Mailing list: charge or not to charge?
Mailing list: charge or not to charge?
Hello IHs,
I have a question about my mailing list.
About 5 months ago I started my project called "SaaS Idea" - the SaaS boilerplate for fast SaaS development. To find more potential customers and share my ideas on SaaS apps I created the email series called "SaaS Ideas Weekly" - now it has more than 350 subscribers, the average open rate is pretty high, around 60% and the list is continuously growing every day.
The problem is I found keeping this list pretty time-consuming and my primary assumptions about potential customers turned out to be wrong, so I'm trying to find ways to keep the list but get more benefits from it. I see several ways to keep the list:
- Keep sending free ideas description but shorter, and the same time organize paid subscription with full details, like for $5/month (~ 4 emails in a month)
- Keep sending free emails, but create e-book with ideas and sell it (like for ~10 - 15$).
Or completely stop sending?
What would you suggest? Would you pay for the subscription?
(If you need more details please check out my profile).
Thanks a lot!
You're thinking about short cuts.
you're giving a lot of value by doing this SaaS Idea Weekly, and I'm pretty sure that it can bring new customers to your main business. 350 subs is nothing. Keep growing it, put effort in it and keep it free.
That's what we call content marketing. Give as much value as you can, for free, return will come later.
Think long term, it's better for you and your business :)
I know what is content marketing. And if I would have a team I wouldn't have any doubts at all.
But the problem is I'm still working alone and I have a hUUUUge list of topics and things to write that are more relevant to my project and potentially could bring much more users but I just don't have time for it.
So, if focus on keeping this list I will lose other opportunities. It's a matter of balance, not the strategy.
We've been doing a weekly 'community newsletter' for a few years now.
TBH, it was pretty tedious. I hated it, but kept at it. It took 1-2 years, but it paid off. Partially it was useful to our community. The other part was selling ads on it, but that did take a while.
Building a business isn't always fun. Lots of this bootstapping stuff is tedious and boring stuff. There are no easy answers.
I often ask people if they can visualise the long term value or vision of what they are trying to achieve. Having the long term vision can help you keep on track for when things are boring, crap and tedious.
I'm often tempted by setting a paid newsletter up with Substack (https://www.substack.com/), but I know even that could take a while to take off.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
I actually love writing my mailing series, the problem is I have to create other content stuff and I don't have time for everything...
But you are right, there are no easy answers. All depends.
Thanks for the link, I will check it out!
I'd strongly suggest the freemium model (#1), looking closely at Stratechery's business model and listening to episodes #12 and #34 of exponent.fm.
It's a business where a members-only email list is earning over 10 million USD / year, based on Recode's report.
Thanks for the links, I will looks and listen to them.
I'd go for the e-book alternative.
You could then promote it within the same mailing list and probably get more money out of it. Throw around some numbers, how many actual subscribers do you think would pay for your emails? Let's say 10%..
So you'd have 35 paying customers at $5 a month, that's $175 a month.
How much would it take you to amass a decent amount of ideas for an ebook? Let's assume 3 months. By then you could maybe have grown the email list to say, 750 people? Assuming 10% would buy the e-book, and if you sell it for $15 a piece, you'd get $1125 instead. Plus other people outside the list would probably hear about it and maybe buy it.
The good thing about the subscription model is that every month it's there but you have to be consistent and you'll have the pressure to deliver good content, whereas with the ebook it's more of a one time thing. Which you can probably do again later on, or expand on those same ideas or find something else to write about and sell.
Thanks a lot for your opinion. It does make sense to me. My primary idea about e-book was I can deliver the first version almost now, I think $10-15 for 15 ideas with full descriptions is not bad at all. My next thought was I could add more ideas and issue the next edition with higher price, and so on.
Yeah that's right that with subscription I have to be consistent, and it's not easy but it would motivate if I would have some profit from it. And with e-book there are chances it will not be finished at all.
Anyway, thanks, I need think about it more.
Both models will probably work, it's mostly up to you depending on how you feel about those and what you'd rather do.
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Saying "products" do you mean "e-books"? Do you think it would help me with selling my main product?
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Well, the problem is with the target audience. I found the subscribers are mostly not TA for my product (as I thought before I start the mailing list). Even if my mailing list is huge it will not probably bring me customers.
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I don't think so... why would I pivot my product just because my mailing list doesn't fit my TA on 100%?
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what about adding a "buy me a coffee" button at the end of your email?
It can be a good way to test the willingness to pay and how valuable is your newsletter to your customers.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/