Where to place the specific post buttons?

[wolfie]

I thought initially that buying a specific post would be to insert the "Buy Now" button in the post and once bought it would show the entire post. However, it doesn't seem like this is the way it works.

I don't want any membership access, just buy per post feature but - where do I place the buy now buttons? Do I create a separate page with all buttons for each post manually? I want it as simple as possible.

[Jason Caldwell]

Hi Wolfie. Yes, you are correct.

So let's say you have a Post, titled: "My Awesome Post".
You need to find the ID for that Post, and protect it with s2Member's ( Specific Post/Page Access ), by entering the Post ID into the box provided in the General Options section. See: s2Member -> General Options -> Specific Post/Page Access.

Now, you will generate a PayPal Form/Button to sell access to that Specific Post/Page. You can place that Button anywhere you like. I suggest creating a sales page, with full details about what the Customer will receive, and insert the Button at the bottom.

[wolfie]

Oh, okay. Thanks. So, since I'll be selling a big list of articles... how do I do that smoothly though because after a while that list will be massive with loads and loads of buttons? And do you know any way to make a preview, so they can read the first paragraph of the article but then buy the whole one?

[Jason Caldwell]

Oh, okay. Thanks. So, since I'll be selling a big list of articles... how do I do that smoothly though because after a while that list will be massive with loads and loads of buttons?

Once you generate 3 or 4 Button Codes, you'll become familiar with how s2Member creates the Shortcodes. Most site owners just skip the Button Generator after that, and they change the Shortcodes manually; using a previous Shortcode as a template to start from.

And do you know any way to make a preview, so they can read the first paragraph of the article but then buy the whole one?

Yes, you can use s2Member's Advanced Conditionals for this. In your WP Dashboard, go to:
s2Member -> API /Scripting -> Advanced Conditionals

Here is a quick example:

Code: Select all

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.

<?php if(current_user_can("access_s2member_level1")){ ?>

And this is some additional content that will only be available when a Member is logged in with Level #1 access.

<?php } ?>

Please read the Advanced Conditionals section first though.
You will need the Exec-PHP plugin before you can use Advanced Conditionals.

[Jason Caldwell]

@NOTE
In a future release of s2Member, we'll be implementing "Basic" Conditionals. Making it possible to use Conditionals without having the Exec-PHP plugin. Look for this in a future release.

[mrsshopper]

How do you find the post ID in order to protect it?

[Jason Caldwell]

You have to hover over the Post links inside WordPress, which reveals the "ID" in your browser's status bar. An easier way is to install this plugin, which puts the information back into WordPress for you. In my opinion, this is a feature that is lacking in current versions of the WordPress framework. I'll be addressing this in the next release of s2Member. See: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/simply-show-ids/

This one is even better. This one is created by WebSharks, Inc.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-show-ids/

[mrsshopper]

I figured out how to find out the posts id but was not having luck with the page ids so thank you for the link to the plug in, it worked fabulously. Thanks!

[Jason Caldwell]

Thanks for reporting back!
I just posted a Sticky article on this topic for everyone else.
I'm sure this is a common question.

[wolfie]

Cool, I'll make a sales page. But... what do I do if I have about 100 posts I want to sell? I can't make a sales page with 100 buttons, especially not manually.

[Jason Caldwell]

In that case, you could either:

- Package them all together into one or more Membership packages that you sell access to.
See: s2Member -> General Options -> Post,Page,Category,Tag,URI Access Controls

- Package up a bunch of individual Posts/Pages into one "Specific Post/Page Sale"
See: s2Member -> PayPal Buttons -> Specific Post/Page Access.

You will only have ONE or possibly TWO PayPal® Buttons, no matter which of these options you choose.

[wolfie]

I figure maybe someone are interested in the solution I went for in the end so here's my contribution:

I want to sell them one by one with minimal administration. So first I placed every post I wanted to sell in the category "Premium". Then I wrote a simple script that queried the database for all posts in that category only. Lastly I created a PHP loop that typed out title, excerpt and buy now-button. So in the end it's a big listing of all articles. The excerpt is there because it functions perfectly for me to give more information about the post without displaying to much. Actually, it's perfect. I'm very pleased. Let's just hope the stuff sells.

[Jason Caldwell]

Awesome, thanks for posting this solution.

I figure maybe someone are interested in the solution I went for in the end so here's my contribution:

I want to sell them one by one with minimal administration. So first I placed every post I wanted to sell in the category "Premium". Then I wrote a simple script that queried the database for all posts in that category only. Lastly I created a PHP loop that typed out title, excerpt and buy now-button. So in the end it's a big listing of all articles. The excerpt is there because it functions perfectly for me to give more information about the post without displaying to much. Actually, it's perfect. I'm very pleased. Let's just hope the stuff sells.