Tweets

"Early customers were willing to pay $50. We anchored at $30 / month."

https://twitter.com/vsodera/status/1118867877249966080?s=21

Fascinating:

@vsodera (co-founder of Superhuman) just shared the pricing strategy they used.

It's called "Van Westendorp's Price Sensitivity Meter."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Westendorp%27s_Price_Sensitivity_Meter

@vsodera Hadn't heard of this pricing strategy before! Thanks for sharing it!

RT @asmartbear: @mijustin So don’t. Probably just one or two things right now can actually materially impact the business.

Whatever those…

RT @janelleallen: Pricing is way more complex than buzzwords like "value". Really insightful post from @mijustin about whether "charge more…

@asmartbear 👍 That's reassuring to hear.

🎯 True for so many creative endeavors:

"The best comedy is not needy. It's not desperate for you to like it." – @pattonoswalt

@stauffermatt Sweet!!! 🔥

Starting a Pinterest marketing experiment. 😜

https://pin.it/4yztmr553ccn3d

RT @Shpigford: 3/ Should you raise funding? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Maybe. But maybe not.

Are you a single person in their 20's who's able to take some…

RT @Shpigford: 2/ Should you charge more? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Maybe. But maybe not.

Having 1,000 $20 customers vs two $10,000 customers is arguably…

RT @Shpigford: 1/ The longer I play the SaaS game, the more my response to "what should I do about X?" is "¯\_(ツ)_/¯" or "just do whatever…

RT @valsopi: “Cut your features by 75%”

“Increase prices by 75%”

“Answer support with Yes and No”

“Tell everyone how your ways are the o…

Great to get an encouraging note (and chocolate!) from an internet friend today.

Thanks @johnnytong! 🙌

The challenge is that most of these are "qualitative" observations:

- Stuff I'm seeing (repeatedly) in customer conversations
- Stuff I'm noticing on social media and in forums
- Stuff I'm getting in DMs
- Stuff I overhear in coffee shops
- Stuff that's going on in the industry

@bradenkeith The challenge is that most of these are "qualitative" observations:

- Stuff I'm seeing in customer conversations
- Stuff I'm noticing on social media and in forums
- Stuff I'm getting in DMs

One challenge I've had as a founder: tracking, and trying to triangulate, thousands of qualitative data points.

Somehow, you have to decide which signals matter.

But even then, plotting all those data points on a map, and deciding on a direction, is tough.

@boaticus @donnfelker @r00k @JordanGal We've solved the bandwidth problem. (https://overcast.fm/+MBmXZQhgI)

I don't think we're the only "SaaS" with metered costs (ConvertKit pays quite a bit for email delivery).

Some of our competitors don't mention downloads (only as a footnote saying "if you hit this, let's talk."

@boaticus @donnfelker @r00k @JordanGal I understand what you're saying.

Our aim from the beginning at Transistor, was to provide more value through features, not "more downloads."

I think we'll keep downloads on the pricing chart for awhile (maybe forever), but that won't be the main focus in the future.

RT @JamesClear: Step 1: Life is a series of games. Carefully choose which games you want to play.

Step 2: Each game has a set of rules. De…

@boaticus @r00k @JordanGal Again, those are assumptions.😜

For example, what margins do you think WPengine is making, or even http://Carrd.co? Basecamp stores a lot of files; are they a hosting company?

People keep telling me the "rules:"
- "you can't get 80% margins because..."

@tylertringas Our new slogan is "it depends."

@mikeherreraTD @mxpx @holli_herrera This is the cutest thing ever.

@andrewculver 🤘🔥🤘

@maxeemi Thanks!

@natekontny NICE YOU'RE FINALLY GOING TO MAKE YOUR NINJA ROBOTS.

@justalever Thanks!

@mastermaq Impressive Mack!

@jackmcdade Lol 😂

RT @stefanbauerme: This interview with @taylorotwell and @mijustin was sensational. He talks about his path from the past to the present. H…

@dannyfiorentini Thanks for chiming in. Great to hear your voice here. 👍

Like Transistor, it looks like most of your customers are on the lowest paid tier.

Do you think, in the future, you'll see more expansion revenue?

@MichaelIshri @taylorotwell @laravelphp Thanks! ❤️

I have a longer version of this chat I'll probably post on @productpeopletv 👍

@DavidVII Thanks David! Glad it was helpful.

