Having a very specific niche, I feel so much better having a subscription model. I’m comfortable knowing my subcribers chose me. They can stay as long as they want and leave when they want.

Thanks for all of the great info.

Pete

Every month I’m in front of about 100 tech project managers from a variety of companies & industries teaching workshops or seminars. (many in corporate IT from lots of companies you would recognize) I’m surprised at how little these professionals know about web 2.0, rss, and the subscription process.

That leads me to believe that the growth and movement you’re talking about is largely private individuals who are seeking this capability out themselves.

Which leads me to the conclusion that web 2.0 and the whole subscription thing is really at the early adopter stage.

Which further leads me to conclude that there’s gonna be a HUGE MARKET when this becomes mainstream . Which I don’t believe it is yet; hopefully moving in that direction. WOW! Can we connect the dots from past internet/information early adoption to critical mass?

Of course, once we hit critical mass, this becomes a commodity that “everyone” is doing.

Here’s some thoughts/concerns I have about this:
Most early adopters are willing to do whatever they need to be, well, early adopters – include pay a premium for the privilege. As this moves more mainstream, will the average guy/gal really pay a subscription for what they perceive they can get for free? I say “perceive” because we know the content of the membership subscription programs is much better than the free stuff.

People often look at a subscription as a way to get a long term discount for their commitment (i.e. the magazine subscription vs new stand price model). I’m wondering if there should not be a layered offering of sorts with a good, better and best price for different levels of service and commitment. Much more complicated to design, I admit.

Personalizing this a bit, can I, or how do I, identify and develop an expertise in strong niche so that people would be willing to pay for a subscription?

As a follow on to the above question; If I can “get them in” can I keep enough high quality content flowing to “keep them in”? What percent level will the churn work out at?

If someone comes in, say, 6 months after the initial subscription offering, it might be interesting to offer all of the prior 6 months content for an additional lump sum price. That way, they get it all, but not at the expense of those who have been around from the beginning. Perhaps a “best of content” from a period of time. Don’t know, just typing out loud.

You’ve got my contact info, Paul, if you’d like to chat more.

Thought provoking – Thanks!!
Stan