Is the New Rainmaker Platform for you?
More than any other question that I've heard in the last two months, I've answered this question with my classic line, “It depends.”
I wish it were simple. I wish I could just say YES to everyone or NO to anyone who asked.
I like simple and easy answers.
But some things in life aren't so simple. And this is one of those that really makes me scratch my head. Because it depends on you. So much you!
How technical are you?
Are you a WordPress maven? If you're highly technical and someone who knows all of what WordPress can do – and you like the control that WordPress (self-hosted) gives you, then no. It's not for you.
If you're not technical? Or if you don't know much about WordPress, and don't really care about your platform infrastructure – if you care more about what it does, rather than how it does it, then yes. Rainmaker is for you (affl link).
How visionary are you?
I'm asking this in a particular way. Are you a person who knows what they want? Right now. And what you want is a simple site, or a simple blog. Are you that person? If you don't have much more for your site to do than simply exist, then no, it's not for you.
If you're the big picture person – you know, the kind that says, sure, this is what my site does today, but in the future I want it to also do ….. and you fill in the blank – then yes. Rainmaker is for you.
I say that because they already offer simple digital downloads, basic membership solutions, podcast support and more. Soon they'll support anything you can imagine. And so if you're the kind of person that has growing visions, Rainmaker may be the perfect solution for you.
How concerned are you about cash?
I know what you're thinking right now. You're thinking I'm going to say if you worry about cash, skip it because it's like $100/month. But you're wrong.
If you don't care about cash, skip Rainmaker. Go buy the best hosting you can get. Go buy the best ecommerce, membership, eLearning, and more plugins. Why not? You can afford it. And if money is no object, hire a developer to connect all the dots. Rainmaker isn't for you.
On the flip side, if you care about cost, then this may be right for you. Because you care about costs, you'll be glad to know the payment gateway is all set with Stripe. Because you care about costs, you'll be happy to know hosting is included. Because you care about costs, you'll be happy to know there are no additional costs for themes, podcast support, or membership components.
If you're cost conscious, then yes. Rainmaker is for you.
Are you willing to do work?
Let's be honest. Not everyone is trying to build a brand. Not everyone is trying to build a business. Some people just want to put up a site. That's their definition of success. That a site is up, live and that their friends can see it. If that's you, then no, it's not for you.
If you care about building a brand, building a business, and are willing to do the work to make it a reality, the education in the New Rainmaker is perfect for you. It will help you grow your business – but only if you're willing to work hard.
If you're into hard work, then yes. Rainmaker is for you.
Conclusion
The new Rainmaker platform doesn't do everything. It's not perfect. And this isn't a pre-sales site where you can get every question answered. But I can tell you this – the questions above are the ones I've been using to help people figure out what's right for them.
Hopefully it will help you.