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Show HN: Lifetime SaaS Deals (tired of paying monthly for biz tools?)

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Re: Show HN: Lifetime SaaS Deals (tired of paying monthly for biz tools?)

#11

Post by bryanrasmussen »

jedberg wrote: post #4

As someone who runs a SaaS business, lifetime subscriptions seem like the worst idea ever. I can't imagine it gets you that many more people who wouldn't buy otherwise, vs the incredible risk you take that you've correctly predicted the cost of providing your service forever . That being said, this is a super helpful list!

This is actually the reason why I do not buy any lifetime membership. Because of the risks involved it seems to me that buying lifetime memberships run the risk for the customer of overspending when the service closes shop. Or in some way getting screwed.

An obviously bad monetization strategy is more of a warning sign than no monetization strategy at all.

Re: Show HN: Lifetime SaaS Deals (tired of paying monthly for biz tools?)

#14

Post by ujjain »

jedberg wrote: post #4

As someone who runs a SaaS business, lifetime subscriptions seem like the worst idea ever. I can't imagine it gets you that many more people who wouldn't buy otherwise, vs the incredible risk you take that you've correctly predicted the cost of providing your service forever . That being said, this is a super helpful list!

There was a forever hosting provider for a one-time fee in Holland.

They were very popular until they went out of business.

They weren't cheap either! I think €99 or even €199, but don't remember well. It was around 8 years ago.

Re: Show HN: Lifetime SaaS Deals (tired of paying monthly for biz tools?)

#15

Post by cpcallen »

Bjarnee wrote: post #8
jv22222 wrote: post #6

IMHO - On the signup popup form. If you want to close it without entering an email address you have to click a link that says - "No thanks, I hate saving money" - it seems to go against the friendliness of the rest of the branding.

I agree. I suck at marketing, so had someone come up with that, but I actually hate it myself, so will try to think of something else. I genuinely want to build something useful that will bring people to the site because it helps them rather that annoy them!

How about not having a modal dialog that prevents me from seeing / using the site entirely?

Are the signups you get really worth driving away most first-time visitors?

Re: Show HN: Lifetime SaaS Deals (tired of paying monthly for biz tools?)

#16

Post by jcims »

Bjarnee wrote: post #8
jv22222 wrote: post #6

IMHO - On the signup popup form. If you want to close it without entering an email address you have to click a link that says - "No thanks, I hate saving money" - it seems to go against the friendliness of the rest of the branding.

I agree. I suck at marketing, so had someone come up with that, but I actually hate it myself, so will try to think of something else. I genuinely want to build something useful that will bring people to the site because it helps them rather that annoy them!

I agree with your intuition. The likelihood that the person actually hates saving money is approximately zero. What they are actually saying is that you haven't earned their trust enough yet to cough up their email address. So when you force the question with a timed modal, they have three options: sending their email address to a site they don't trust, clicking a link that's simply a lie or just closing the tab and never coming back. Why on earth would they pick anything but the last option?

Re: Show HN: Lifetime SaaS Deals (tired of paying monthly for biz tools?)

#17

Post by LemonLennon »

Bjarnee wrote: post #8
jv22222 wrote: post #6

IMHO - On the signup popup form. If you want to close it without entering an email address you have to click a link that says - "No thanks, I hate saving money" - it seems to go against the friendliness of the rest of the branding.

I agree. I suck at marketing, so had someone come up with that, but I actually hate it myself, so will try to think of something else. I genuinely want to build something useful that will bring people to the site because it helps them rather that annoy them!

You can change it to "No, thanks." One should always follow KISS rule while marketing.

Re: Show HN: Lifetime SaaS Deals (tired of paying monthly for biz tools?)

#18

Post by Bjarnee »

cpcallen wrote: post #15
Bjarnee wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. I suck at marketing, so had someone come up with that, but I actually hate it myself, so will try to think of something else. I genuinely want to build something useful that will bring people to the site because it helps them rather that annoy them!

How about not having a modal dialog that prevents me from seeing / using the site entirely? Are the signups you get really worth driving away most first-time visitors?

No, so I turned it off.

Re: Show HN: Lifetime SaaS Deals (tired of paying monthly for biz tools?)

#19

Post by ivanhoe »

jv22222 wrote: post #10
Bjarnee wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. I suck at marketing, so had someone come up with that, but I actually hate it myself, so will try to think of something else. I genuinely want to build something useful that will bring people to the site because it helps them rather that annoy them!

How about "No thanks, maybe later" or something like that :) Even "No thanks" is fine!

IMHO forcing visitors to be "polite" to a site is just as sneaky as using "I hate saving money". It's all meant to make a visitor feel guilty about clicking it. Just add a simple old close button and don't play marketing mind-games with your users, please.

Re: Show HN: Lifetime SaaS Deals (tired of paying monthly for biz tools?)

#20

Post by Bjarnee »

dylz wrote: post #13

This is an affiliate link farm with obnoxious shaming dark patterns...

Yes, I agree the popup was annoying. I used a template I found, and understand it was annoying, stupid, disrespectful etc. I have now removed it. It is clearly stated on top of every page that there are affiliate links on the site. I spend 20+ hours weekly finding deals and updating the deal list. If it turns out the world hates this, I can stop doing it, close the site down, and do something else with my time. It seemed however some people found it useful, so I thought why not see if people found it useful.
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