Can I offer a free trial for My Membership Site? | Member
Can I offer a Free Trial for My Membership Site?
Trials for membership sites are a marketing tactic employed by numerous other companies before you. It is a good idea to be thinking about using trial offers to help your campaign to market. It could be profitable for your business. But, it is essential, obviously that you do the correct method.
Trial offers have proven to be successful for countless subscription-based companies, both offline and online.
Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, Hulu, YouTube Premium, Audible, PlayStation, and LinkedIn Premium, are some of the most popular subscription-based businesses that offer a free trial for their service.
The catch is that Free trial offers are not for everyone. Like any other strategy for marketing, it is not foolproof. It comes with certain pros and cons.
to help you determine whether or not providing trials is the best option for your website The following are the things we'll talk about in this article:
- Are Trials For Membership Sites a Good Idea?
- The various types of Trials for Membership Sites
- The pros and cons of Trials for Websites for Membership
- Should You Run A Paid or Free Trial?
- Why Should You Do Not Provide a Free Trial of Your Membership Site?
Do Trials of Membership Sites a Good Idea?

Yes. For many membership sites, trials are a good strategy to use. We have already established that.
It's an effective and extremely profitable method for your subscription-based service or website to create new sales. In addition, it lowers your customer purchase costs.
However, is it a good idea for YOU?
The solution to this depends completely on your personal preference as well as your budget and strategies.
A trial period lets you to SHOW your prospective customers the services you give them instead of simply telling them.
Instead of spending hundreds or thousands of dollars for advertisements, just provide them with a live demo or demo of your product.
Place yourself in your customer' shoes. Would you buy something just because the salesperson tells you that it's fantastic? Would you prefer to experience it for yourself first?
What would you do if you bought a car without having a test drive? And what about clothes you don't fit?
Similar to subscription-based companies. Your customers will treat the product or service you offer as an investment.
That is why almost every single one of them is likely to want to experience the experience for themselves.
Almost every membership site owner will agree that offering the opportunity to try out a trial period can generate more leads and convert more sales faster and at a greater percentage. And it increases customer satisfaction.
But not every trial offer is the same. Let's look at each type of trial and explain the ways they differ from each other.
The different types of Trials for Membership Sites
Here are a few of the trials that you can try:
- Trial offer for a limited time
- Trial access limited to offer
- Free trial offer
- Discounted-rate trial offer
- Service-based trial offer.
The great thing is that you don't necessarily have to choose one among these. Try a mixture of two or several.
Limited-Time Trial Deal

This type of trial offer it is possible to offer the potential clients access to all the content on your website for a short period of time.
You can offer a one-week, two-weeks, or even 30 days of a free trial, to let them try the product or service for no cost.
In addition to that there is the option of offering a limited-time trial offer at a discounted rate. Or, you can give them free services during the trial period if they commit to buying a membership.
Limited Access Trial Special Offer

Like the time-limited trial, you can also make use of limited access with other deals.
In the case of you're offering an online class it is possible to allow trial members to access only the lessons for a specific amount of time.
In the event that you're offering an opportunity for a test of your service or product You can grant the users access to only a handful of the most basic features.
Pro tip: you can use CourseCure to easily create a completely customizable online course.
Free Trial Offer

This is one of the most common trials offers you will see in the present. They often use it along with limited-access offers.
The name says, free trials are--well... free.
A Discounted Rate Test Discount Offer

The trial offer you provide doesn't necessarily have to be completely free. It is also possible to offer it at a discounted rate.
Service-Based Trial Offer

Finally, you can avail trials that are based on services where you offer your clients access to your service either for no cost or at a discounted rate during a specific period of time.
Of course, you prefer them to sign-up for your membership site at the end of your trial, therefore make sure that the service your offering will be appealing enough to keep them hooked.
And make sure that you don't overdeliver when they register.
Pros and Cons of Tests for Websites for Membership
Just like with any type of marketing, trials for membership websites have positives and negatives. We'll look at a few of the advantages.
Pros and Cons of Trials for membership sites
Save $$$ on Customer Acquisition

