I had to take a break for a minute but I was able to get 3 Notes out every day. However, my Notes are just funny memes and my subscriber list nearly doubled. What’s up with that, huh? Did I find a hidden niche? 🧐
Wnedy, sharing funny stories, humorous memes is a great way to gain Followers and Subscribers. I do think it’s important to follow up and welcome them via DM so they have a sense of what you are about so they can see if they want to stay on. But yes, humor is always appreciated!
Dang. This is so good. (Which is a bland way of saying, this article gave me specific things I can do right now to make my tiers stronger while meeting my subscribers where they are.)
I’ll be back….but first I’m gonna tinker around and answer these questions. 🔥🔥🔥
Excellent, Jen! So happy to hear that, once you start thinking about the subscribers POV and what you can change for them in the first week and then long term, it really helps you tighten your offer. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
Very happy to hear that, Kevin. Yes please share what you learn in the Paid chat. We can even help you with feedback on the new positioning of the offer if you want.
As you can see I read through the article and the additional conversation, there is value in each comment and I will be going back and looking through my wording. Thank you! The word support does feel icky.
It does. I realized, after fixing my bio in the last article, that I had been looking at it wrong. I know I am currently doing a summer project, but I can already see that it will become a “thing” for a much longer time because of the transformation cycle and how it naturally works. I do offer so much more for a paid subscription, and what those offer is the “deeper,” more personalized work of the individual. So the article you wrote today makes a lot of added sense. Especially the relationship building.
Dinah you definitely do a good job with engagement. I think #1 really is tough cause it does force you to revisit exactly what you offer besides just features. But I like #1 because it forces you to adopt the mindset of the subscriber, they want to know what changes immediately because I upgrade.
Mack, I loved this! I sat at my computer with a Notebook and wrote down exactly what I have to offer my paid subscribers. I came up with a list of six different things, compared to the one thing I offer if they don't convert. I can see that I was wording it all wrong. I need to do a rethink. Let's hope I figure it all out. I can see there's one thing I did that I have to fix. I turned off the notifications for the readers that unsubscribe. I have to go after them, try to sell myself to them, and convince them to stay. I used to think that if they left, they had good reasons to leave. I need to give them a reason to stay. Maybe a six month free pass to my paid page?
This is great, Ben, I love that you are thinking through strategically about what you offer and how it has value for your subscribers. As I told Edith, that gives you a competitive advantage as most creators never do this.
As for the value you give subscribers, there's two ways to think about this: Your offer can either create value for them by giving the subscriber something they see real value in. For instance you are giving me something for $10 that I value as being worth $15. Another way to look at it is your offer could create value for the subscriber. In other words, maybe your offer teaches me how to do something for myself. So instead of paying someone $100 to do this for me, I can learn the skill from you for $10 a month and do it myself.
As for contacting unsubscribes. I do think this is a good idea. If you do, I would reach out and thank them, and ask them if they minded telling you why they decided to cancel. Personally, I wouldn't offer a 6-month of free access. I believe Substack has a setting (likely under the Growth section of your publication dashboard) where Substack will automatically offer a subscriber who cancels a chance to stay on at a 20% discount. I am very hesitant to offer discounts, I would rather look for a way to offer more value in your Paid tier than offer free or discounted rates. Just my preference. Thank you for the comment and glad this is helping you tweak your Paid offer!
Thanks Mack. When I sat down and saw everything I had to offer, I realized that I’d been looking at it all the wrong way. It just needs clarity. And as for the lower costs, I’m at the lowest I can go right now. I’m planning to raise the price back to where I used to have it: $50/year. I think that’s a fair price (it is Canadian, so it already has a discount.) I had dropped it, thinking that would bring in subscribers. It didn’t, so it doesn’t matter.
None of this is going to happen over night, and I have to remind myself that.
Ben it sounds like you have a pretty competitive price. If I were you I would strengthen your offer and make it easier for free subscribers to understand why it's a great value at the current price. As you do that and demand grows, over time you may want to raise prices. But I think it will become obvious that you need to raise prices when sales become brisk and reach a certain point.
