You decide how you run your show
Yet we all forget it and willingly hand over that power to others...
Hi there,
Thanks for the response to my last essay about why I stopped offering monthly payment to my writing!
It got a lot of reads, though not visible to the eye of the public, it tells me that it was thought-provoking for loads of you.
Like; Can you actually take off the monthly option?
Well, technically you can’t… BUT if you put the price of the monthly option equal to the yearly you essentially eliminate that choice, (because it has been made for you). You reduce the number of brain cells needed for a decision of “what’s the best deal” to virtually zero.
Because that’s the thing - my decision to stop the monthly option wasn’t just about energy preservation for myself, but even more for you my loved reader.
I want an upgrade to be a decision of YES or NO, not this, that or that, maybe?
Studies in sales show how the more decisions we add to a check-out, the less likely someone is to actually go through with it.
Ever thought about the “one click” check-out option with many retailers online? Well, there you go. That’s why.
The rule of least resistance. Clarity. Yes or No. Maximum energy saved, and maybe a No today will turn into a Yes tomorrow?
Best of all; You get to decide
The greatest mindset shift for people coming from a corporate job into independent creative business/artistry is the realisation that we decide the rules here.
It’s as if we’re so drilled into thinking that someone else has to decide for us (like teachers in school, or our boss at work), that we don’t even consider how different aspects of our business(-es) serves (or depletes) us.
A shift from offering both monthly and yearly to only one of the two, is one such (to many) inconceivable idea. Because, well, Substack made the decision for us to have those options, so why would we oppose?
BECAUSE YOU CAN! Haha!
I’m a rebel at heart. For example, my husband and I always prefer to celebrate things mid-week as opposed to during the weekend just because we can. It’s subtle but massively impactful to the sensation of freedom and the notion that “we decided this life”.
As I wrote in the last article, the monthly recurring billing for my writing wasn’t serving my words. They literally blocked me up and since making this shift I feel as though I’m slowly coming alive again.
It can be equal measure empowerment, the feeling that I took an active decision for my work as opposed to followed what is common practice, equal measure service for the sake of energy preservation for my readers.
To save energy, is my reasoning
But there may be many other reasons for choosing to opt for fewer choices. For example, if you have built up an extensive archive/offering, it may feel like a more fair value exchange to offer it at a fixed rate as opposed to some getting in on lower tiers (though, if you do have a large archive it will most likely take a long time to go through it all, which will extend the number of realistic payments).
Whatever the reasoning may be for you, I invite you to follow your gut.
The way I always do when trying to make these types of decisions is to thinkg of my ideal reader avatar. If you’ve read my intro post, you know that I am my own ideal reader (I just made my life easy that way).
Personally, I have a strong preference for yearly payments. I hate having things hanging over me like a bill that never goes away (like rent… Isn’t rent just the worse? LOL).
Having the assumption that I am not that unique, as in, if I think something most likely there are a lot of other lovelies out there thinking/feeling the same, it’s easier to go ahead.
When we try to put ourselves in the shoes of people we don’t know very well, it instantly complicates things. Like, what motivates them, eases their life, brings them joy and so on? Know who you write for and things will hopefully flow easier (or at least, you’ll help your gut feeling be free from rational restraints).
It gets equally complicated when we try to act on other’s advice without double checking with our own vibes first.
What works for one, may not work for another and vice versa. This is even more true in the creative space where there tends to be a great lot more emotions involved.
So, on that note, never forget that YOU have the power to decide to do the what the f* you want with your artistry AND business 💖
Thanks for reading!
Have a wonderful end of the week, Elin xx
I also have a strong preference for yearly payments and when I mentioned that to a client yesterday (who wasn't offering an annual payment option!) she was like, whoa, people actually DO PREFER that?!!🤯 So now she's offering it!
I needed the reminder that we can choose to write for readers who are like us and would want to read what we read. Thank you for writing this piece Elin!