How long before your first paying customers?
So I've just launched a few weeks ago, had a bunch of trial sign-ups which are starting to end - no signs of credit cards yet. :(
How long did it take you guys and gals to get your first paying customers?
So I've just launched a few weeks ago, had a bunch of trial sign-ups which are starting to end - no signs of credit cards yet. :(
How long did it take you guys and gals to get your first paying customers?
I got my first subscriber for Merrier yesterday! Launched on 15th August. I thought they subscribed today but Apple tells you one day later. It really does feel like Christmas Day :D
What I've done is message people on Reddit who visit relevant subreddits, submit to directories and write articles. After 70 sign ups, I got my first paying user.
Nice - I can't wait for that :)
It took me a couple weeks to get a sale on bootstraplogos.com - I was also playing with pricing to find a price point that worked for the people who were coming to the site. I started collecting emails before I launched and started to build traffic. Honestly, the hardest thing about running a side project is marketing it and attracting visitors to your site.
What is your project? Are you attracting qualified leads to your sales site? How much traffic are you getting?
It's an SEO tool - initially had around 200 sign-ups around 15 have come out of trial now.
All targeted leads. Not really done any marketing - the standout issue at the moment is onboarding - it's not obvious to people how to find all the functionallity
I'm not really answering your question, but I don't think it would be helpful to you anyway..
Here are some ideas:
capture credit card details at signup (it gives you a better indication of commitment that is quicker to make changes and A/B test for than waiting 2 weeks, plus conversion is higher)
email or call the users directly and ask them why they didn't convert
measure engagement and see where the drop off points are
make sure you have a nice onboarding path in trial - emails with resources etc
I definitely agree this has it's advantages (I myself launched this way, based on what I learned from Patrick from PriceIntelligently), but honestly I'm not sure if it wasn't my biggest mistake. Be careful.
It's true if someone doesn't give you CC up-front is less inclined to actually convert, but the "pay-wall" also decreases the number of customers that actually get a chance to try out your product.
I'll probably create a thread on this specific subject alone, well worth a discussion.
Yes it’s a contentious issue, and also something I’ve investigated intensely, and I definitely prefer the CC option. It may have pros and cons for different businesses though.
Good tips thanks. I want to keep trial without cc as a lot of non-cardholders will be using my app so I think it makes it easier for them.
Onboarding has been my main issue and where I've made a mistake. I actually went straight into building V2 of my app the day after launch and didn't focus on 'nurturing' my 200-ish users.
I waited for 6 months...
Funnily this is my goal, to get 1 within 6 months
I think it took me two weeks. I remember I was worried at that time. You need to talk with those first users to see what's going on.
Yea, another mistake I've made is allowing people to sign-up with a Google account - I've had a lot of 'admin' type emails which are having zero open rates.
I need to change to a standard email sign-up or add a notification email section and prompt them to add it in there
A couple of hours after launching on PH. But mine is also a one time purchase for $9, so it's not like a B2B product with recurring payments or anything.
Some great suggestions from @adamski
The route I took was a free version not requiring sign up, with the premium version requiring sign up and credit card for 30 day free trial (card charged after 30 days if you don’t cancel, with reminder sent 1 day before trial ends). This massively reduced sign ups, but much higher conversion (90%) - in my experience so far since soft launching in June.
I would encourage you to send the reminder at least 5 days earlier, with such a long trial of 30 days. One day is not enough for the customer to conveniently cancel if they're not happy. It's almost like "Hey, enjoyed your 29 days of trial? We're about to charge your card... and... done, we just charged your card" - you get me :)
I don't know where you're located, but card issuers, as well as payment service providers like Braintree, have their rules about how early you should send the reminder. If the card hasn't been charged for a year (think yearly subscription), you should send the reminder 14 or 7 days earlier (don't remember in detail now).
On stackdraft.io I have 14 day trial, and send the reminder 4 days earlier, before the CC is charged. You want to be good to your customers. Giving them 1 day to cancel is honestly a bit of a dark pattern to me. No offence though, I'm just sharing my opinion :)
Cheers!
Ok thanks for the clarifications.
If you PM your product I could have a closer look.
30 day free trial is a long time, it discourages people from properly evaluating due to lack of time urgency, most people are using 10 or 14.
Also, it’s possible you freemium product is giving too much away, so there’s no incentive to pay, Ive seen this frequently. I would do a data analysis on your free users, see what their usage pattern is like and apply more restrictions / paywall on ‘heavy’ free use.
What is your product? It really depends on the product or service I guess. In my experience it took 2 months for a first paying customer.
It's an SEO tool - I think I need to work on the onboarding process ones a user has signed-up
You should share more about your product. It's different with every product :)