I really appreciated the different POV from @r00k, @JordanGal, and @Patticus. 👍

RT @DavidVII: This was a fantastic conversation about SaaS pricing. I'm nervous to experiment at this early stage, but this conversation ha…

@MrSimonBennett Yup! In this post, I cover:

1. Choosing a topic
2. Doing research
3. How to find guests

https://justinjackson.ca/submit-podcast-itunes

@MrSimonBennett Yes! https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/

@bradcumbers @r00k @JordanGal Thanks Brad! ❤️

❤️ Love seeing awesome conversations with bootstrappers being hosted on http://Transistor.fm.

This one from @upsidefm with @tylertringas & @Kevin_McArdle is good:
https://upside.fm/earnest-capital/

@JalisoCSP @JordanGal @r00k Beauty! 🙌 thanks for coming out.

@coolhandorg @JordanGal @r00k Thanks!

@MrSimonBennett If you start one let me know! I'll add you to my list. 👍

http://podcast.gift

@brennandunn NICE! 🙌 Inspired by your work here. 👍

RT @Shpigford: This should be good! My thoughts on pricing have changed quite a bit over the years. Mainly I think too many people hold too…

⚡️ LIVE NOW: @JordanGal and @r00k talking SaaS pricing.

https://www.youtube.com/justinjackson/live

In about 45 minutes, join @r00k, @JordanGal, and myself for a friendly debate about SaaS pricing. 😅

https://www.youtube.com/justinjackson/live

@IanFortier Thanks! 🙌

This was the first surprise. 🤯

@jozacks Nope, that's http://megamaker.co

I interviewed @taylorotwell and wow did some of his answers surprise me.

If you want to hear the whole @laravelphp story, it's worth a listen:

https://overcast.fm/+MBmWqe1VQ

@jozacks 👋 I once worked for a company called "Mailout Interactive" 😜

@tranhelen 💯 "As you build it, tell people to come."

@garrytan This reminds me of @rodneymullen's quote:

"I only won once. The rest of the time I was just defending my title, and it killed my creativity."

https://justinjackson.ca/rodney-mullen

@vic_bell @smithtimmytim Did you do the illustration work for @iamashley's @_withjack site? I love those illustrations!

@Patticus 😮 Turns out buying all that IP was worthwhile.

@JordanGal 😜

Tomorrow! @r00k (http://Tuple.app), @JordanGal (http://Carthook.com) and I (http://transistor.fm) are doing a livestream about PRICING.

Subscribe here to get notified:
https://youtu.be/llGI3nQRA1E

RT @mariepoulin: What I found fascinating about the interaction was that with ZERO context or information, a stranger felt they knew my bus…

@nelsonjoyce Yes, Buffer's Open Startups definitely showers a higher % of revenue churn for $250+ plans.

@mbuckbee Again, I don't know if that's always true.

The < $10 tier in @Baremetrics "Open Benchmarks" has the lowest churn % of all cohorts.
https://baremetrics.com/open-benchmarks

Also: I'm sure http://Carrd.co has tons of individuals paying for it that happily pay $19 year after year.

Just got off a voice call with @adamwathan.

There's something incredible about chatting with someone who has enthusiasm for what they're doing. Good ideas just "appear." The energy creates momentum. 🏄‍♂️

Do low paying customers churn and complain more? https://www.pscp.tv/w/b4TNQDM4NTU1MXwxT3lLQXB3Z2prYXhiOdZUXTsvP9MKJVwbMYOlLBV0sQ5puEau-miWUFfHetI=

@VelocityWong 😂

guess it’s time for a coffee break.

@boaticus @r00k @CasJam @TransistorFM It might be 1/1000. Lol. (hard to tell, it's still early)

We are researching what that extra value looks like (and how it might fit into our higher priced tiers).

But, it still might not be worth it to put a ton of energy into one $99 user, when we could get 100 at $19.

RT @ianlandsman: Nice post on pricing by @mijustin https://justinjackson.ca/charge-more

@boaticus @r00k @CasJam "How does this affect churn" is just one variable to consider.

To your point...

We do have a few @TransistorFM customers who have said: "I would gladly pay more."

But for every customer like that, we might have 100 who wouldn't pay more.

