Former Community – We Moved
🆕 Coached community here, for posts & feedback public community here.
Changes in subscription model: 3 days pass now available
A few people I know, of course, know about this website.
And I was always surprised when a couple of them said they loved it... But "had to stop at the 5 articles limit".
These were professionals with enough spare income to afford a $14.9 charge which they can cancel at any time.
I was also surprised that a few people bought a one-off $49 package for one-month access while they could have taken the $14.9/month and canceled right away.
Do some people not trust the fact that they can cancel at any time?
Then I noticed that ReadingGraphics, a book summaries website, now offers a "per book download".
And then I got this message one my summary of "The Masks of Masculinity":
And I thought that maybe people do not want the hassle of "monthly subscription", or having to cancel later on.
I am the same after all, I like freedom and I am annoyed at recurring charges I need to keep an eye. This website is about freedom, too.
So I decided to amend the subscription options.
Now there is a 3 days pass for 9.99.
And I have also added a non-recurring yearly one for 99.
I don't think many will take it, but you know the psychology: it serves as a contrast to underline the great value of the other 2 offers.
I'll keep you updated on how it goes.
This is an interesting insight. Thanks for sharing! It has shed some light on my own psychology of purchasing memberships on websites or apps.
I enjoy the transparency of your website. But I personally have been scarred by other websites employing "dark patterns" to make it difficult for me to unsubscribe. These malicious websites make you jump through many obstacles like surveys, additional questions, hidden buttons and so on. I feel frustrated wasting time on such matters, especially knowing that I don't have a choice.
For me, there's a "hidden" emotional barrier when seeing the word "recurring". I'm guessing some users may share similar sentiments. I have a tendency to go for short non-recurring subscriptions like 3 days initially and then go for lifetime subscriptions afterwards when I feel synergy with the product.
This is my perspective.
Daily subscriptions feel like buying coffee. I want to read about articles around a topic and continue with my day.
Monthly subscriptions feel like renting an apartment. I need access to your articles to help me out with difficult client negotiations during the month.
Lifetime subscriptions feel like I "own" the course (when it's actually just the membership) and am forever part of the circle. I value the course as part of my lifelong personal development.
One example is the productivity software "Freedom" (https://freedom.to/premium). It offers 3 tiers
Monthly: $6.99/month
Yearly: $2.42/month
Forever: $129.00
After trying out the free version and finding it to be of value, I went for forever right away.
I didn't want to think about recurring charges as you mentioned and wanted to enjoy it being part of my arsenal of tools forever.
Thank you for bringing this up. It has helped me to think about pricing models.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts man.
We are very similar in this.
And unluckily even some well-established companies make it complicated to un-subscribe. Just yesterday I wanted to pause my Audible subscritpion.. 10 minutes to find.
It might not seem a lot, but I had to go to "contact us" to find that the cancel button was there.
Short-Term VS Long-Term Disposition
There is a very interesting observation in your message.
The tendency for certain people to go either short term or long-term when it comes to choosing options.
You and I are long-term oriented. We see that it's most convenient to go long-term and we think "that's the most rational thing to do, easy".
People with a short-term disposition think "I wanna keep as much money in my pocket right now. The short-term option keeps more money in my pocket".
Short-term people tend to react more to pleasures and immediate gratifications.
And that also leads them to have less money set aside because their mind is too deadset on the "pleasure right now" to value the long-term safety (and power) that money provides them with.
Some industries are wholly based around short-term people.
Think of the "payday loans". Or credit cards.
To a long-term guy credit card credit yells "rip-off". To a short-term guy it means "money in my pocket right now: what a sweet deal".
P.S.: more people than I thought took the yearly option, in the end.
And I think that's in part because people who end up here are interested in building a long-term successful life.
