This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Hello, hello, hello. This is our final failure Friday episode, failure Friday segment of the year. Welcome to Side Hustle School. We're gonna do something a little bit different. Well, it's not super different.
We're gonna hear a story. That's what we do in these episodes. We hear a story about a mistake, a misstep, a disaster, or an actual all out failure. And you get to hear directly from a Sidestar who's struggled in some way. And there's always a lesson, right?
It's like, what do we learn from this experience? But the thing that's a little different here is it's actually more of a success. You know, the failure is kind of failing to act sooner. There's some regret in the sense of, oh, I wish I had known this because it would have made a huge difference in my business and life had I done something sooner. But, you know, life is about those things.
Life is full of those things. Like if only we had known this or if only we had taken action on something we knew, then yes, our life would be different and better. But all we can do is, you know, what's in front of us now, right? So I try not to dwell too much on the past. I try to always think, what can I do now that's going to impact my life positively going into the next year, you know, especially as we are here at the end of the year.
So today's episode, we're gonna call it the surprising impact of pricing tiers. And I've heard stories like this before. I like this particular example. But basically we're gonna hear from an online course creator who was reluctant to implement pricing tiers, basically a range of options, you know, for their courses. They were like, my course has one price and that's it.
And, you know, eventually they learned it's actually much better to have a couple of different prices, not too many, but a few different options for beginners, for advanced users, or for people who just want, you know, the luxury version with some extra features and such, or for people who just want a low budget option. There's all kinds of reasons why it's so good to offer pricing tiers. But let's hear the story. I'll have a couple of comments at the end, but perhaps the story will help us more than anything else. Coming to us today from Morgan, gonna hand it over to them.
[Music]
For years, I ran my online course business with a one size fits all mentality. My name is Morgan Chase, and I created a series of popular online courses focused on personal development and professional growth. Despite the success and positive feedback, I always had this nagging feeling that I was leaving money on the table. I had one fixed price for each course, a middle of the road strategy I thought was the safest bet. It was profitable, yes, but growth had plateaued.
I'd frequently received advice from peers and mentors about introducing pricing tiers, but I brushed it off, thinking it would complicate my business model. I was comfortable where I was and feared that changing my strategies might disrupt the balance I had achieved. But then I attended a digital marketing seminar and something clicked. The speaker emphasized the power of pricing tiers and maximizing value for both the business and the customer. He spoke about how different customers have different needs and willingness to pay.
It was a light bulb moment. I realized I was not only undervaluing my courses, but also underserving my potential customers. Somewhat reluctantly at first, I decided to restructure my pricing. I introduced three tiers, basic, premium, and executive. The basic tier offered the course content alone, suitable for those who just wanted the learning experience without the frills.
The premium included additional resources like worksheets and access to a members-only forum. And the executive tier was a comprehensive package with one-on-one coaching sessions, something I'd never offered before. The results were staggering and suddenly there was something for everyone. Students who couldn't afford the higher tiers could still access the courses while those who wanted more depth and personalized guidance were willing to pay a premium. My profits soared almost doubling within a few months.
Looking back, I kick myself for not implementing this sooner. I had been too rigid, too comfortable with the status quo. The tiered pricing not only boosted my income, but also allowed me to reach a broader audience. It diversified my customer base and provided insights into different market segments. This experience was a powerful lesson in the value of flexibility and listening to good advice.
It taught me that, well, being successful doesn't mean you have everything figured out. There's always room for improvement, for trying new strategies, and for listening to those who have walked the path before you. Today, my business is thriving more than I had ever imagined. I've applied the tiered model to other aspects of my services, continually optimizing and learning. It's a journey of constant growth and this one change was a pivotal point that set me on a new, more prosperous path.
[Music]
Morgan, thank you for sharing this story. As noted, perhaps it's more of a success. You're like, yes, Morgan was like, I kicked myself for not implementing this sooner, but that's how life works. Perhaps one of our listeners out there who's planning to launch an online course in 2024 can avoid this mistake or this misstep or this failure to act sooner and just go straight to those pricing tiers. I do think it's so smart.
You can make a lot more money and basically it makes people more comfortable with the average price. Like if the middle price is where most sales end up taking place, if there's only one price, then sometimes people think it's too high no matter what it is. It could be a very low number, but some people are like, oh, that's too much. But if you add some pricing tiers, then they're like, oh, okay, well, I'll choose the middle one or even the basic version. And I'm not gonna complain about the price now because there's some others that are more expensive.
That's just one reason why pricing tiers are so effective. Another reason is some people do want that higher end tier. And then you're gonna sell more to those people like at a higher price, right? So all kinds of good reasons to do it. Morgan, it's unfortunate that you didn't have them sooner, but that's okay, right?
'Cause you're making changes now for the better and the future. Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. That's the theme of failure Friday, failure slash success Friday, we might call this one. Listeners, I'm so glad you're out there. Thank you for joining me for Side Hustle School today.
And any other days you've been around, we make this podcast seven days a week. It's all completely free. It's all for you. We wanna do a better job going forward. We always want to improve ourselves.
So feel free to give me feedback or let me know what you'd like, what you'd like more of in particular, but we do have some plans for next year that I'm excited to share with you soon. So stay tuned for that. It's always free wherever you want to listen. My name's Chris Guillebeau, this is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
