Content in this post may no longer be accurate. As of the Thrive Apprentice 4.0 update on January 25th, 2022, I no longer have a reason for using WishList Member in my tech stack.
One of the most common questions I get asked is whether or not someone still needs to use WishList Member with Thrive Apprentice. I have historically recommended the two tools be used together for specific use cases.
The reasons why you may still need to use WishList Member with Thrive Apprentice are:
- The payment provider you use is not supported by Thrive Apprentice.
- There is another tool in your tech stack that you need to connect and you have no other way of connecting except for using WishList Member.
Note: The prior version of this guide included using WLM to drip content in Thrive Apprentice and to protect items that aren’t courses, but as of the TAP 4.0 update you no longer need WLM to drip or protect any content on your site.
| Header |  |  |
|---|---|---|
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Integrations |
Integrates with three popular payment providers and WP user roles as well as a variety of other apps using webhooks via Thrive Automator |
Integrates with most external services and does so very well |
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Payment Solutions |
First class API integration with ThriveCart and WooCommerce that allows for utilization of specific features |
Integrates with most, but you forego Thrive Apprentice features |
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Content Protection |
Uses “products” to protect courses and and any other content on your site |
Protects any part of WordPress including courses and other pages, and can schedule/drip content |
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User Experience |
Simple, clean, and easy to use |
Extremely clunky to drip content, but straight forward content protection |
The payment provider you use is not supported
WishList Member integrates with a multitude of payment providers. Most of the integrations are good, too. Thrive Apprentice has a best-in-class integration with ThriveCart, a solid integration with WooCommerce, and a decent integration with SendOwl. If you don’t use one of those tools (and I REALLY recommend you use ThriveCart), then you need to use WishList Member.
There is another tool in your tech stack that you need to connect
WishList Member integrates with tons of tools like email marketing providers, CRM, Zapier, Webhooks, etc. Thrive Apprentice itself does not yet connect with other tools. If you need these connections built into your course automations, and you’re not using a tool like ThriveCart that can notify them via Zapier, etc., then you may need to use WishList Member.
Keep it simple and focus on a clean user experience
The most important thing you can do when planning for the future is to make sure you keep things simple and clean. Complicating your tech stack by relying on unneeded third-party tools will only create a knot you have to untie later. If you can use just Thrive Apprentice by itself with a direct integration to ThriveCart, then I recommend you do it.
If you have any questions regarding whether or not you still need WLM, feel free to comment below or schedule a 1-on-1 coaching call with me.