Tip #23: 5 Powerful Models to Pricing Your Membership Site

Many of our clients find it difficult to find the right pricing model for their membership site.

When I write “the right pricing model” I mean the pricing model who will boost their registration rates, increase their retention rates and generate them the highest revenues for a long period of time.

This is the exact reason why I created this post…

5 Popular Pricing Models You Can Use

Model #1: Free Level + Paid Level

One model is having both free and paid membership level or free membership level + selling complementary products.

For example: We created a free level inside WishlistMemberPlugins.net with valuable and relevant content to a targeted audience who uses Wishlist Member  and we offer our users complementary products for Wishlist Member through our online store at: http://happyplugins.com/downloads/category/wishlist-member

Pros:

Having a free level will help you build your email list a lot faster and increase your paid membership’s registration rates significantly.

People prefer getting things for free rather than having to pay for them.

Providing your targeted audience relevant content for free on a regular basis will help you prove your professionalism, engage them and make them want to pay to get more of your content.

Cons:

We still haven’t found significant cons to this pricing model. One downside to it, though, is to find the balance between which content to give away for free and which to give only to paying members.

Model #2: Free for Limited Time Then Closed

Another model that can work is having the content free for limited amount of time and then close it for registered members only (Free/ Paid).

A successful website who uses this model is Mixergy.com

Pros:

You can enjoy the benefits of SEO, depending on the time it takes for Google crawler to scan your website and depending on how long you leave the content free.

Cons:

On the one hand, it may cause you to lose potential clients, but on the other hand, if you invest in top quality content then it may help you attract new clients.

Plus, different people have different preferences, and the time-frame you give people to access the content for free may not be convenient to them and they would rather pay to get access to it.

Model #3: Redeeming Points

This pricing model is not so popular but it can definitely work, depending on what you are selling and who is your targeted audience.

In this method you allow people to gain points (gamification) for actions they complete, for example: leave a comment, post a forum thread or any other action and allow them to access different content in exchange of points.

If you are using Wishlist Member then Wishlist Points is the exact plugin you need in order to achieve this pricing model.

Wishlist Member are using gamification inside their online community Wishlist Insider. You can earn points for different actions you take and you can also see the top members with the highest points on a monthly basis/ all time.

HUGE physiological effect!

Pros:

Gamification is a very powerful thing that can allow you to attract more members and engage existing ones more easily.

Model #4: Pay per Post

The pay-per-post model allows you to grant access to specific pieces of content. With Wishlist Member you can define free/ paid access to posts/ pages using the pay=per-post feature.

If you are using Wishlist Member then the Wishlist Pay Per Post Shortcodes plugin is just what you need to boost the pay-per-post settings.

For example: WishlistMemberExperts.com

Pros:

The pay-per-post can help you expose specific content to new clients who don’t want to commit to any subscription or pay higher price in exchange for full access.

Cons:

If you allow clients to purchase content individually it can reduce your overall earnings, so you should use this feature wisely.

Model #4: Trial Periods

Offering a free / paid trial period is another great tactic to attracting more new members.

By allowing deliberating potential clients to get access for 7 / 14 or even 30 days in exchange for a small fee or even for free can really boost your earnings in the long run.

Pros:

This tactic will help you “push” hesitating people into taking action instead of making them sitting on the fence for a long time.

Cons:

If you are giving full access to all the content inside your membership site and you are not using content dripping then some people may use this trial period to get all the content they need and leave, but this can happen anyway if you are not dripping so this really shouldn’t be the thing stopping you from trying this method.

Model #5: Early Birds Registration

“Early birds registration” means that you are allowing people to register at a certain price and enjoy the same price even after you increase it.

For example: All members who register in the first month will enjoy the price of $15/ month as long as they are members, while people who join later will pay $20/ month.

A successful person who is using this model successfully is Michael Hyatt’s PlatformUniversity website.

Pros:

The great benefit of this model is that if a member who is paying the lower price decides to leave and re-register, he will now need to pay the higher price, which will make him think twice before cancelling his subscription.

In Conclusion…

These are 5 pricing models you can use.

We have seen many pricing models over the years, and these are our favorite ones.

You can use any combination you want and experiment until you find the best pricing model that generates you the highest revenues.

Are You a Wishlist Member User?

If so, be sure to check out our online store at http://happyplugins.com/downloads/category/wishlist-member and empower your Wishlist Member membership site with the Wishlist dedicated plugins we developed especially for the Wishlist Member platform.

Our Recommendations:

Wishlist 1-Click Registration and Wishlist Registration Widget (for free membership levels)

Wishlist Auto Registration (for paid membership levels)

Wishlist Smart Shortcodes (for all membership sites) 

You May Find These Posts Interesting:

Tip #17: Why Should You Include a Refund Policy in Your Membership Site?

Tip #2 – Managing Your Membership Site Easily Using These Wishlist Member Shortcuts

Tip #21: Monthly Membership Subscription vs. Limited No. of Payments

Tip #14: Adding Affiliate Links to Your Membership Site – 7 Tips to Doing It Right!

Tip #19: 7 Powerful Tactics That Increased Our Revenues in 500%

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