When we launched Write.as Pro, we didn't have a “free trial” option. The assumption was that enough of the platform was free that users could get a pretty good idea of whether or not the purchase would be worth it. Then last January, we added the option for a free 2-week trial. Here's a few things learned from it:
One of my major concerns was that people would use the free trial to spam Read Write.as, which is kept spam-free largely because of the requirement to pay something. Luckily, only about 2 or 3 spammers actually did this in the past year. Their presence was obvious, and we quickly revoked their publishing access once we saw them.
A free trial made many conversations much easier. If someone was curious about a Pro feature, instead of explaining it all, we could just give the overview and say, “go try it for free.” Great timesaver. Also:
- People still go straight to purchasing Pro, without the trial
- Very few (if any) requests to extend the trial period
- No credit card required for the trial, and of course no complaints about that
Stats for just over a year of free trials:
- Roughly 3,400 trials started (~4% of new user registrations)
- Around 230 converted to paid (7%)
- Of those that converted, 10% bought our 5-year plan
Thoughts? Discuss...