Start Selling Subscriptions: One Real Easy Way I Make Steady Money Online

We have officially entered into the Subscription Economy, a phrase, coined by Zuora, describing this noticeable business trend of companies shifting from a focus on selling traditional pay-per-product offers to more subscription-based business models. If your goal is to generate everyday sales, consider creating at least one subscription-based offer for your audience. In a subscription business model, customers are charged on a recurring basis for a product or service, and these charges are typically processed on a monthly or annual basis.

Quiet as it’s kept, you don’t always have to launch new products or look for new customers to consistently generate new sales. Using this model, you can build a sustainable business from repeat business. Think about it. You don’t need to have a ton of products, crazy tech skills, or even a huge following to generate everyday sales if you have a loyal following of fans who consistently buy from you on a monthly basis. Earning recurring revenue from subscription offers just might be your solution to turning customer relationships into steady streams of income (digital passive income at its best).

5 Subscription Models I’ve Added to My Business

Early on in my entrepreneurial journey, I discovered that it took a lot of work and time to reach new customers. At the time I was only selling web design services (a high ticket offer) and when I got new customers that was great, but when sales were slow things got challenging. For a while, I was obsessed with getting new customers, but as my customer base grew and people started coming back, I realized that it was smarter to start creating offers that help foster repeat business. This is when I began tapping into the wonderful world of subscription programs starting with retain services for my web clients and monthly calls for my coaching clients. Generating steady sales from customers who already like and want to purchase from you is just a smart thing to do as an alternative to always seeking out new customers.

A Paid Newsletter – My Monthly Template Club is an example of a paid newsletter that I created using the ConvertKit platform. Every month I deliver easy-to-edit customizable canva templates to my clients and customers.

Monthly Virtual Experience – As part of my Insider Circle program, my private clients and business mentees pay for direct access to me in the form of monthly clarity calls, strategy sessions, and web/tech/design support help that includes services like help with updating their websites, landing pages, email campaigns, digital products. This monthly program combines my mentorship/coaching and retainer tech support services, so they have access to ongoing support and direction.

Short-Term Projects – Using payment plans, you can integrate a subscription payment model into your high ticket offers. For example, my Setup for Sales Program is a Done-With-You service that I provide to help clients plan, prep, and publish digital offers like courses, challenges, ebooks, and print-on-demand products that they make available online as part of their business brand. Essentially I combine my mentorship and web design services, to help them map out and produce digital content during short 90-Day periods.

Membership Websites – My monthly mastermind for entrepreneurs is an example of a simple subscription program. My mentees pay for access to live bi-weekly marketing and sales training along with access to an archive of previous webinars, templates, and tools that I have created. In addition to offering free access, you can also set up pay-for-access premium content including articles, live streams, podcasts, downloads, and the list goes on. Think about what kind of virtual event you can lead for your following on a weekly or monthly basis.

Professional Services – As a web designer I offer “Get More Done” web support services, which is a subscription-based retainer program, for clients who want to purchase web and graphic design support in the form of a set of hours that they can use on their projects as needed. Unlike my monthly subscription services, this is limited to a set time and can be purchased in full or via a subscription-payment plan. You can either create an ongoing subscription or add subscription pricing (aka payment plan options) to your high ticket offers.

Being in business comes with its highs and lows, so you’ve got to work on putting measures in place that help create a sustainable income. The above examples mentioned above help me successfully maintain a steady stream of revenue on a monthly basis. Do you think any of these can work for you? Share your thoughts and questions with me in the comments. And to learn more about how you can work on making more money online, review the Easy Everyday Sales Guide that further breaks down Simple Subscription Programs that work for me and can possibly work for you too.