Is $29.99 A Month Viable In Today's Economy/Environment?
 

No doubt there will be a TON of posters saying 29.99 is a good deal, if you have great content surfers will pay, etc - I get all that. But I refuse to believe *anyone* is doing the same EPC in 2013 as they did as little as 2 years ago, which begs the question - what's the sweet spot that is low enough to get enough joins to get the EPC back up?

Tanking economy + unprecedented amounts of free porn which has devalued it so much = even if volume is up, EPC is down, and getting a better EPC with current volume obviously means more $ in our collective pockets.

A broad question I realise, just thought it'd make a change from bitcoins, conspiracies, and so on. Discuss :)

WHEN THIS IS FREE>>Eporner.com/ $29.99 is to much:2 cents:

0.00 nobody buys porn anymore

Dropping the membership price doesn't increase sale price enough to compensate. If the user is going to join, they will pay $30.

I have not noticed any change in the amount of joins when going from $28.95 per month to $24.95

It really depends on what your site has to offer. I really don't think EPC has changed at all in the last 2 years.

There are always sensitivities to payout amounts but if your sites content warrants it 29.95 is just fine. Try running some pricing split tests on your billing form to maximize conversion/profit.

yeah i dont think it makes a difference most people will buy the membership if they really want whats inside.

Take as much sposnor content as you can and use it to promote cams and dating. Google does not care about relevance - just fill your sites with anything you can find and make it social.

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

gogle sucks :disgust

Depends on your site, your content, your traffic, etc.

Test and measure. Work out the ARPU and work out a price based on that. I'd look at 6 month's worth of figures.

A specialist fetish site can charge more than DVTimes.

$4 isn't really much of a discount though.

I'd have tested $4.99/$9.99/$19.99/$29.99

See which wins after 3/6 months cos you need to look at rebills too.

IMHO price can be whatever you ask. If you have something unique and not spread all over internet yet, you may ask any price and users will buy it.

I think a lot of it has to do with value. If you're offering a lot of value, and thats clearly communicated within your tour, then my experience is that guys are more than happy to pay 29.99.

Diablom and most of the replies in this thread got it right. Create VALUE and the user will pay.

Also:
FOLLOW THE LEADER

The biggest site in your niche usually dictates the price and it is hard to overcome it or even worth it. If the biggest site is 19.95 and you try 29.95, you will look expensive. If they are 29.95 and you try 24.95 or even 19.95, you come off as cheap (quality).

i wish there would be more exclusive hq programs selling memberships at 45 or 50$
i think people still gladly pay for it if the content is unique and if you wont have the impression that 2 billion other websurfers jerked off to the same scene

I have an extremely hard time accepting that as being accurate :)

I used to think that, and I think that used to be true actually, however I don't think nowadays that that blanket rule applies how it used to.

another question - how many who have answered so far have actually experimented & tested with different price points? Instead of just rely on the general opinion that $30 is the amount surfers are willing to pay, and they'll pay it regardless?

When promoting, I sell waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more trials that pay PPS than I do full price joins on revshare, so that experience alone tells me something.

Is the juice worth the squeeze?

I can only speak for what I see in my program. and I haven't seen any change in the last 3 years. I'm sure before tubes ratios were much better.



I will admit I have a small site www.KelseyMichaels.net that is only $10. to join and the ratio beats my other sites. But There is no way I'm going to drop my bigger sites that update down to that price. I can't see getting those few extra joins being worth it.

We have tested 4 different price points for full joins.
What is your PPS?

'when promoting' - other programs :)

did you look at ratios/joins only, or EPC for each price point over those test periods, and how long were those test periods?

I have. I can assure you that lowering the price does not drive you mad volume to compensate. You have to decide what you're actual objective is in that regard. If you have 100 members at $29.95, dropping it to $14.95 is not always going to give you 200 members. Meaning, you just gave yourself a pay cut for no reason.

I have found, as previously mentioned, if you have what they want, they will pay the $29.95 assuming you give them good value for the money. Where you draw the line on that value is going to be different for everyone.

