Understand How to Configure Membership Levels

[Scott]

Seems like an amazing plugin. I'm just trying to figure things out and have read the docs and forum, but figured I'd just ask the question.

I'm planning on offering the following:

• Free Content / Downloads
• Course 1 - $5
• Course 2- $7
• Course 3- $5
• Course 4- $9
• Course 5, 6, 7, etc - $5
• Total Access - $25
• Total Access Plus Individual Content - $35

I'm note sure how I can accomplish this and so my question is really two-fold.

How do I create my content? As pages? or as posts i.e. Category - Course 1, then create posts for Course 1.
How do I configure s2Member? I've looked at the Custom Capability Packages and feel a little lost. Perhaps some guidance.

Of course, if I don't get it your advice, can I hire you to set this up for me?

thanks in advance for any insight!
Scott

[Jason Caldwell]

My favorite method of protection is with Tags. So I would use Posts.


Under, s2Member -> General Options -> Tag Level Access -> Level #0 or higher:
- Just type: free

( so content tagged with "free" requires free registration )

Anything you want to offer for free, gets tagged with "free". You could place some of these Posts into a category named "Free" if you like, but it's not required. Since you're using Tag Level Protection, you can always move the content around and re-organize things without disturbing s2Member's existing protection rules. This is the beauty of using Tags.


Under, s2Member -> General Options -> Tag Level Access -> Level #1 or higher:
- Just type: courses

( so content tagged with "courses" requires paid Membership at Level #1 or higher )


That's it. Anyone who signs up for Level #2 or higher will automatically have full access to all free content, and they'll also have full access to all content that requires Level #1 or higher; because they're at Level #2. In other words, Level #2 is your "Total Access" Level in this case.



For the benefit of other readers:
Membership Levels provide incremental access:

* A Member with Level 4 access, will also be able to access Levels 0, 1, 2 & 3.
* A Member with Level 3 access, will also be able to access Levels 0, 1 & 2.
* A Member with Level 2 access, will also be able to access Levels 0 & 1.
* A Member with Level 1 access, will also be able to access Level 0.
* A Subscriber with Level 0 access, will ONLY be able to access Level 0.

* WordPress® Subscribers are at Membership Level 0. If you're allowing Open Registration, Subscribers will be at Level 0 ( a Free Subscriber ).

* WordPress® Administrators, Editors, Authors, and Contributors have Level 4 access, with respect to s2Member. All of their other Roles/Capabilities are left untouched.

[Scott]

Under, s2Member -> General Options -> Tag Level Access -> Level #1 or higher:
- Just type: courses

( so content tagged with "courses" requires paid Membership at Level #1 or higher )

That's it. Anyone who signs up for Level #2 or higher will automatically have full access to all free content, and they'll also have full access to all content that requires Level #1 or higher; because they're at Level #2. In other words, Level #2 is your "Total Access" Level in this case.

OK thanks, its starting to make sense , so I understand the "free tag" and total access, but what about selling individual courses?
Each course will cover multiple posts (i.e. course 1 lesson 1, course 1 lesson 2, etc.)

If I want to sell ONLY 1 COURSE (but plan on selling approx 10 different courses), how do I configure a "Course #7" order now button? (Hopefully I'm explaining myself clearly)

thanks

[Jason Caldwell]

I see. So what you're talking about here is the difference between Membership Level Access, and Specific Post/Page Access; and/or Custom Capabilities.

There are two ways to accomplish this.

** 1. s2Member comes with an additional layer of functionality ( very powerful ), which allows you to sell access to specific Posts/Pages that you've created in WordPress®. Specific Post/Page Access works independently from Member Level Access. That is, you can sell an unlimited number of Posts/Pages using "Buy Now" Buttons, and your Customers will NOT be required to have a Membership Account with your site in order to receive access. If they are already a Member, that's fine, but they won't need to be.

In other words, Customers will NOT need to login, just to receive access to the Specific Post/Page they purchased access to. s2Member will immediately redirect the Customer to the Specific Post/Page after checkout is completed successfully. An email is also sent to the Customer with a link ( see: s2Member -> PayPal® Options -> Specific Post/Page Email ). Authentication is handled automatically through self-expiring links, good for 72 hours by default; but this can be customized, even extended to 5 years.

Specific Post/Page Access, is sort of like selling a product. Only, instead of shipping anything to the Customer, you just give them access to a specific Post/Page on your site; one that you created in WordPress®. A Specific Post/Page that is protected by s2Member, might contain a download link for your eBook, access to file & music downloads, access to additional support services, and the list goes on and on. The possibilities with this are endless; as long as your digital product can be delivered through access to a WordPress® Post/Page that you've created.

Very simple. All you do is protect the Specific Post/Page IDs that are being sold on your site. Then, you can go to s2Member -> PayPal® Buttons -> Specific Post/Page to generate "Buy Now" Buttons that you can insert into your WordPress® Editor, and make available on your site. The Button Generator for s2Member, will even let you Package Additional Posts/Pages together into one transaction.

** 2. Instead of Specific Post/Page Access, you could also use "Custom Capabilities" which are added onto an existing Membership offering. With Custom Capabilities, you can sell different variations of a Membership Level. For instance, you might offer Membership Level #1, that grants overall access to certain content that you've restricted with s2Member... but then, you might also make an additional variation available, or possibly as an upgrade; which would add one or two Custom Capabilities, that normal Level#1 Members would not have access to otherwise.

Custom Capabilities are very advanced. So in this case, I recommend option #1. However, if you're a developer, or someone that is willing to read through the s2Memeber -> API Scripting section in your WP Dashboard, Custom Capabilities can be even more powerful. They're the perfect solution to complex Membership offerings that would otherwise require a confusing number of Membership Levels. Custom Capabilities are highly extensible ( better than just Levels ). But, they are best suited for developers integrating s2Member on behalf of their client.

[Scott]

I was thinking Specific Post/Page Access, but it seems to remove the "Member" feel. Since they are only receiving link, and not login access to a membership area.

In regard to setting up the custom capabilities, is this something I could hire you to do? or do you have any recommendations?

I may be waiting to do this until the clickbank feature comes out since I am planning on selling a couple products through there.

thanks in advance.

[Jason Caldwell]

I was thinking Specific Post/Page Access, but it seems to remove the "Member" feel. Since they are only receiving link, and not login access to a membership area.

I can see where it may appear this way from the surface. But in practice, it's not so bad. If a Member is logged in already, they are really just purchasing additional access to something else that you're selling separately. So in your case, you could have everyone signup for an account, and then use Specific Post/Page Access once they're logged in. This way you're not losing the Membership feel.

The end result is that Specific Post/Page Access works with OR without Membership Level Access being required. It's fine if they are already a Member; they can still spend more money with you, in order to pay for something that is sold separately.

In regard to setting up the custom capabilities, is this something I could hire you to do? or do you have any recommendations?

Normally, yes; but given my current workload, I'll have to respectfully decline at this time. I recommend Elance.com. You can post a Project description there and take in bids. It's free to do that! Once you're comfortable with someone, you can accept their proposal and work will begin to your satisfaction. There are many developers at Elance.com that are familar with s2Member.

Alternatively, or in addition to Elance... you can post a project request here: viewforum.php?f=33

Up until now, this forum has been a little slow with respect to custom programming requests, mostly due to the fact that I've been taking the burden upon myself to handle custom programming for our clients.

Going forward into the future, we'll be farming this out more. This way we ( the development team for s2Member ) can remain focused on the core concepts of the application.