If someone opts to a trial and decides to go for it, they're already at the halfway point. Now it is your turn to decide how you'll deliver on the promises you pledged to do to bring they all the way.
Most of the time you could allow your service or product to be sold by itself in the trial period.
There's good news that when they're already in the trial phase, it will save you hundreds of dollars since no additional marketing is necessary. But, this is only the case if your product will convince them enough to let them become a full-fledged member.
More Satisfaction of Customers

A few people who avail of a free trial are bitterly disappointed after converting due to knowing exactly the kind of experience they should expect based on the trial they had.
Such a degree of honesty helps you give your customers more information and stops them from having unreasonable expectations. That also means fewer claims and cancellations.
Reducing their Fear of Commitment

The membership is a commitment. Most of the time people have the fear of committing themselves to a monthly or yearly installment.
By providing a free or low-cost trial that allows your audience to discover what they're missing out on and ease the anxiety of committing to demonstrating what they're losing out on.
Collect Feedback

Membership site trials are great for collecting comments on your service as well as your products.
It's the perfect opportunity to gather market opinions and insights so that you can make better and more educated business choices.
More Valuable Leads for Your Email List

Another advantage is that you'll gain more leads. These people are already taking the time to see the product you offer and try it for themselves.
That means they are already familiar with you and most likely, they'll feel more inclined to become members after the trial or at some point nearer the time.
Pros of Trials for Membership Sites
Even though the risk is low when offering trial services, there are still ones you need to consider.
Risk of losing Time, Money, and Resources
Prior to launching a trial offer for your membership website, be certain to determine whether your budget will allow the cost.
It is also worth considering those who are just trying to join the free trial , but have zero intention of joining to become members.
You can try to reduce these risk through implementing one or a combination of the following strategies:
- Give a discount on the trial This means you still get some of the sales to enable access.
- You can filter who is included during the trial time - You can ask your clients to fill out a form or a quiz so it is possible to filter out who will be able the chance to take part in the trial.
- Limit the trial duration - it requires a great deal of tests, but if you can determine the ideal duration that will assist your clients to make an informed choice, it will help you tremendously.
Do You Need To Run A Paid or Free Trial?

The majority of trial offers run at no cost. That doesn't mean you should do it too.
You can always choose the lower rate, or offer a trial for a minimal fee.
Instead of providing them with a free trial, you may consider charging a small charge in order to encourage them to "buy-in" to your membership site.
A minimal cost can be a good option for filtering off those looking for something to be the price of nothing and are truly interested in becoming members.
The final decision is always yours to decide.
When Should You Not offer a Free Trial of Your Membership Website?
The answer will depend upon what you're offering.
For instance, if you're running an online course A trial time isn't the best alternative. This is due to the fact that your students may complete the course before the trial is over.
There is however a way to get around the issue. It is possible to protect the latter or a certain section of your course to exclude it from your trial.
Another example will be if you're offering a service. You could, for instance, offer an opportunity to repair your garage free to members on trial.
You may want to consider another approach than an initial trial. Or, you could offer a small fee in order to balance out the costs.
There is the possibility of offering a basic level for your website where members who are trial users have access to an encapsulated version of your whole offer.
In the simplest sense it draws people into your member site as well as your community, which may inspire them to buy the full version following the trial.
Questions you should ask yourself before offering an Opportunity to Try

Before jumping the gun with that trial deal, here are some questions you should consider. The answers to these questions will help you make an informed choice.
- How long should the period of trial be? Your target audience will need enough time to take a deep dive to determine if the product your offering will be something they won't be able to endure without. At the same time it's important to be sure it's not "too lengthy." ."
- Are you able to afford this? Consider if providing people with an opportunity to use your products or services is something you can afford as well as something that can benefit you in the long run.
- What is the time frame for conversion What is the time frame for conversion? In running a business, time is money. Take into consideration the time that it will take for your trial members to become paying members.
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