There are many surfers out there, typically the under 30 crowd, who will rarely pay for porn and are happy to brag about it. However, for this demographic, it does not take much to get these guys off, much like in real life. Some naked skeezer getting fucked, and they pop off in 2 minutes.

However, as people age, their tastes typically become more refined. In short, it takes more than just any naked chick to get off. They also have less time, and patience, to deal with all of the nonsense to try and "beat the system". If they have the money and credit cards, they just buy it, rub one out, and get back to their lives.

What I am getting at here is there could be 100 million people in the U.S. (whatever it is). You are not going to convert them all to Republican or Democrat. You should not waste your time trying. I've never understand the insane amount of wasted time, money and energy trying to persuade deadbeats.

There are people who do buy porn religiously. There is a sliver of others who occasionally buy porn if the content/website is good. You should focus you efforts on them, and stop worrying about the others.

:2 cents:

I've been thinking a lot about re-evaluating the structure to include options in the 15-20 range, but it's hard to make that shift on such a monumental level and not seem like you're devaluing your work. It would need to be relaunched with a major marketing/PR initiative to explain the shift.

nice post :thumbsup

If you have something UNIQUE, 29.99 is fine.

Now you if you have hot blonde babes with big tits, forget about it.

39.99 is much better nowadays.

The best answer is probably to split test for a while and see what works best for your exact situation and find the revenue maximization point. As an affiliate I haven't noticed full monthly memberships selling better at $19.95 versus $29.95 to where any increase made up for the revenue declines. I have noticed however that retention seems better for rebills below $10.

Overall I usually cringe when a sponsor with a good site offers a $14.95 option. It usually means peanuts for me. But my experience as an affiliate probably isn't quite what you are looking for so good luck. :)

Bingo!

years ago we did a test, with a lot of joins...a lot...

Also ,check what the big boys charge.

There is a reason why they charge what they do and trust me they have experimented and analysed the data using info on millions of joins.

and....

Regarless what some say, can I tell you where rebills come from? Why a site retains?

The real truth?

Its not from your great content. Its from people forgetting to cancel.That simple.

They get there statement and go "shit, I should cancel that" and do not get round to it.

If you do not believe me , try running a paysite without automatic rebilling.Email each customer a reminder and say "we are about to bill you for membership to xyz, click this link if you do not want to renew yr membership"...and see what happens to yr rebills. ;)

but wait...u can't handle the truth.. ;)

hmmmm why charge them 19.96 when we can charge them 29.95...hmmm why charge them 29.95 when we can charge them 39.95...porn is an impule buy.

Also...they have no idea how great yr site is when they join , they do know how awesome your landing page/tour is though...

but wait I am telling you the plot.. ;)

But what do I know?...I don't even have 1000 posts , I'm a newb :(

Quiet Newbie :error

I just renewed my subscription to Time magazine, full year 52 issues 60 pages of top journalism all for $20. How do you compare that value wise to $29.95 for one month of naked genitals?:helpme

I literally had to beg a sponsor a few years back who brought a new site out to increase from 14.95 to 29.99. Eventually he caved in and tried it, and later thanked me for bugging him so much to do it :thumbsup

Why is it ok for a dvd with a few scenes to sell for $40. but a website is expected to have 100's of scenes and only be around 20 or 30 dollars?

the problem for me is not the monthly membership....I have recently sold memberships at 100 bucks, 45 bucks, 79 bucks and of course 29.95-34.95

However what is curious is for example this.... monday converting at 1/200....tuesday converting at 1/200 then wednesday converting at 1/1000 on same traffic with double join form hits

then thursday converting at 1/200 again

I am seeing this at least 2 days a week guaranteed where no sales convert no matter the influx of traffic, join hits...it does not seem to matter....it seems as if there are 2 days a week alooted for 0 sales on memberships

I don't see any way around it unless you get nats and multiple billers and merch account

1 biller converting good for you for 5 days a week, but not converting on day 6 and day 7 of the week means you are leaving coin on the table and if you don't pick up your coin from the table some one else will assuredly pick up your coin from the table for you

the old adage of averages being spread across 100k join clicks/fruit machine plays/insert your own example here, still applies. Forget about going by 24 hours, and go by batches of 100k join page clicks.