Not getting anywhere with s2Member

[MikeS2M]

After lots of time watching the tutorial videos and reading threads here, I am still not getting anywhere with s2Member.

My objective is to convert my existing blog (http://bigvideosforyou.com) into a membership site that satisfies the following requirements:

• Not everything is to be locked down - teasers plus certain pages must remain public.
• Customers register after payment (redirected from Thank You page; payment set in Paypal: 1 payment, 1 trial month, then $/mo. until they cancel; Paypal redirects to Thank you page) at level 1 (access to everything).
• Members are added manually (by admin) to level 1 without payment. (There will be no level 0.)
• Both, customers who registered and members added manually are entered in Aweber mailing list (single, not double opt-in).

I set up a test site (brand new and clean), followed lots of instructions and am stuck.

The test site is: http://membertest.maxalter.com/.

First test: add new member manually ( I did this because I have a list with just under 200 subscribers, so it's not going to be the end of the world to enter them by hand).The new member was indeed added to the User list, received an email to login, logged in, changed password but then did not have access to anything apart from the Login Welcome Page.

How can I give this member level 1 access?

Next:
When I set up the Aweber list for this test, I ticked the "Paypal orders" in Email Parsers and left it at that as that's how I understood the tutorial videos.
When I set up Aweber in the API/List server module, I entered the list name only in level 1. I left all other levels clear (I don't want anyone at level 0).

Result: The test member was not entered in the Aweber list.

I found this notice when I checked Aweber (through the link next to the Paypal Orders parser check box):

This type of integration is available only for shopping cart buttons. For recurring payment or subscription products, a web form will need to be placed somewhere in the order process instead.

???

I am now at a loss where to go next.

I have another solution to setting up the membership site functionality with free plugins. The reason I go for free plugins is that I need to test the viability of the project before spending hundreds of dollars. The other solution isn't as reliable as I would like it to be and does not quite work as I would like, but I could live with it for a short while until I established the vialbility of the site. I don't really want to go down that route. That's why I returned to testing s2Member yet again.

Is there a guide somewhere that I overlooked which would tell me step by step how to set up a basic membership site? For someone who has not done it before, the myriads of options in s2Member are overwhelming. My solution was to view the videos several times, write down a step-by-step script of what to do and execute it. Not with much success, obviously.

Can anyone suggest what I could do next to get the test site going?

Thanks for your help

Max

[Jason Caldwell]

Thanks for inquiry.

• Not everything is to be locked down - teasers plus certain pages must remain public.
• Customers register after payment (redirected from Thank You page; payment set in Paypal: 1 payment, 1 trial month, then $/mo. until they cancel; Paypal redirects to Thank you page) at level 1 (access to everything).
• Members are added manually (by admin) to level 1 without payment. (There will be no level 0.)
• Both, customers who registered and members added manually are entered in Aweber mailing list (single, not double opt-in).

All of this sounds perfectly OK.

First test: add new member manually ( I did this because I have a list with just under 200 subscribers, so it's not going to be the end of the world to enter them by hand).The new member was indeed added to the User list, received an email to login, logged in, changed password but then did not have access to anything apart from the Login Welcome Page.

How can I give this member level 1 access?

If you're creating a User manually, from inside your Dashboard, you can set the Role yourself, either while you're creating the account, or afterward, by editing the User's account. Screenshot provided below.

( click to enlarge )

Next:
When I set up the Aweber list for this test, I ticked the "Paypal orders" in Email Parsers and left it at that as that's how I understood the tutorial videos.
When I set up Aweber in the API/List server module, I entered the list name only in level 1. I left all other levels clear (I don't want anyone at level 0).

Please see this important thread regarding AWeber and the PayPal Email Parser.

Regarding the PayPal Parser. The reason we've started asking site owners to use the new s2Member Email Parser, is because some plugins for WordPress modify the From: address used in emails sent by your installation of WordPress. This can break the PayPal Email Parser, which relies heavily on that email header. Please see this post: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=15496#p45312

For the benefit of other readers, please see this post regarding s2Member's Email Parser for AWeber:
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=15496

[Jason Caldwell]

Is there a guide somewhere that I overlooked which would tell me step by step how to set up a basic membership site? For someone who has not done it before, the myriads of options in s2Member are overwhelming. My solution was to view the videos several times, write down a step-by-step script of what to do and execute it. Not with much success, obviously.

Can anyone suggest what I could do next to get the test site going?

You can obtain technical support through these forums, or by writing to us here.

You should expect to receive a reply within 24-48 hours. We also have video tutorials here, FAQs, and a list of Common Questions/Problems/Tips available here. You can also search our support forums, as many problems/questions have been resolved for others, and this may save you time.

If you need dedicated support/assistance, please consider hiring a freelancer to help you integrate s2Member into your business model. We keep a list of Job Postings here.

FYI: WebSharks, Inc. no longer provides professional installation service for s2Member. We now work to maintain/improve the s2Member software, and to support our Customers via email/forums. If you need professional installation, please try jobs.wordpress.net, as seen below.

s2Member® / Hot Tip: ( s2Installs.com! )

Recommended by s2Member® Lead Developer (Jason Caldwell). Their rate for a standard installation is $125. They're highly trained. Just request their service!

Need Help? Post A New Job!

It's free. Your Job will appear here, and @ jobs.wordpress.net. It will be displayed for a period of 21 days; or until you take it off, whichever comes first. Good luck!

[MikeS2M]

Hi Jason,

Thank you for taking the time for this extensive reply. It was very helpful, and I am sure I won't be the only one who'll benefit. It means that I can now give up giving up on s2member.

Obviously, the membership level problem is now solved. Just to make sure, I modified the user level in my test site as you showed and all is fine.

Now, as far as the email parser goes, a funny thing happened:
I added the test user (myself) on Friday, at 11.41am (UK time). Just now (Sunday, 12.24am - yes I am mad, I log in after midnight at the weekend), I received the optin email from Aweber (with a 36 hour delay after I had added the test member) and despite the fact that I had turned double opt-in off in Aweber when I set up the new test list yesterday. I had set the parser to Paypal. Very odd, indeed. I checked in Aweber. The test member had been added to the mailing list precisely at 12.24 am.

As this was a brand new and empty list, it could not have had anything to do with the rule that Aweber does not add subscribers from the same IP address more that once in 24 hours. Or did I get this wrong?

At any rate, I can now use s2Member at least without the email feature, which is a great relief as it integrates all the other features I want in one place. I have a workaround for adding people to the mailing list.

Thanks for your help again.

Max

[Jason Caldwell]

You are VERY welcome.

Now, as far as the email parser goes, a funny thing happened:
I added the test user (myself) on Friday, at 11.41am (UK time). Just now (Sunday, 12.24am - yes I am mad, I log in after midnight at the weekend), I received the optin email from Aweber (with a 36 hour delay after I had added the test member) and despite the fact that I had turned double opt-in off in Aweber when I set up the new test list yesterday. I had set the parser to Paypal. Very odd, indeed. I checked in Aweber. The test member had been added to the mailing list precisely at 12.24 am.

As this was a brand new and empty list, it could not have had anything to do with the rule that Aweber does not add subscribers from the same IP address more that once in 24 hours. Or did I get this wrong?

Hmm. The only thing I can think of, is a mail server delay.
The communication between s2Member and AWeber takes place entirely via email. So if your WordPress installation sent an email to AWeber via your s2Member integration, and that email was held up in a processing queue locally on your server, it could account for the delay you've seen here. You might check your hosting control panel, or the mail queue on your server to see if mail is getting backed up.