly evolving spaces around. There are so many tools, techniques, and strategies that you need to keep up with. The good news is that as an OMI member, you have access to all of this information — and more! But what does it take to make sure you're getting the most out of your membership?

1. What benefits are there to becoming an IoD member?

There are lots of benefits to becoming an IoD member, including: - Being part of a global network of entrepreneurs - Access to business support and events - Expertise in areas like digital, HR, finance and tax - A place to collaborate with other business owners - Opportunities to help solve local issues - A chance to help shape the future of your city or town

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that marketing can be hugely effective when you’re open and transparent. It’s my hope that this section of the IO’s website has helped to enshrine a few of these core principles into your marketing strategy. So how can you be more open and transparent?

We don’t want to just give you tips and tricks, though. From our experience, they don’t make the magic happen. What you do with those tips and tricks matters too.

Here’s an example. Say you have a partner who’s particularly good at social media. Your best option may be for your partner to just forward the tips and tricks to you. While your hard work has been well-received, the value you’ve contributed to the business is probably lost in translation. Could you tell your partner that without them, you wouldn’t be reaching as many people? Does it work for all types of marketing? What about if you’re selling a product? For instance, could you ask your customers about their objectives, needs, process, etc.?

We’re on a campus, so we can’t complain too much about being shut in. But, when we would ask friends in person about tips and tricks, they were mostly focused on the benefits. For instance, analysing your audience’s emotions is cooler than selling something. Getting a sense of their expectations is more important than giving them a course to learn more about your product.

How you ask and answer these questions helps to forge the kind of motherhood-crushing relationship that sells. Here‘s something better to think about: you and your business should be asking each other what benefits we desire and what pain points we want to address.

2. How much does a membership cost?

Your membership costs are based on the number of members in your team and the number of projects you’re working on. For example, if you’re a solo freelancer, you pay $15 per month because you have one project. If there are three members of your team and three projects each, you’ll pay $35 per month.

The small print: As an OMI member, you’re part of the Medium family. That means you and your team have priority access to everything Medium publishes. With over 350,000 writers on the site, Medium is the publishing platform for authors, publishers, brands, and entrepreneurs. Preconceptions? Nope. We ensure creators have access to the tools they need to succeed.

You and your team will have the opportunity to apply for special contributor privileges at any time. You’re among the first to hear about ideas, projects, and votes that could shape the future of Medium.

These first two benefits are personalized and driven by you and your team. In the last 12 months, we’ve raised over $225,000 for over 2,000 writers and helped writers grow their audiences, boost traffic, and drive retail sales. The members we’ve been able to assist have an average commission rate of $35 for articles published.

Since we started back in 2018, we’ve already landed writers for publications including Creators Network, Inc., Elemental, and Fast Company. As your income does increase, you can use the money to support the work you currently do to help others, or invest in other ventures that will help future writers.

These are just a few of the ways in which your membership can help you. If you’re ready to upgrade, here are the four areas to consider when looking at your membership option:

Every month you’re a member of the OMI is another chance to grow your following. The more you grow, the more you will be eligible to win free marketing from editors and publications. At the moment, our members’ median clickthrough rate is 8.6%.

3. How do I become a member of the IoD?

To become a member of the IoD, you have to be invited to join by a fellow member.

• Why join?
•  Get access to sector specific content
•  View and export your web analytics
•  Make yourself understood by the other members 
•  Gather insights into your industry's emerging trends
•  The benefits.
•  All of the above, for just $84 a month.

 If you look at the product list from the site's home page, you'll notice that part of the experience is to get a sneak peek at a number of industry specializations. 

4. What is the difference between a business membership and an individual membership?

Business memberships are for businesses with multiple people in the company. If you’re a freelancer, for example, you’d choose an individual membership. If you’re an entrepreneur or a small business owner, you’d choose a business membership.

If this is your first time signing up for an OMI membership, you’re probably wondering, “what do I get for nothing?” Exactly. It isn’t a membership fee or a gift. Here are the benefits that are part of every subscription:

You’re already doing a lot of work behind the scenes. Maybe there’s one person in a company that you could turn into a lead or a connector. Maybe there’s another team member who doesn’t do much, but a handful of leads they’re accumulating. A paid membership could help with both of those. So, just like your term papers, you would cover the bases upfront.

If your lead is full of leads, would you have a difficult time finding qualified leads? Of course not. With an online course as your incentive, you’re more likely to give leads a valuable opportunity to become active, and give each of those leads the ability to support you in the long-term.

There’s an enormous number of people with the following names: Lisa Kruse, Avram Rajamannan, Lise Van Bommel, SEO expert Malcolm Gladwell, Brian Clark, Peter Drucker, HubSpot expert Lisa Littekamp… None of them have written books, but they are highly respected experts in their fields. And they all offer free access to their writing and courses.

Is it worth paying $29.95/mo. to gain access to their writing and online courses? You might decide that it is. But if you were applying their knowledge in your own business, would it really help your goal? I don’t know yet. But if I could answer with a resounding, yep, definitely, it would!

This all goes back to the point above of providing value in the first exchange.

5. Does the IoD offer scholarships for students or young professionals looking to join the institute?

The IoD has a diversity scholarship scheme to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds get a foot on the career ladder. The scheme has been running for over 15 years, and has helped over 2,000 young people into apprenticeships, graduate jobs, and work experience.

Read our blog post to hear about recent award winners.

As an official marketing resource of the IoD, you’re able to download free eBooks, use the online business directory, access our marketing reports, and much more. Check out the membership benefits here.

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