As I said, I used to be at $50/year, and dropped that down to $30 (that’s the lowest Substack allows). It’s been there ($30) for about two years now. I’ll tell people that I’m going to raise the price back up, and give them a two month warning, during which, I‘ll tell them what I have to offer. So, what’s that? August?
The thing I have to remember is that fiction doesn't sell as well as some of the other Substacks out there. I have to convince them that the gift of two free books a year for signing up, is worth it. That means the quality has to be there. I’ve always believed that if the writing is good, the readers will come. And do you know what? The writing is good. I just have to get myself out there more than I have been in the past.
Thank you, G :) Looking forward to that, for now this post should give you a ton of information on how to improve your own Paid offer, and maybe get a few upgrades of your own :)
I haven’t asked my subscribers to upgrade yet as I don’t fully understand how to package what I can offer them. In time I will, but I am earning their trust as you are earning mine. Thanks for the article, it will be the direction I am heading so is still relevant to me.
Thank you, Maurice! I would advise that you fully develop your Paid offer before you start asking for the upgrade. You will likely change your offer over time, based on subscriber feedback especially, but you need to have a solid idea of what you can offer subscribers, and be able to clearly show them what will change if they upgrade.
Once they understand the change, they will be far more likely to get there. You are on the right track, just take your time and create an offer that makes sense to you, and it will to them as well.
It’s a toughie, but if you can answer that, it’s a huge advantage. Remember, most other creators here aren’t asking these questions. They aren’t putting in the work to improve what they offer. So if you do, it becomes a very competitive advantage for you :)
It is. Don’t be in a hurry to grow, I think pushing to grow fast actually can slow your growth. View it as building real relationships and growth happens faster.
I had to take a break for a minute but I was able to get 3 Notes out every day. However, my Notes are just funny memes and my subscriber list nearly doubled. What’s up with that, huh? Did I find a hidden niche? 🧐
Wnedy, sharing funny stories, humorous memes is a great way to gain Followers and Subscribers. I do think it’s important to follow up and welcome them via DM so they have a sense of what you are about so they can see if they want to stay on. But yes, humor is always appreciated!
Mack, great article! The second reason can kill any sale, whether it paid tier or digital product. Thanks for sharing!
Dang. This is so good. (Which is a bland way of saying, this article gave me specific things I can do right now to make my tiers stronger while meeting my subscribers where they are.)
I’ll be back….but first I’m gonna tinker around and answer these questions. 🔥🔥🔥
Excellent, Jen! So happy to hear that, once you start thinking about the subscribers POV and what you can change for them in the first week and then long term, it really helps you tighten your offer. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
I’m taking this right now and using it as a filter for my new paid offer. Glad to share what I uncover in the Member’s chat.
Very happy to hear that, Kevin. Yes please share what you learn in the Paid chat. We can even help you with feedback on the new positioning of the offer if you want.
As you can see I read through the article and the additional conversation, there is value in each comment and I will be going back and looking through my wording. Thank you! The word support does feel icky.
Thank you, Desiree! What if you thought in terms of ‘How will I help my Paid subscribers grow? In what way?” Does that help?
It does. I realized, after fixing my bio in the last article, that I had been looking at it wrong. I know I am currently doing a summer project, but I can already see that it will become a “thing” for a much longer time because of the transformation cycle and how it naturally works. I do offer so much more for a paid subscription, and what those offer is the “deeper,” more personalized work of the individual. So the article you wrote today makes a lot of added sense. Especially the relationship building.
Lots of food for thought here Mack. I think I do #2 well. Connecting with people. But the others might not be quite there yet.
Dinah you definitely do a good job with engagement. I think #1 really is tough cause it does force you to revisit exactly what you offer besides just features. But I like #1 because it forces you to adopt the mindset of the subscriber, they want to know what changes immediately because I upgrade.
Mack, I loved this! I sat at my computer with a Notebook and wrote down exactly what I have to offer my paid subscribers. I came up with a list of six different things, compared to the one thing I offer if they don't convert. I can see that I was wording it all wrong. I need to do a rethink. Let's hope I figure it all out. I can see there's one thing I did that I have to fix. I turned off the notifications for the readers that unsubscribe. I have to go after them, try to sell myself to them, and convince them to stay. I used to think that if they left, they had good reasons to leave. I need to give them a reason to stay. Maybe a six month free pass to my paid page?
