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Weekly versus monthly billing. Your opinion is appreciated.

by jdooley13
11 replies
I was trying to decide whether it would be better to offer a membership with weekly billing or monthly billing. The product is a course with weekly lessons.
Weekly billing would, obviously, show up as a smaller charge (which might appeal to some people) but I was wondering if getting a bill each week might turn off a lot of people or make them more likely to cancel.
I know the mantra is test test test but I was hoping that some of you might have some insight on this issue as I would prefer to at least start off with the better of the two options.

Thanks
#appreciated #billing #monthly #opinion #versus #weekly
  • Profile picture of the author mattjay
    I do monthly billing, and I also offer a one time payment charge. My one time payment is a better deal. I see a lot of membership type sites do this, or software companies. Pay us $99 a month for 3 months or a one time charge of 150 bucks, something like that.

    Hope it helps...
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  • Profile picture of the author jdooley13
    Thanks, I appreciate your input.
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  • Profile picture of the author AlexanderBeloev
    Originally Posted by jdooley13 View Post

    I was trying to decide whether it would be better to offer a membership with weekly billing or monthly billing. The product is a course with weekly lessons.
    Weekly billing would, obviously, show up as a smaller charge (which might appeal to some people) but I was wondering if getting a bill each week might turn off a lot of people or make them more likely to cancel.
    I know the mantra is test test test but I was hoping that some of you might have some insight on this issue as I would prefer to at least start off with the better of the two options.

    Thanks
    Hi,

    As a customer I prefer monthly billing because there are fees for every transaction. I have seen a lot of memberships with one week trial for $1 and then monthly billing. I think this is the best type you can choose, because your customers like me will have the opportunity to check your value first for just one buck, and then, if they are happy with you, they will continue using your services.


    Best regards,
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  • Profile picture of the author jdooley13
    Thanks, I didn't even think about the fees involved.
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  • Profile picture of the author miklanderson2
    When in doubt, give your customers the option to choose.

    Let them choose between billing tiers and reduce the total fees a bit based on how long they sign up for. A weekly option or a trial subscription can be a good way to get customers to test the waters to see if they want to sign-up long-term. Monthly memberships are probably the most common. Set up auto-renew and you'll get people who sign up and forget all about the membership, especially if your monthly fees aren't high enough to make them take a closer look at what they're paying for. Offer discounts to people who sign up for 3-month, 6-month and yearly memberships.
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  • Profile picture of the author dreamtoreality
    Originally Posted by jdooley13 View Post

    Weekly billing would, obviously, show up as a smaller charge (which might appeal to some people) but I was wondering if getting a bill each week might turn off a lot of people or make them more likely to cancel.
    Thanks
    As a consumer, I would say that seeing that money is being taken out of my account each week would make me more likely to cancel. I would start to think whether I really need the service or not, as I'm constantly being reminded that I'm paying for something that is a luxury good and not a necessity; then again, everyone's different.
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    • Profile picture of the author LillySage
      I'd give your customers the chance to pick, and see what they pick.

      Personally, whenever I've offered membership sites with monthly billing, I tend to see between 1-3 months of payments before the person cancels. I think its psychological.

      Like, people see lots of charges and freak out and cancel, etc.

      Nowadays I focus on one time charges for member sites. It seems to work out better all around.
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    • Profile picture of the author ChrisMooreLive
      Originally Posted by dreamtoreality View Post

      As a consumer, I would say that seeing that money is being taken out of my account each week would make me more likely to cancel. I would start to think whether I really need the service or not, as I'm constantly being reminded that I'm paying for something that is a luxury good and not a necessity; then again, everyone's different.
      I agree. You want to remind them of the value you offer, not the cost.
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  • Profile picture of the author jdooley13
    Thanks everyone for all of your input
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  • Profile picture of the author tamalanwar
    Just take a look at some of the premium subscription sites, do they have weekly payments? Aweber, HostGator, Softwares all of them have a monthly fee. This means that they have tested it better than us and knows that monthly works better.

    But you can also try it out but then you have to keep pushing every week to deliver and over deliver content and activity.

    On the member end a weekly is also a bigger commitment. With a monthly pack busy clients can just take 2 weeks or 1 week for your site and consume the content.

    What I have done is to have a monthly and lifetime option. Surprisingly most people have got the lifetime offer and giving me an upfront capital.

    So this makes sense that most people like to have less hassle on the payment cycle. Yearly/onetime payment is better for many serious people.
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Gates
    I've tried weekly and monthly before and here's my input:

    Weekly converts at a much higher rate because the upfront payment required from your customers is much lesser (exactly 25% lesser). People will be more willing to join your program if you ask for lesser payment upfront. Also, a weekly billing will constantly remind your customers to study your program rather than leaving it to collect dust.

    On the other hand, monthly billing will let your customers "forget" to study your program. And if it's unhelpful, then a monthly billing will reduce cancellations.

    Hope I've helped!
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