Subscription DNA Blog | Page 7 of 26 | Cloud Billing & Management Software

Have a Successful Blog? Consider Putting Premium Content Behind a Paywall

It seems the public is coming to the end of an era when it comes to free content on the Internet. While most of us still like to be able to find a recipe or a fact about Napoleon for our kid’s book report, more people are coming to realize that free opinion blogs are worth…well, about as much as we pay for them. Free news is often biased, poorly written and downright crazy (lizard people? Flat earth?)

In fact, research from the eighth annual Digital News Report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford has found that public concern about misinformation is making some people more careful about the brands the content they consume online. The change is most noteworthy among people who are younger and better educated. Forty percent of Americans are now saying they rely on more “reputable” sources for information.

Be a Reputable Source of Information

So how do you become reputable? For starters, ensuring your content is high quality, properly referenced and visually polished can help. Another way you can protect your reputation as a content provider is by installing a paywall. After all, the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal do it. But you might think…who is going to find me if I’m behind a paywall?

The solution is to make some of your content free to attract readers. Keep your best content, however, behind a paywall that asks for a small amount – a few dollars, perhaps – to read your more in-depth posts, according to a recent blog post by Subscription DNA.

“Offer original, premium content that’s only available to people who pay in addition to your regular content,” according to the blog. “Slate’s Slate Plus membership service, which provides membership-only content for a $50-per-year fee, is a great example. They took in 9,000 paying subscribers in their first year, demonstrating the efficacy of the model.”

But What About Ads?

If you’re putting baby goats in pajamas or dressing up as unicorns and talking about gaming, and you’ve got millions of unique visitors, ads will probably work for you. Be remember that click rates on ads are very low, so if you’re only attracting a few hundred readers, or even a few thousand, it’s unlikely you’re going to earn enough in ads to buy a cup of coffee.

Manage Your Premium Content

Premium subscription management platforms like SubscriptionDNA give you a way to manage subscription billing, membership management, subscription sign-up, content filtering, paywall management, and even marketing all in one place. Contact Subscription DNA to learn how you can turn your premium content into a source of revenue.

3 Great Metered Paywall Tips To Gain More Paying Subscribers

There is, without a doubt, money to be made from online content. While there are many different ways for you to monetize your content, a metered paywall is arguably one of the most fruitful options. The trick, of course, is getting it right. To some, this is easier said than done–but not to us! Luckily for you, we’ve got some timeless tips that can help your efforts today!

Offer 3 Free Content Views Per Month (And Make it Clear)

A lot of webmasters who utilize metered paywall often wonder how much content they should give away for free, and the answer is 3 pieces per month. Now it goes without saying that all of your content–free and premium–should be top-notch. After all, nobody will want to pay you if you can’t offer them some kind of unique value. Once this is understood, remember to provide users with a clear view counter so that they know when their allotted number of views are up.

Don’t Use The Freemium Model

Make sure to opt for a true metered paywall model instead of a freemium model.

What’s the difference?

Freemium viewers can only view the content that you allow them to view; conversely, metered viewers get free range to view whatever content they want. The advantage of the metered version is that you’ll be able to tell what pieces users like. If you find, for example, that people gravitate toward your podcast, then you know that you should be making more.

Put a 30 Second Delay On Pop-Up Forms

There is nothing more annoying than something that obstructs your view when you first click-through to a piece of content from search. When people land on your free content, they want to test it uninterrupted; so let them. Instead of shoving a sign up form down their gullet the minute they enter your door, give them time to breathe. How? By setting a 30 second delay on pop-up forms.

Now you might be thinking:

What if they leave in less than 30 seconds?

Well if they do, then it’s likely that they weren’t interested to begin with. By setting a 30 second delay on pop-ups, you weed out the low-value browsers and increase the likelihood of conversions from users who actually like what you’re producing.

Need a Reliable Paywall Subscription Software? Try Subscription DNA

Our paywall software is a truly flexible and easy to use platform. Building out your metered paywall really couldn’t be easier. If you have any questions, feel free to fill out the form below, and we’ll get back to you shortly.

Building Customer Engagement and Brand Loyalty for Subscription Services

Nowadays, companies are offering a wide variety of services via subscription. It’s a new business model that is particularly appealing to younger generations who are used to subscribing for everything including entertainment, clothing, self-care products, and even cars.

But offering products and services via subscription isn’t enough. To keep a loyal base of subscribers, your organization must have a formal brand loyalty plan that will keep customers from straying to the services of competitors. In a highly competitive space with a business model based on recurring revenue, it’s important for subscription brands to create experiences that keep customers coming back.

Following are some tips for building a brand loyalty program with your subscription service.

Provide self-service.

Customers don’t like having to call your contact center or sales associates. They’d prefer to manage their subscriptions themselves, so ensure that this service is available to them. They’d like to change their information or payment methods and check on their latest order without help from an agent, if possible.

Ensure you have an email program.

Building loyalty for subscription services requires regular email marketing, preferably right off the subscription platform. Ensure that the platform you choose has a drip marketing feature that allows you to stratify your subscriber base to ensure that you’re making the right offers at the right time (and not, for example, sending emails urging a renewal to a first-time customer who just signed up).

