Trial or No Trial - Opinions Plz

[PamiebDVD]

So what are your thoughts/experiences on offering a trial vs not offering a trial on a membership site?

Is there an increase in cb's or cancellations?

[gonzo]

Originally Posted by PamiebDVD

So what are your thoughts/experiences on offering a trial vs not offering a trial on a membership site?

Is there an increase in cb's or cancellations?

On a conventional membership site it has been my experience with the 2 programs that I am involved with that trials have very low conversion/retention rates.

In a typical membership site [at least my experience] it is a vehicle for users to come in suck down all your content and leave.

I think it could be successful if you had a site with so much content that it was impossible to see it all during the trial period.

It might work better for your DVD site. Its always worth a try.

With the small new program that I have licensed content to todays statics show 61 trials with 7 converts to full price for the week.

[spazlabz]

Originally Posted by gonzo

On a conventional membership site it has been my experience with the 2 programs that I am involved with that trials have very low conversion/retention rates.

In a typical membership site [at least my experience] it is a vehicle for users to come in suck down all your content and leave.

I think it could be successful if you had a site with so much content that it was impossible to see it all during the trial period.

It might work better for your DVD site. Its always worth a try.

With the small new program that I have licensed content to todays statics show 61 trials with 7 converts to full price for the week.

spaz

[PamiebDVD]

Thanks for the feedback!

Anyone else?

[Hammer]

If you do have a trial, I'd make it a limited trial, not just in time but content. Set aside a section with a limited amount of content. Enough to give the trial member a good idea of the quality of the content and convince them to let the trial roll over. That way it truly is a trial and they get what they paid for -- since it was probably only $3 or $4 anyway -- but at least they don't have access to all of the content so they can download as much as possible before the trial ends.

[gonzo]

Originally Posted by Hammer

If you do have a trial, I'd make it a limited trial, not just in time but content. Set aside a section with a limited amount of content. Enough to give the trial member a good idea of the quality of the content and convince them to let the trial roll over. That way it truly is a trial and they get what they paid for -- since it was probably only $3 or $4 anyway -- but at least they don't have access to all of the content so they can download as much as possible before the trial ends.

I totally agree.
I know that some programs do this but with a high expense to modifying scripts such at MPA or NATS.

[spazlabz]

tried that limited content trial as well (this is a big part of a certain programs sites) and it did not work out for the sites I tried it on at all. Of course these were brand new sites at the time (this was almost a year ago) and it failed miserably..


spaz

[PamiebDVD]

Originally Posted by spazlabz

tried that limited content trial as well (this is a big part of a certain programs sites) and it did not work out for the sites I tried it on at all. Of course these were brand new sites at the time (this was almost a year ago) and it failed miserably..


spaz

Were these your sites that it didn't work on or were these sites that you were an affiliate for? Just curious....and if these were your sites, did you do away with the trials and the results (signups/conversions) were better?

[spazlabz]

Originally Posted by PamiebDVD

Were these your sites that it didn't work on or were these sites that you were an affiliate for? Just curious....and if these were your sites, did you do away with the trials and the results (signups/conversions) were better?

I worked for the company that put the sites up. And yes we did away with the limited trial and things did pick up slowly from there. Now a year later they are making a small profit from each of them but as Gonzo pointed out we get a lot of people who jump in, rip as much as they can and then cancel right away.


spaz

[Hammer]

I got the impression from your first reply that these were limited content trials as I recommended. Were they?

[spazlabz]

Originally Posted by Hammer

I got the impression from your first reply that these were limited content trials as I recommended. Were they?

Yes, but that is not to deny the effectiveness of a limit content trial. I know NA uses them with a lot of success... for our much smaller sites they were a complete bust. could be due to a lot of factors but our ultimate descision was to kill them and abandon the idea altogether...


spaz

[softball]

Originally Posted by Hammer

If you do have a trial, I'd make it a limited trial, not just in time but content. Set aside a section with a limited amount of content. Enough to give the trial member a good idea of the quality of the content and convince them to let the trial roll over. That way it truly is a trial and they get what they paid for -- since it was probably only $3 or $4 anyway -- but at least they don't have access to all of the content so they can download as much as possible before the trial ends.

What a great idea. You sometimes I just overlook the obvious. It has got me thinking in a new direction. Fab advice.

[Hell Puppy]

It depends on the nature of the site. Mega-sites, PPV sites, etc fair very well with trials if there's enough content and quality to make the users keep coming back for more.

Now for something with a smaller collection of exclusive content such as an extreme niche or solo girls, you're leaving money on the table with a trial. The user either wants to see it enough to reach for his credit card or he doesn't....price point is rarely a factor within reason.

There are two types of surfers out there, those who will pay for content and those who will not. Those who will are typically have a decent amount of disposable income and aren't the guys who shop based on price.

[softball]

Originally Posted by Hell Puppy

It depends on the nature of the site. Mega-sites, PPV sites, etc fair very well with trials if there's enough content and quality to make the users keep coming back for more.

Now for something with a smaller collection of exclusive content such as an extreme niche or solo girls, you're leaving money on the table with a trial. The user either wants to see it enough to reach for his credit card or he doesn't....price point is rarely a factor within reason.

There are two types of surfers out there, those who will pay for content and those who will not. Those who will are typically have a decent amount of disposable income and aren't the guys who shop based on price.

It actually got me thinking about a "sampler" site. A limited content, inexpensive site with attractive upsells. Kind of like a Kelloggs Variety Pack of porn. Just enough to make it worth the price, but not enough to be totally satisfying.