Getting users to upgrade their accounts

[rlopes]

Hello.
There's 2 types of accounts - Basic and Premium. The Premium accounts offer more symbols and more fonts.

Right now we do this: the Premium symbols/fonts have a golden outline. When the user clicks over a Premium symbol for example, the site opens a graphical message saying that such symbol is only available for Premium users, and invites the user to upgrade his account.

I have some concerns about this scheme:

- Won't the users get turned off when seeing this message?
- Will the users even read the message, or will they just think the site doesn't work and quit?

Do you know of a better scheme to get the users upgraded?

[edited by: phranque at 5:56 am (utc) on Jul 11, 2011]

[lucy24]

When the splash screen says "free" it's a bit off-putting to then be told "...unless you want the good stuff". I don't think users would conclude the site doesn't work; I think they'd conclude it's bait-and-switch.

I would say: don't put the Premium items on the same page as the freebies at all. Put them on an entirely separate page that users can only get to by deliberately clicking on something that makes it absolutely clear they're entering a non-free area. And make sure there are things on the Free page that a reasonable number of users would be satisfied with. Otherwise you're better off just charging a fee in the first place.

Or do some entirely different approach, like First Logo Free or First {some time period} free.

All of the above was speaking as a user.

[jecasc]

I don't think it is a bad idea to show users what they could get if they were a premium member on the same page where they see the free content. As long as you do it in a way that is not misleading. It should be in a way that the user recognizes the premium content BEFORE he has to click somewhere.

[rlopes]

Thank you for the tips!

Do you think the price is reasonable for the offer?

[jecasc]

I only just now realized the link you provided in your post and took a quick look at the website.

The problem I see as it is now is: You can't really test the website as a free user. There is no way to distinguish which of the items are available for the free version and which are available for the premium version. Or better - there is, you added the golden outline. However this is a little to subtle, nobody will realize the meaning of the outline. I would gray out the premium items or put a text below "Premium content". Otherwise people will try to play around a little and after clicking two or three times, simply leave.

You should also change the text a little on the "Premium box". When I looked at it the first time I thought this was a subscription and I wondered why anybody would need a subscription for a logo creation because this usually is something you do once. Only after some time I realized that it is 4 weeks access, not recurring.

Also in addition to a written tutorial you should think about creating a tutorial video with a screen capture software.

And you should perhaps create some logos with your software and display them, so people can see at one glance the potential of your software.

The pricing is ok, I think you could charge even more. I would charge $19.95 and then rather make special offers.

[Innovate]

There is a cover creator that I use. Some of the templates are free, they offer a monthly membership which gives you access to design everything, or you can design a premium item and pay for it individually. If you choose to design a premium item and if you don't have a membership once you click "generate" it says Example all over it (or something like that) until you pay for it.

I use the free tool a lot, but I've also paid for premium designs. Since it's only $4 or so, I see it as a good deal. I would never pay monthly (even though it's only 9.95) because I usually only need it for a one- time thing. I don't need it for the whole month. So I'd rather pay $4 for each usage.

You should add some example logos to your site so people can see what can be done. And your interface seems a bit confusing. You should look into how other sites do it. For example, the box where you can change the font should be more visible- perhaps at the top. And like the site I mentioned above, I think people should be able to design and then they have to pay if they want to be able to use it.

Hopefully that insight is helpful.

[jecasc]

Yes, letting people use the full potential of your software and pay for the end result in high resolution or without watermarks, might work better than a crippled version.

[michvhf]

" - Won't the users get turned off when seeing this message? "

Yep, and typically I won't return to the site and will usually tell others not to bother with it.