As the saying goes, if a product is free then you are the product. In other words, if you can't sell your users, you have to charge them.
+1
Why we ditched our free plan
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Re: Why we ditched our free plan
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hey Gabemart, original author here. I understand your objection. The term 'freeloader' was used because they're taking stuff for free with no expectation to pay anything in the future. Also, an article that attracts discussion is a good thing, right? :) [edited]
It's probably not a good idea to reply to people giving you useful feedback by telling them they are "dramatizing".
Noted, yeah was a bit 'keyboard warrior' on my part actually. No offense intended.
But yeah I didn't want to have a "meta" discussion and miss the point of the article
Re: Why we ditched our free plan
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hey Gabemart, original author here. I understand your objection. The term 'freeloader' was used because they're taking stuff for free with no expectation to pay anything in the future. Also, an article that attracts discussion is a good thing, right? :) [edited]
Just wanted to note that I also disliked that term. And believe me, I couldn't agree with the article more, I was nodding my head vigorously throughout my reading, I bookmarked the article to Evernote as a reference for anyone I talk to about this in the future (and I talk about this with a lot of people, making exactly your arguments). So I couldn't be more "pro", but I also immediately thought "freeloader is not a…
Does a unicorn lose it's rainbow if I just go ahead and edit the original article? Never too sure once something has been discussed whether it's cool to revise the original source...
Re: Why we ditched our free plan
#14They're splash video has the same chords as Wrecking Ball.
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Re: Why we ditched our free plan
#15Whether or not you should have a free plan really depends on your product.
In the case of trak.io, it's clear that the costs per user are too high for them to do it. Google Analytics can do it because it's backed by a big business and they can fund it. Many startups don't have this choice.
I'd just be wary of ditching a free plan. It's a great way to reach a lot of people with relatively little effort, just be careful you can support them with your business model.
Re: Why we ditched our free plan
#16I would suggest that you don't call your free users "freeloaders". That's a pejorative term that suggests you're being taken advantage of. You offered your product for free, they took you up on the offer. It's fine that you've decided it's better for your business to cease offering the free tier, but it's unprofessional to use a pejorative to describe customers who accepted your offer of a free product.
Hey Gabemart, original author here. I understand your objection. The term 'freeloader' was used because they're taking stuff for free with no expectation to pay anything in the future. Also, an article that attracts discussion is a good thing, right? :) [edited]
I like you using the term freeloader ... I get it, you're pushing people to think in a different way. Ignore this stick in the MUDs :) great article.
Re: Why we ditched our free plan
#17As the saying goes, if a product is free then you are the product. In other words, if you can't sell your users, you have to charge them.
Of course, in simplifying it this far, you run the risk of losing some subtleties of the situation.
Users can be valuable without offering net revenue on their own, this is how Github stays afloat, it's at the core of their business model.
Re: Why we ditched our free plan
#18As the saying goes, if a product is free then you are the product. In other words, if you can't sell your users, you have to charge them.
Of course, in simplifying it this far, you run the risk of losing some subtleties of the situation. Users can be valuable without offering net revenue on their own, this is how Github stays afloat, it's at the core of their business model.
Interesting point on Github!
In their case, it's like "Free for when you'r working on your own personal passion stuff, but it's paid when you go into the office and hack on your companies private code". The huge community and discussion is essentially a massive funnel, users already have an account, etc.
There's actually some potential parallels with Trak.io and I'm definitely going to keep Github on my whiteboard as a reminder why Freemium can work if you're a tool aimed at developers
Re: Why we ditched our free plan
#19I would suggest that you don't call your free users "freeloaders". That's a pejorative term that suggests you're being taken advantage of. You offered your product for free, they took you up on the offer. It's fine that you've decided it's better for your business to cease offering the free tier, but it's unprofessional to use a pejorative to describe customers who accepted your offer of a free product.
Hey Gabemart, original author here. I understand your objection. The term 'freeloader' was used because they're taking stuff for free with no expectation to pay anything in the future. Also, an article that attracts discussion is a good thing, right? :) [edited]
So we are all 'freeloaders' at HN, right? :)
'freeloader' is a subjective term with emphasis on negative: "someone who is a waste of air and takes up valuable space on the planet earth" [1].
But I sure understand the need to be provocative. Also if you are not trying to convert free users into paying then feel free to insult them. If trying to convert them to paying customer then it pays to play nice :-)
Imagine sending e-mail "Hey freeloader, start paying so we can build a valuable product or go away" vs "Hey user. Just wanted to let you know that we thrive to build a valuable product that makes the best sense for you. At the same time it has become hard to manage free user needs together with the needs of premium tier customers. I invite you to upgrade to paid plan to enjoy all the extra magic. Your input has been invaluable and here's a xx discount valid for 1 week. Let me know if you need more time to decide."
[1] http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=freeloader
Re: Why we ditched our free plan
#20"After introducing our $29 Priority Access program, offering Beta waiting list subscribers an instant queue jump, we started to see a huge shift in our customer development. Features that we’d previously emphasized because everyone said they were ‘cool’ no longer came up in conversations."
This "Priority Access Program" is pure genius for filtering and validation! I haven't seen that much outgoing method before but I sure believe it can work our great. Absolutely brilliant. Can you share your conversion rate for Priority Access? (PriorityAccessCount/QueueSize?)