Can I offer a free trial for My Membership Site? | Member

Sep 16, 2022

Can I offer a Free Trial for My Membership Site?

Trials for membership sites are a marketing tactic used by countless others prior to your. Yes, you should certainly consider free trials as a part of your campaign to market. It could be profitable for you. But, it is essential, obviously you utilize it in a proper manner.

Trial offers have proven to be effective for numerous subscription-based businesses--offline and online.

Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, Hulu, YouTube Premium, Audible, PlayStation, and LinkedIn Premium are a few of the most popular subscription businesses that offer a free trial for their service.

The catch is that free trial deals aren't for everybody. Like every other marketing strategy It's not foolproof and comes with its own pros and cons.

to help you determine whether or not offering trials can be a beneficial strategy for your site The following are the topics we'll discuss in this post:

Are Trials for Membership Websites a good idea?

trial for membership site

Yes. In the case of many membership websites trials can be a great option to utilize. We have already established that.

It's an effective and extremely profitable method for your subscription-based product or website to increase revenue. In addition, it lowers your customer acquisition costs.

However, is it a good idea for YOU?

The answer to that depends entirely on your preference the budget you have and your marketing strategies.

The trial period gives you to show prospective customers what you have to offer instead of TELLING them.

Instead of spending hundreds and thousands of dollars in advertising, you can just provide them with a live demo or demo of your product.

Imagine yourself in the customers' shoes. Are you willing to buy something because the salesperson claims it's amazing? Would you prefer to experience the product for yourself?

Would you buy a car without taking a test drive? Or clothes without fitting them?

The same is true for subscription-based companies. Your clients will see the product or service you offer as an investment.

This is the reason that almost all of them will want to test the experience for themselves.

Nearly every owner of a membership website is convinced that providing an opportunity for trial periods can increase leads, and also converts more sales at a faster and greater rate. And it increases customer satisfaction.

Not all trials are created equal. exact same. We'll look at every type of trial offer , and see the ways they differ from each other.

The Different Types of Trials for membership sites

Here are a few of the free trials to test:

  • Trial offer for a limited time
  • Limited access trial Offer
  • Free trial Offer
  • Offer to trial at a discounted rate
  • Service-based trial offer.

The best part is, you don't have to pick just one from these. It is possible to try a mix of two or several.

           Limited-Time Trial Deal          

With this type of offer for trial that you offer to the potential clients access to everything on your website during a time-limited period.

Offer a one-week time period, two weeks, or a 30-day free trial to let them try your product or services for absolutely no cost.

Additionally, you can also make the offer of a limited-time trial for an affordable price. Or, you can provide free services throughout their trial period, if they decide to buying the membership.

           Access Trial Offer Limited Access Trial Offer          

Like the time-limited trial, you may also use limited access in combination with other promotions.

In the case of you're offering an online class it is possible to allow participants to test access to only some lessons.

Or, if you're offering an opportunity for a test of your service or product or product, you may give the users access to only a handful of the basic functions.

Pro tip: you can use CourseCure to create an easy-to-create completely customizable online course.

           Free Trial Offer          

free trial for membership sites

This is one of the most popular trials that we see today. They often use it as a complement to limited-time or restricted-access deals.

As the name suggests the trial is free... cost-free.

           Discounted Rate Trial Discount Offer          

discounted rate trial for membership site

Your trial offer doesn't always have to be free. You can also offer it at a discounted rate.

           Service-Based Trial Service-Based Trial of HTML0          

free service trial for membership site

Finally, you can avail service-based trial offers where you can give your customers access to your product either for no cost or at a discounted rate for a short period of duration.

Naturally, you'd prefer them to sign-up for your membership site following the trial time, but ensure that the offer that you offer is appealing enough to keep them hooked.

Make sure you are able to overdeliver after they sign up.

Pros and Cons of Trials for Membership Sites

Like any other type of advertising, tests of membership sites come with positives and negatives. We'll look at a few of them.

