The freemium model introduces users to your content. Your goal then is to offer something worth purchasing beyond the free content. However don’t stop there. Real fans will want more beyond that. Make sure you have something to keep offering them.
My Chinese Learn Online (CLO) website attracts users with its free podcasts. If they like what they hear, they can purchase a subscription. Users continue the subscription in order to progress from basic to higher level content.
My CLO iPhone app is available for free. If users like the content, they can purchase additional lessons. If they like those, then more lessons are available for purchase beyond that.
My STL Contacts Manager app has a free version for users to try out. If they are happy with it, they can purchase the full version. If they are happy with that, then additional add-ons are also available for purchase. My long term goal is to continue offering additional products beyond the app to satisfy the demand from current users.
If you have a choice between creating new products for a new market, or creating additional products for your existing market, choose the latter option first.
Your job should be for your products to continue fulfilling demand from the same audience. This could be done by offering:
- Higher levels of difficulty (eg. language learning)
- Additional feature sets (eg. iPhone app add-ons).
- Additional stories that continue a plotline (eg. sequels to books)
- Other products of the same genre (eg. line of cookware, fashion,
- Alternate ways to consume your content (eg. ebooks, mobile apps)
These add-on sales are a much easier sell since you are selling them to a group who is already satisfied with your product and actually wants to purchase more from you. They would rather buy it from you. But if you don’t offer it, then they will be forced to look elsewhere. Don’t make them do that.