Provide the right price point.

Many customers might be hesitant if they need to commit too much upfront to your subscription service. Ensure that they can start small and expand. Subscription pricing strategies can be tiered according to functionality, include discounts for larger purchases or be metered according to usage levels. You can also build in a rewards program that tempts customers into larger purchases. Experts recommend offering one higher priced tier over your ideal price tier in order to give the impression customers are getting a good deal.

Get your billing right.

Because of its nature, the subscription model has far more complex billing than “Buy one widget, pay for one widget.” Ensure you’re choosing a subscription management platform that allows you to bill in a variety of ways (annually, monthly, etc.) that might be attractive to your subscriber base. Flexibility will keep customers coming back.

Choose a platform designed for subscription management.

Subscription DNA’s subscription management software features group enrollment tools and group communications, email marketing automation, cloud billing automation and payments, intuitive membership management, CRM and premium content and paywall management.

With the ability to connect users into a subscriber group, companies can build the type of community that keeps subscription customers engaged, interested and – most importantly – loyal.

Contact Subscription DNA to learn how you can not only attract more subscription customers but keep them loyal into the future.

Subscriptions Services News Round-up: May 2019

We talk a lot about subscription services here on the blog and why they’ve become such a popular and important space for businesses to operate in.

News about companies launching into space is constantly being announced as businesses large and small place their stake in the market. In this post, we’re overviewing some of the latest news headlines being announced regarding subscription services.

Apple, who is no stranger to innovation, understands how big the subscription services market is and has been working on a number of different angles to capitalize on it. It even said recently that it’s shifting focus on the services side of its business as iPhone sales continue to fall.

In its recent quarter which closed in March, the company had reached a record high of over 390 million paid subscriptions for Apple Services.

From a possible gaming subscription service that many are calling a “Netflix for games” to a monthly news subscription service, the tech giant knows exactly what consumers want and is making efforts to deliver.

Speaking of the Netflix comparison, another company that’s starting to offering subscription services and being compared to the streaming video company is Enterprise. The car rental company has kicked off a rental subscription service for cars in three states that lets drivers swap the car they’re driving out up to 4 times a month.

In a world where convenience and experience are highly valued, it makes sense that people are going to look to innovations as a way to consume, test out and even invest in new products and services.

Whether you’re a small start-up or a larger well-known company – there’s a piece of the pie for everyone in this budding industry. So long of course, as you use all the tools at your disposal required to invoice, bill, manage and maintain the subscription services.

That’s where we come in.

Subscription DNA provides a robust administrative console for managing accounts, automating the recurring invoices, processing transactions and more. Get subscription billing, subscription management, paywalls and authentication all in one powerful SaaS platform.

Contact us today!

Earn Customer Loyalty to Succeed with a Subscription Business Model

If you’re launching a subscription service, congratulations: you’re embracing the business model of the future. By tying a company’s success to its ability to preserve its relationships with customers and the value of their lifetime revenue streams, the subscription model can provide a strong incentive for continued product and service excellence.

Younger consumers often prefer the subscription model because it costs less upfront. Many Millennials, for example, are saddled with high student loan payments and they often simply can’t afford a lump payment up front, as with a traditional vehicle purchase. The good news is that the subscription model can apply to nearly anything.

“Many people still think that the concept of a subscription is confined to newspapers and magazines. But today, almost any business can create a subscription model,” wrote Shep Hyken for Fortune. “Everything from automobiles to Xerox copiers and everything in between – including razor blades, wine, dog food, dishwashing detergent and more – can be turned into a subscription.”

Of course, you actually have to provide the product and service excellence. Without customer loyalty, it’s unlikely that your subscription-based business will go very far. So what are some of the ways you can build loyalty into your business model?

Offer Customers More Than They Expect

Amazon Prime members, for example, often join the program to get free two-day shipping. Once they’ve joined, however, they tend to stay because of all the extra perks they get, such as free Kindle books, streaming video content and discounts at Whole Foods. This has been Amazon’s biggest strategy in building loyalty to the Prime program.

Ensure Your Customers Trust You

Be sure your shipping is rock-solid so customers are getting their orders when you say they will. Ensure your web site or your mobile app is rock solid, so customers aren’t encountering outages or errors. Build their trust by putting a generous return policy in place.

Provide Excellent Customer Care

Nothing sours customer loyalty quicker than a poor customer experience. If you’re unsure of the quality of customer care you provide, or you feel it’s uneven, it’s time to completely redo your customer service strategy. Unhappy customers don’t return, and there’s more to it than that: they share their negative experiences on social media.

One way to ensure you’re providing the best possible customer care is by using a subscription management platform that enables it. Cloud-based subscription management platforms such as Subscription DNA allow you to extensively communicate with your subscriber base so you can build loyalty and trust. Our communication tools allow you to easily engage in drip marketing, communications, and membership management.

Visit our web site or call 513-574-9800 to discuss your subscription business’ billing and management needs today!