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Providing Downloads Can Make For an Easy Life

There are many successful subscription websites that offer downloads, sometimes as their primary offering, sometimes to supplement their other content.

Downloads are files that can be downloaded from your server to the client's PC. The files can cover a range of content:

Video clips of interviews
Video how-to guides
Music clips
Re-sellable software
Computer applications to make the user's life easier
Clip art
Photos
eBooks
Re-sellable ebooks
Design elements for websites, e.g., icons, buttons, logos, etc.
Web site templates
Business plan templates
Specialist calculators for working out mortgages, investment returns, etc.
Templates for Microsoft Office applications
Patterns for needlework, knitting, embroidery, etc.
System analysis tools
Software for PDA’s and mobiles
Etc.

If you can build a large well-targeted download library, you can attract a membership base without having to worry about producing daily content.

Also, visitors perceive many downloads as having high value and therefore it is easy to justify the price of the subscription. Often they feel they get value for their money with the first download they make.

An example of a very successful specialist website that largely survives on providing downloads to their members is Artistic Threadworks (www.artisticthredworks.com). They provide members with over 5,000 sewing patterns that they can download.

Some download sites also offer the opportunity for non-members to buy downloads at a one-off price. This can be another significant income stream.