tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7533727264507128560.post4772504915130645609..comments2024-03-28T10:49:53.597-07:00Comments on Lessons Learned: Three freemium strategiesErichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249063135381216090noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7533727264507128560.post-12668590950147623142009-12-09T16:20:46.095-08:002009-12-09T16:20:46.095-08:00I think a great example of freemium is 37signals&#...I think a great example of freemium is 37signals' Haystack - they offer free listings to all designers, and premium listings that are larger, and have more pictures for $99 a month - thus increasing exposure for the paying customers.<br /><br />They only started a couple of weeks ago and they have a lot of premium listings already.Anton Zolotovhttp://www.antonzolotov.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7533727264507128560.post-82289951337431032122009-10-08T03:30:41.663-07:002009-10-08T03:30:41.663-07:00Great post! Thanks for sharing this. I also work f...Great post! Thanks for sharing this. I also work for a startup and we have been grappling with the same problem ever since we went public. You have pretty much captured our thought process; we do think we have found a way out of this. We're keeping ourselves free for the community that has helped us build our product; premium vs basic seems wrong to us.Prateek Dubeyhttp://www.remindo.com/blog/general/freemium-vs-free-project-managementnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7533727264507128560.post-88802681967532875552009-08-26T11:40:20.576-07:002009-08-26T11:40:20.576-07:00It seems like I missed the train on the facebook a...It seems like I missed the train on the facebook apps. Your article disticly illustrates the models in which one can make free work. I will be going route #3 free as inventory. I like that concept. ThanksJulian Lockharthttp://www.truevectormedia.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7533727264507128560.post-63090536147023636932009-01-28T11:07:00.000-08:002009-01-28T11:07:00.000-08:00@startupcfo - I liked your post, thanks for sharin...@startupcfo - I liked your post, thanks for sharing it. <BR/><BR/>I think what is causing companies so much difficulty is a lack of discipline in asking the question "why do we have all these free users?" When the goal's not clear, I think you wind up with situations that are essentially value-destroying, where free users are actually driving up costs.<BR/><BR/>To take your specific example about virality - why do we want to have more users sign up? Is it that they act as free advertising for our premium product? If so, that's a form of free-serves-paid, and we should be willing to cut those users off who aren't continuing to advertise. Many sites work this way, where as long as you are bringing in friends, you get to use premium services without paying. Alternately, if you're hoping that the free users will eventually buy something, you should be willing to run some models to predict which users have categorically decided not to buy, and cut them off.<BR/><BR/>Deciding who _not_ to serve is where freemium gets difficult.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12249063135381216090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7533727264507128560.post-82761061452865556142009-01-28T09:27:00.000-08:002009-01-28T09:27:00.000-08:00Thanks for adding to the discussion on freemium th...Thanks for adding to the discussion on freemium these days. As mentioned segmentation is key to figuring out the free/ paid mix. At a high level, anything that drives virality should be free. Specific features for power users (which become evident over time through usage of your free service) are good candidates for premium.<BR/><BR/>I have some more thoughts on this here:<BR/><BR/>http://startupcfo.ca/2009/01/is-there-too-much-free-in-freemium.htmlstartupcfohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09306077797465820137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7533727264507128560.post-12327827627615942892009-01-28T01:54:00.000-08:002009-01-28T01:54:00.000-08:00I would think it would be a never ending struggle ...I would think it would be a never ending struggle to find the right balance -- not that it shouldn't be attempted, just that it's something that you should be willing to experiment with on an ongoing basis with the knowledge that it's going to take a long time to get it exactly right.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7533727264507128560.post-80708466487541037752009-01-28T01:46:00.001-08:002009-01-28T01:46:00.001-08:00That should be 5% by the way.That should be 5% by the way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7533727264507128560.post-29511034088713131212009-01-28T01:46:00.000-08:002009-01-28T01:46:00.000-08:00The two freemium services I now pay to use are fli...The two freemium services I now pay to use are flickr and Vimeo. The free service got me hooked, then the premium service offered tempting additional services. That being said though, even if 5 of their users upgrade I can't see either service being profitable - they're too bandwisth hungry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com