Pay and We’ll Remove Our “Powered By” Logo!

We’ve all seen freemium models that encourage users to convert to paid by the “if you convert to paid, our branding goes away!” promoting pressure. Sometimes that might be a decent enough incentive. Sometimes a userbase will say, “Meh… I don’t mind your branding.” 

And this brings up an interesting decision point: if you’re going to take this approach, you need to play out a couple scenarios before making the call…

If I’m using a product’s free version and the paid selling point is to have a “powered by [LOGO]” removed, the logo needs to be juuuuuust glaring enough that I’d at least consider my user experience without it. I need to be able to say, “Yeah, you know what? If the company’s logo wasn’t slapped on here, I’d be happier. They can have their $9.99.”

However, if the freemium branding skews too much towards cool (aka, not glaring at all), the majority of users won’t care - and worse yet… they’ll like it. If the “powered by [LOGO]” becomes a badge of cool, you’re sunk. 

Another “however” scenario… What if the “powered by [LOGO]” is so God-awful that it’s halting potential users from even signing up for the freemium version? (Needless to say, a branding exercise is on the horizon.)

So it’s certainly a gray area. One solution? Avoid the “pay and we’ll remove our logo” model. It’s much more effective to convert free users to paid (aka: high-value) on additional functionality that they really want than it is to sell on brand removal.

Case Study: GetRaised

Overview

GetRaised came out of the ChurnlessLabs.  While we were at Thrive, we saw that, as a percentage of income, women were great savers compared to men.  But in terms or raw dollars, there was a sizable gap.  So our product team developed GetRaised, a recommendation engine that shows users whether or not they are underpaid - and gives them the tools to do something about it. 

How It Works

A user tells GetRaised what they do, where they do it and how long they’ve been doing it.  The system compares that data against a mashup of Bureau Labor Statistics data, other anonymized GetRaised user data, and more.  Then, on a bell graph, GetRaised shows the user whether or not they are underpaid.  If they are, GetRaised will help them build a custom raise request for $20.  Think of that custom raise request as a mad lib; it’s an actual letter mapping out the users market value, recent accomplishments and short- and long-term goals that the user will download and deliver to their boss.  The system then coaches the user through the process: negotiation tips, prep recommendations and more.  And if GetRaised doesn’t help the user get a raise in six months, the $20 are refunded.

PR Element

Dave planned, executed and measured all GetRaised PR, content and social efforts.  He earned key coverage in outlets ranging from Forbes to Thrillist to Mashable to the New York Times and more.  He also engaged bloggers focused on workplaces issues and career topics.  Socially, he established Facebook and Twitter communities, measuring engagement and driving awareness.  Dave also led the way in terms of generating guest content for GetRaised on other media outlets and blogs.

Tactical Moment - In addition to traditional media, we pursued GetRaised coverage in daily emails like Thrillist, DailyWorth and LearnVest. Why? The subscribers to these products have signaled that they care about certain topics, specifically lifestyle, personal finance, career growth, etc. The result: quality coverage in front of an already interested audience. Thrillist coverage, by itself, drove about 3,000 visits. In one day.

Product Snapshot

(Note the sweet media coverage!)