This is great, Ben, I love that you are thinking through strategically about what you offer and how it has value for your subscribers. As I told Edith, that gives you a competitive advantage as most creators never do this.
As for the value you give subscribers, there's two ways to think about this: Your offer can either create value for them by giving the subscriber something they see real value in. For instance you are giving me something for $10 that I value as being worth $15. Another way to look at it is your offer could create value for the subscriber. In other words, maybe your offer teaches me how to do something for myself. So instead of paying someone $100 to do this for me, I can learn the skill from you for $10 a month and do it myself.
As for contacting unsubscribes. I do think this is a good idea. If you do, I would reach out and thank them, and ask them if they minded telling you why they decided to cancel. Personally, I wouldn't offer a 6-month of free access. I believe Substack has a setting (likely under the Growth section of your publication dashboard) where Substack will automatically offer a subscriber who cancels a chance to stay on at a 20% discount. I am very hesitant to offer discounts, I would rather look for a way to offer more value in your Paid tier than offer free or discounted rates. Just my preference. Thank you for the comment and glad this is helping you tweak your Paid offer!
Thanks Mack. When I sat down and saw everything I had to offer, I realized that I’d been looking at it all the wrong way. It just needs clarity. And as for the lower costs, I’m at the lowest I can go right now. I’m planning to raise the price back to where I used to have it: $50/year. I think that’s a fair price (it is Canadian, so it already has a discount.) I had dropped it, thinking that would bring in subscribers. It didn’t, so it doesn’t matter.
None of this is going to happen over night, and I have to remind myself that.
Ben it sounds like you have a pretty competitive price. If I were you I would strengthen your offer and make it easier for free subscribers to understand why it's a great value at the current price. As you do that and demand grows, over time you may want to raise prices. But I think it will become obvious that you need to raise prices when sales become brisk and reach a certain point.
As I said, I used to be at $50/year, and dropped that down to $30 (that’s the lowest Substack allows). It’s been there ($30) for about two years now. I’ll tell people that I’m going to raise the price back up, and give them a two month warning, during which, I‘ll tell them what I have to offer. So, what’s that? August?
The thing I have to remember is that fiction doesn't sell as well as some of the other Substacks out there. I have to convince them that the gift of two free books a year for signing up, is worth it. That means the quality has to be there. I’ve always believed that if the writing is good, the readers will come. And do you know what? The writing is good. I just have to get myself out there more than I have been in the past.
Super helpful as always! This one's a save for me (as I'm optimistic to upgrade to Paid, and be able to provide the specific WIIFM to back it up) 😉👏
Thank you, G :) Looking forward to that, for now this post should give you a ton of information on how to improve your own Paid offer, and maybe get a few upgrades of your own :)
I haven’t asked my subscribers to upgrade yet as I don’t fully understand how to package what I can offer them. In time I will, but I am earning their trust as you are earning mine. Thanks for the article, it will be the direction I am heading so is still relevant to me.
Thank you, Maurice! I would advise that you fully develop your Paid offer before you start asking for the upgrade. You will likely change your offer over time, based on subscriber feedback especially, but you need to have a solid idea of what you can offer subscribers, and be able to clearly show them what will change if they upgrade.
Once they understand the change, they will be far more likely to get there. You are on the right track, just take your time and create an offer that makes sense to you, and it will to them as well.
The self-audit is really helpful. Question 1 can be a toughie :)
It’s a toughie, but if you can answer that, it’s a huge advantage. Remember, most other creators here aren’t asking these questions. They aren’t putting in the work to improve what they offer. So if you do, it becomes a very competitive advantage for you :)
Mack, you rock! Thanks for this. SOOOO Helpful!
Hey Mark! Greatly appreciate this, hope you are well!
It is. Don’t be in a hurry to grow, I think pushing to grow fast actually can slow your growth. View it as building real relationships and growth happens faster.