To drive more revenue for your subscription-based business, you need to continually be acquiring (and retaining) repeat customers. But finding those new users and then convincing them to convert is much easier said than done. In this guide, you’ll find our tried-and-true techniques for: • Attracting new visitors to your website • Acquiring free trial and freemium users • Converting free users to paying subscribers

1. Mapping & Measuring the Subscriber Journey:
Attracting & Acquiring
New Subscribers

2. Companies of all stages, sizes and industries share one
essential need for growing or staying profitable: acquiring
new customers. In a subscription business, one of the most
integral aspects of long-term profitability is already baked
in—repeat customers. However, finding new users and then
converting them into paying subscribers is easier said than
done. So, let’s dive into some tried and true options for
attracting, acquiring and converting new subscribers.

3. In order to drive more subscription revenue, you
must first attract new customers. Search engine,
affiliate and social media marketing are three of the
best ways to get your service in front of as many
eyes as possible. While you may already be utilizing
these tactics, our complimentary ebook provides
a few quick reminders on how to maximize your
efforts.
Attracting Visitors

4. key points
Get more tried and true options for attracting, acquiring and converting new subscribers,
in our complimentary ebook!
• Creating a plan to generate traffic is vital to having a successful
business. These channels (search engine, affiliate and social
media marketing) are foundational elements of a solid plan. Be
sure to implement tracking to understand how each channel
performs.
• Every business requires a custom mix of channels. Stick to
them, monitor and refine them, and you will eventually get fresh
visitors to your site and increase your user base.

5. In today’s world, many consumers and businesses are reluctant to pay for
things they haven’t had the opportunity to try first. So no matter where
your visitors come from, your landing page should offer a single call-to-
action (CTA) that gives users access to your free trial or freemium service.
Providing free access to your service allows potential users to see its
value firsthand. By offering your service for free, you have the opportunity
to engage with them about your paid or premium version and motivate
them to become enthusiastic subscribers.
Acquiring Free Users

6. There are two primary ways of
convincing consumers
to try your service:

7. 1. Free trial
A free trial grants customers access to your service for a limited time.
Once the time limit is reached, the customer can only use the service
by subscribing to it. Examples of companies that use free trials
include Moz, Ancestry.com and Nitro Software.
2. Freemium
A freemium pricing model offers customers access to limited features
of your service for an indefinite period of time. The customer would
be required to purchase your service in order to unlock additional
features and functionality not available in the freemium version.
Spotify, Dropbox, Match.com, Box, Yammer and LinkedIn are all
examples of companies that employ the freemium model.
Learn more about the pros and cons of each marketing tactic, in our complimentary ebook!

8. Ask yourself, “What do the 97% of users that will likely never
pay me bring to the table?” Free users are only worthwhile if
they provide value to your business. Often, the most alluring
(yet dangerous) aspect of freemium is seeing 100,000 or
1 million people around the world using your service. But if
these users don’t ever convert to paying customers, they can
become an expensive burden that slowly drains a company. For
your freemium model to work, free users must a) provide you
invaluable data to improve your service, b) convert into paid
subscribers or c) attract paying subscribers.
key point

9. No matter how you attract and acquire users, be sure to
consolidate your data sources for the most up-to-date view of
customer activity. Too many disconnected data sources can
muddy your reporting and analytics and inaccurately inform your
marketing and sales strategies. Merge customer data from all
of your sources – like your CRM, web forms, third party tracking
tools, license management system and email service provider
– through ongoing API calls, so you always have visibility into a
single unified source of customer information.
key point
Get more tried and true options for attracting, acquiring and converting new subscribers,
in our complimentary ebook!

10. While some companies collect payment information before
letting a visitor sign up for free access to the service,
most wait until the initial billing event. In either case, with
both freemium and free trials, the key to converting users
is demonstrating the value of your paid service and the
consequences of losing access to it.
Converting Free Users
to Subscribers


11. Here are some different
approaches to help convert free
users into paying subscribers.

12. 1. Show users what they are missing by not becoming
paying subscribers.
Use charts on landing pages, emails or popups to show different
types of users the exact benefits they receive by paying for
your premium offer. Include plenty of reviews to help them feel
comfortable.
Messages that convert freemium users typically read like:
• Upgrade to unlock powerful new features. Learn more.
• Five reasons why you should upgrade to premium.
• Last chance to save on your upgrade.

13. An email marketing campaign with timely and relevant messages
is a powerful tool for converting free users. Here’s an example from
Spotify of trying to get a free user to upgrade to the paid version:

14. 2. Offer freemium users a discount if they seem
reluctant to upgrade. Some example messages are:
• Earn a free month when you upgrade to premium.
• Save now when you upgrade to premium.
• Enjoy an extra 30% off your first bill when you upgrade now.

15. Here’s an example from online slideshow and video maker
Kizoa offering a discount code to upgrade to its Premium Lifestyle
membership:
Learn more approaches to help convert free users into paying subscribers, in our
complimentary ebook!

16. Throughout the acquisition and conversion stages, be sure to
collect the right data. David Walsh, former marketing director at
Intuit, noted that there needs to be a balance between the amount
of information you need to make the initial sale and the amount
you should ask for to assist you throughout the customer lifecycle.
“The conversion rate declines by 7% for every piece of information
after five. So, you really need to think about what that additional
information will mean to the lifecycle of those customers. Are
you going to want to contact them in the future? What additional
information can really grow the value of your customers? It’s
imperative to make sure you are asking for information you really
need.”
key point

17. The key to nurturing, acquiring and retaining subscribers is to
show them the right offer or promotion precisely when they need
to see it. By automating subscriber communications, you can
trigger relevant marketing communications or offers based on
customer behavior, which can dramatically impact conversion
and overall revenue. Analyze how your service is being used,
create cohorts, and then automate communication for the
segments.
key point
Get more tried and true options for attracting, acquiring and converting new subscribers,
in our complimentary ebook!

18. Conclusion
It makes sense for businesses to cultivate a base of free users,
provided that enough of those users are converting to paying
subscribers on a regular basis. If the right business conditions are
met, free trial and freemium models are more than just building out
a user base – they can help drive faster revenue and profit growth
than a paid-only model. You also need to make sure you have a strong
strategy in place for acquiring users, converting them, and managing
them if they do not upgrade.
Get more tried and true options for attracting, acquiring and converting new subscribers,
in our complimentary ebook!

19. cleverbridge provides global subscription billing solutions that help companies build long-term customer relationships and grow recurring
revenue streams. With its flexible, cloud-based billing and monetization platform, cleverbridge integrates seamlessly with client systems, simplifies
subscription business models and delivers an optimized online customer experience. Leveraging cleverbridge expertise, technology and services,
clients monetize products and services more effectively, rapidly expand their global subscriber base and maximize customer lifetime value.
Headquartered in Cologne, Germany, cleverbridge has offices in Chicago, San Francisco and Tokyo.
To learn more about cleverbridge, please contact inquiry@cleverbridge.com or visit www.cleverbridge.com.