How to monetize a freemium product with Jason Coleman

Every business is faced with the question, “how are we going to make money?”

The web app world is no stranger to this question. A majority of startups go the freemium route. The model that offers a free or limited access level to a product, with an up sell to the paid premium accounts.

If you’re new to the WordPress entrepreneurial space you might be researching the success rate of this model. So today, I introduce you to Jason Coleman of Paid Membership Pro. He’s created one of the leading WordPress membership plugins with a freemium model to generate more interested leads to convert to paid.

Watch this interview and learn how Jason has taken charge with freemium!

Interview with Jason Coleman of Paid Membership Pro

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The freemium model for WordPress plugins

What do you think of Jason’s model of going freemium?

Here’s what it all boils down to: support.

Folks are really paying you for support of the plugin or theme you’re providing. Even if it’s a service you’re offering, there are plenty of other competitors to turn to. My pal Andy talked about the value of customer service in this interview. 

So if you look at capturing more downloads (read: leads) of your plugin or theme perhaps freemium is the way to go? If the end user needs help, they can pay you for that support moving forward. Jason also has a paid install “white glove” option.

I really like the concept of white glove. It says, “here’s a chunk of cash, go install your product, I need to move on to something else.” This is smart, especially if you’re another designer, developer, or consultant. You’re charging the client for a service and if you’re still making money, what’s the big deal?

Plausible deniability. You turn someone like Jason into a vendor.

He supports it, he’s responsible. It’s the added bonus of saying you work with vendors. Making you sound cooler and bigger than you really are. 😉

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