That's the balancing act.

@bradt @CasJam @r00k I'm referring more to perceived value.

When I *really* think about it, Gmail is an incredible value. I started paying $0 for it, then $5/month, and now $10/month. But I use is 20x a day!

What's weird to me is I don't inherently value it more. Human psychology is strange.

@adamwathan @tailwindcss @vuejs so good!

@r00k @CasJam I thought that was significant too.

It was interesting to me that we don't pay more for the stuff that runs our life. (Even though it's important).

We pay very little for Gmail, but it's the most important app we use (likely).

Product category has a big influence on price.

@benmagg @PovilasKorop Thanks! 🙌

RT @PessimistsArc: 1938 tips on reducing kids’ book reading time:

- Withdraw all encouragement
relating to the reading of boo…

@ramykhuffash @CasJam @r00k Agreed. 👌

I'm not opposed to charging more.

Generally I like @ianlandsman's approach:

"If *no one* is complaining, you should probably raise your price."



But don't alienate the thousands who are happily paying you (and might keep paying for another 5 years)!

@bingofuel Yes please!

One of the big risks for a small product is stuffing it with more "value" just so you can increase the price.

Often, users get features they don't want *and* they have to pay more for it.

"The lower the price, the less likely someone is to search for another solution to their problem. By keeping a nice value buffer you avoid customers even considering switching away from your product." – @nathanbarry

Loved hearing @CasJam chat with @r00k. This caught my ear:

"I've been paying http://followup.cc $15/month for 4-5 years. That app runs my life."

☝️ this is one advantage of charging a "lower" price point. People happily pay for years, and don't even think about canceling.

RT @TransistorFM: @heydjh Yes! 🙌

You can host multiple podcasts, with their own website + custom domain (with https), starting at $19 / mo…

@VoidMonk 1. @ajlkn, solo-founder of http://Carrd.co, supports 200,000 users, and charges $19 / year.

2. B2B buyers want a deal just as much as anybody. They care about it so much they hire professional buyers to do it for them.

Wow. You can zoom like this with a phone?! 😮

https://twitter.com/b_momani/status/1117493976171290625?s=21

@jeremyvaught @ryanbattles Awwww. Will I see you in NYC for Laracon?

@m1guelpf @pjrvs The whole article is here: https://pjrvs.com/insta/

Love @pjrvs' newsletter today.

"Debt doesn't photograph well."

RT @arikfr: "Charge more" is the most annoying advice I constantly get. 99% of the times, it comes without any context or thinking of our b…

@chrisfosterelli OMG. This is scarier than AI.

@seoultonykim Thanks for sharing it!

@chrisfosterelli listening to the @woegopodcast episode on AI.

You might like it https://overcast.fm/+NNa10CK50

@tysonmaly @nathanbarry The three possible benefits of keeping prices lower.

@imMartinBoss Thanks Martin!

@mgreiler Thanks for sharing it!

@MarcCicatello Thanks Marc!

@kouriskalligas Thanks for sharing it! 🙌

RT @ideasasylum: A good post by @mijustin this morning about charging more (or not). Too often pricing discussions focus on the company not…

If you liked this article, check out this podcast I did on SaaS pricing with @Patticus and @robwalling:

https://saas.transistor.fm/episodes/saas-pricing-experts https://twitter.com/osullica/status/1117205614722191365

@ericnormand Thanks

@citadelgrad @brechtify @adamwathan @JordanGal I think there are other perspectives on growth worth exploring.

From @pjrvs: https://pjrvs.com/growth/
From @dhh: https://m.signalvnoise.com/enough/

Next, I remember reading this @patio11 newsletter in 2012 and being really impacted by it. (I've re-read it a few times since then!)

https://training.kalzumeus.com/newsletters/archive/saas_pricing

Especially, this case study with @earthlingworks (which potentially has a parallel with Transistor's current pricing)

First, @nathanbarry's post on the "consumer surplus" articulated so many thoughts I've been trying to put into words forever.

Really helpful: https://nathanbarry.com/value/

I've been thinking about this post for years. Collecting different POV. It took me hours to put together (and I was up until 2am writing it), but I'm glad it's finally out.

Want to thank some of the folks who's ideas influenced it:

@siracusa @starwars Are you watching trailers?!?! 😮