A business journal in Youngstown, Ohio raised its subscription price from $25 to $99 a year. Nobody canceled.
That’s a Leaky Paywall publisher. Its old price was too low, and Colin Devroe says that’s the most common problem he sees after working inside the Stripe accounts of hundreds of subscription businesses.
So how do you raise subscription prices without losing subscribers? Colin and Pete cover what to charge, which tiers to raise, and how to tell subscribers before Stripe does.
On this episode of the Paywall Podcast, Pete Ericson talks with Colin Devroe, co-founder of Good Migrations and head of AI at NerdPress. Colin has been building on the web for 25 years. He’s spent more than 10 of them moving Stripe subscriptions between accounts and running price increases, including for Leaky Paywall publishers.
Why Most Publishers Wait Too Long to Raise Digital Subscription Prices
Fear is the usual reason. Pete hears from publishers who haven’t raised prices in five years or more, and by then the gap feels too big to close.
A low starting price makes it harder. Going from 99 cents to $4.99 is five times the price, and readers notice. Going from $9.99 to $12.99 is about 30% more, which feels like a normal adjustment.
Many publishers charging 99 cents also don’t know how much they keep. A 99-cent charge nets about 30 cents after fees.
Price also sends a message. Pricing is as much a marketing decision as a business one, because what you charge tells readers what your content is worth.
Looking to grow your publication?
Sign up for expert advice straight to your inbox.“It’s not so easy to go up as it is to go down in the future. So what you choose to start at is kind of important.”
Colin Devroe
A Price Increase Doesn’t Have to Cost You Subscribers
Get the number and the message right, and a price increase does more than bump revenue. It can also move subscribers into better tiers and bring churn down, since readers on higher tiers tend to stay.
Here’s how Pete and Colin would go about it.
Pete’s Price Buckets
Readers react to the bucket, not the exact number. Move to the top of yours.
Top of bucket
Example: charging $17? Move to $19.99. Both feel like “under 20 bucks.”
How to Raise Subscription Prices Without Losing Subscribers
Move to the top of your bucket. Pete groups prices into buckets that top out at $4.99, $9.99, $19.99, $29, $49 and $99. Readers react to the bucket, not the exact number: a $17 price and a $19.99 price both feel like “under $20.” So if you charge $17, moving to $19.99 carries very little risk. Pete has seen it work across Leaky Paywall publishers.
Raise a little, regularly. Colin’s advice: make increases a regular habit, as often as once a year, so subscribers get used to prices changing. A single big jump after years of flat pricing is what makes them stop and ask why. Increases don’t have to be dramatic.
Use tiers to move subscribers up. If most subscribers sit on your lowest tier, bump that tier so the middle one becomes an easy upgrade. Or stop offering it to new signups. In Colin’s experience, churn concentrates at the lowest tier.
Default your pricing page to annual. Colin’s math: 1,000 monthly subscribers means 12,000 card charges a year, and you pay a processing fee on every one. If you bill annually, you pay that fee 1,000 times.
Monthly vs Annual
1,000 subscribers for one year. You pay a processing fee every time a card is charged.
Billed monthly
$9 a month
Fees a year
$9,240
Billed annually
$99 a year
Fees a year
$3,470
Annual billing: $5,770 less in fees a year.
Plus: annual subscribers pay up front and churn less.
Example fees: 50 cents + 3% per charge.
Control the message. Turn off Stripe’s automatic notifications first, so subscribers don’t hear about the increase from a third party. Then write an email that names the value subscribers get, like a new staff member or more human reporting, not rising costs. Specifics work: Pete knows a West Coast local news publisher that emails readers when a story needs digging, explaining what it knows so far and that it needs $1,500 to put a reporter on it. In Pete’s words, it works “every single time.”
“What if you got rid of your lowest tier? You could keep those customers paying what they’re paying, but just don’t offer it anymore.”
Colin Devroe
Colin’s last piece of advice is the one most publishers need: don’t lead with fear. Other publishers are raising prices too, and the ones who do it well take it seriously without freezing up. Pick your bucket, reshape your tiers and write the email that tells subscribers what their money pays for.
What to Try This Week
1. List every live price in Stripe and mark which of Pete’s buckets each one falls in. Any price below the top of its bucket is a candidate to move up. When you’re ready to switch, the Leaky Paywall guide to changing pricing for existing subscribers walks you through it.
2. Set your subscribe page to show annual first, with the annual price stated plainly instead of hidden behind a toggle.
3. Draft your price increase email around subscriber benefits, how you are making their life better. This is never about your rising costs. Name the things the new price pays for, such as more in-depth reporting so they can make informed decisions.
Before it goes out, turn off any automatic emails Stripe sends about the new charge, so subscribers hear it from you first.
Watch the full conversation:
