In around 10 years, online retailer Zappos has gone from startup to $1 billion in sales. They’ve done this through smart strategy, remarkable customer service and a near fanatical devotion to the ‘culture’ of the company.

Funnily enough there are plenty of companies that would like to tap into a little of this online pixie dust. Executives from Southwest Airlines and Best Buy, amongst many others, have made the pilgrimmage to the Zappos HQ in Las Vegas to learn first hand what’s made Zappos the marketing, retail and internet darling it is.

Apparently what happens in Vegas, does not stay in Vegas.

Help for the Fortune 1 Million

But what if your budget doesn’t quite stretch to a trip to Sin City – or to a private consultancy session with the Zappos top brass?

Well, no problem. Back in late 2008 / early 2009 Zappos decided to launch ZapposInsights.com – a subscription site that allows anyone to take a sneak peek behind the curtains and learn from the Zappos team.

As CEO Tony Hsieh explains, the site is targeted at the “Fortune 1 million”  and is designed to be “something that’s accessible to almost any business.” And at a smidge under $40 a month, it is.

Features include:

• Video interviews with members of the Zappos team
• A resource library that includes materials that Zappos use in recruitment, training etc…
• A discussion forum
• The chance to ask questions, which are in turn answered with more videos

Could Your Business Do the Same?

In technical terms, there’s nothing particularly complicated (or expensive) about implementing a ZapposInsights.com. What’s needed is access to a market that trusts your expertise and the content to feed the membership site.

In this case the idea works because:

• Zappos have demonstrated their expertise in this market,
• that expertise is in demand
• and they have created a simple, profitable, model for sharing this expertise.

So if an online retailer can make this work, why not a business that’s already selling information and expertise – like an existing consultancy firm, or a print publisher in search of new ways of earning a crust?

Why not your business?