Should membership trial periods be free or paid? 

This is one of the biggest questions we get asked when it comes to offering trials…

It’s natural for some to think that a paid trial would scare some potential new members away…

And in some cases it does…

But that's not always a bad thing!  

Free trials on the other hand are often the most attractive option for membership owners and participants alike…

But does that mean it's the right move for you? 

If you've been considering offering a trial for your membership…

Or you've attempted a trial and aren't sure if you picked the right option after not getting the results you's hoped for…

Then read on as we explore both free and paid trails in detail to help you decide which one is best for your membership…

But first things first… 

Why Offer Membership Trial Periods?

The truth is, anyone who chooses to join your membership is taking a risk…

Because while you know the value they'll get from being part of your community, they don't…

When weighing up the decision of whether or not to join your site there are a number questions that go through the heads of potential members…

Questions like:

• Is this good value for money? 
• Will this membership site deliver on its promises?
• What happens if I'm not happy or decide that I've made a mistake joining the site? 
• Is this person legit?

… Plus many more

Your potential members…

You can try as hard as you want to address and pre-empt those questions on your sales page but there will always still be some that are left unanswered.

That’s why we're big advocates for things like content marketing and free Facebook groups, where you can show potential new members what you’re all about, develop relationships and remove some of that risk….

But another tried and tested way to put their minds at ease is offering a trial period…

It’s a great way of using something that Jay Abraham calls “risk reversal”. 

The whole idea is for potential clients to have a chance to see what you have to offer with little to no financial risk.

Of course, trials go one of two ways…

People stick around or they leave….

But if they decide to stay, then you've won a member who otherwise may not have joined.

This is one of those cases where it's not really about how many fish are caught in the net, but how many are left after a few jumpers make it out.

So, what it comes down to one question…

Should your membership trial period be free or paid? 

Let's talk about both options in detail…

Why free membership trial periods work (and why they don’t)

It’s already been established that people love free things…

So, if you’re going down the free trial period route, then you’ll probably get a lot of registrations. 

But, what if they don’t stick around?

That’s not necessarily the end of the road…

You already have their attention, so you can use your mailing list, among other things, to nurture that relationship and hopefully get them back. 

There’s also the fact that besides a select few, people don’t take the time to sign up for a membership just because it’s free…

So, you can count on the fact that they harbor an interest in your topic that you can find ways to capitalize on.

While all of that is good news, there’s another side to free membership trial periods…

One inescapable issue is freebie hunters…

It’s difficult to convert this set of people into paying members mostly because they often sign up with the intent of downloading everything they need, then disappearing…

While there are things you can put in place to prevent ‘hit and run' members abusing your site...

When it comes to trials it's more difficult to stamp them out when it comes to free trials.

It can be argued that you’d still encounter freebie hunters whether your trial is free or paid…

But the free option tends to appeal to them more so makes it more likely.

So, paid membership trials instead?

Honestly, you probably won’t get as many registrations with a paid trial…

But it certainly does have its perks.

The truth is that people may like free things, but they don’t necessarily value them…

So, even charging a nominal fee, as small as $1, increases the psychological buy-in that a person has to your membership.

Keep in mind that, this is not so much about making money from the trial as it is about changing the nature of the buy-in…

And providing enough of a barrier to the joining process that you discourage the wrong type of people from signing up for your trial.

In some cases, paid trials make your membership site seem more legitimate or, at the very least, trustworthy.

For instance, some membership systems still require people to input their credit card or debit card details during registration, even when it’s a free trial.

While you know that they need to have that information to set up recurring payments that will kick in once a trial is done, for some of your potential members, this will set off alarm bells…

As a result, they end up thinking there’s a catch and instinctively run the other way. 

Some of your trial participants after being asked for their credit card details…

So, it's safe to say that a nominal payment eliminates that problem, because if you're charging someone $1 for a trial, then it's clear why you need their payment details.

As with all membership-related things, don’t take all this information at face value…

Run a split test to gauge the efficacy of both free and paid trials, then go with what works best for you.

However, when you do test it, remember that the endgame is not having a surge in those registration numbers…

The only thing that matters is how many people stick around at the end of that trial…

And in most cases you're going to find that a paid trial is better on that front. 

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