           Pros of Trials for membership sites          

           Get $$$ back on Customer Acquisition          

customer cost per acquisition

If an individual decides to go for a test period they are half-way through the gate. It's the responsibility of you to make sure you'll deliver on the promises you promised to get they all the way.

Most times, you can allow your service or product to sell itself during the period of trial.

It's a good thing that when they're already in the trial phase this will help you save hundreds of dollars as it's not necessary to do any additional marketing. But, this is only when your offer is enticing enough to make your customers want to become full members.

           Better Customer Satisfaction          

customer satisfaction

Few people who take advantage of a trial offer are dissatisfied after making the switch due to knowing exactly what to expect based on the experience of their trial.

A level of honesty allows you to provide your clients with greater transparency, and also prevents the customers from having unreasonable expectations. That also means fewer claims and cancellations.

           Reduces the Aversion to Engagement          

letting go of fear of commitment

Memberships are a commitment. In the majority of cases people have a fear of binding themselves to a monthly or yearly installment.

With a no-cost or low-cost trial, you empower your market to understand what they're missing out on and ease the anxiety of committing to demonstrating what they're being left out of.

           Gather Feedback          

gathering reviews

Membership site trials are also ideal for gathering feedback on your services and products.

It's the perfect chance to get market feedback and valuable insight so you are able to make smarter and more educated business choices.

           Highly Valuable Leads for Your Email List          

building email lists

A further benefit is that you can generate more leads. They have already taken the time to view your product and test it for themselves.

That means they are already familiar with you and they will most likely consider becoming members after the trial period or later in the future.

           Pros and Cons of Trials for membership sites          

Although the risks are small when you offer trials, there are still certain risks that are worth considering.

           Risk of losing Time money, resources, and time          

If you are considering offering a trial on your site's membership, make certain that you are able to decide whether your budget will allow the cost.

Also, you should consider those who are just trying to join the trial period for free but have zero intention of joining to become members.

You can try to reduce these risk through implementing one or a combination of the following tips:

  • Give a discount on the trial - that is, you will still receive a portion of sales in exchange for their access.
  • Sort out who participates in the trial period - you can have your customers fill out a form or a quiz so you can determine who is eligible to participate in the trial.
  • Limit the trial duration It will take a lot of tests however, if you are able to discover the right duration to help your customers make an informed decision, this will be extremely beneficial to you.

Do You Need To Run A Trial, Free or Paid?

free or paid trial for membership site

The majority of trial offers run without cost. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't try it.

You can always choose to pay the reduced rate or offer a trial for an affordable cost.

Instead of just giving them a no-cost trial, think about offering a modest fee in order to encourage them to "buy-in" to your membership site.

The idea of charging a small fee is also an excellent option in order to screen out those just looking to receive something the price of nothing and are actually interested in signing up to become members.

Ultimately, the answer will always be up to you.

What is the reason you should not offer a Free Trial of Your Member Site?

The solution will be contingent upon what you're offering.

In the case of running an online course the trial duration might not be your best option. Because your customers could complete the entire program before the trial period is over.

But, there's always an alternative to this. It is possible to protect your courses, or choose a particular section of your course and make it a part of your trial.

An additional example would be when you're providing a service. For instance, you're offering a free garage door repair to members on trial.

It is possible to think about an alternative strategy to the trial. You could also set a minimum fee in order to offset the cost.

It is also possible to offer you a base level of your member site, where test members have access to a scaled-back version of your entire offering.

At the very least this will bring people to your site's membership and community, which may motivate them to purchase the full version after the trial.

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Offering a Trial

questions to ask yourself

Before you decide to jump for that trial There are a few questions you should think about. Answers to these questions can help you make an informed decision.

  • What should the trial period be? Your target audience needs enough time to take a deep dive to determine if the product you're offering is something they'll never be able to live without. However you must be sure it's not "too lengthy." ."
  • Can you afford it? Consider if providing people with free access to your product or service is something that you are able to afford and will be beneficial to your business in the future.
  • What is the time frame for conversion? When it comes to running a business, time is money. Think about the amount of time that it will take for trial members to become paying members.

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