The Balance of Paid and Free Content: Striking the 75-25 Formula

I had 10 free subscribers cancel their subscriptions last night. I don’t love it when that happens, but it’s a humbling reminder that my travel newsletter isn’t for everyone, especially when I’m starting to publish more paid only content.

I’m going to continue to publish more and more paid travel deals throughout the year until I get to about 75% paid content vs. 25% free content. I’ve got a couple reasons for doing this that I will list out below:

• Publishing 75% of my travel deals to paid subscribers ensures they get value for their paid subscription.

• Publishing 75% of my travel deals to paid subscribers ensures that I get an income stream that rewards the work and encourages me to keep going.

• Publishing 75% of my travel deals to paid subscribers ensures that you won’t see paid ads and annoying pop-ups on my site. I will also never sell the email list for profit.

• Publishing 25% of my travel deals to paid and unpaid subscribers ensures that new subscribers can experience the content without an upfront investment.

• Publishing 25% of my travel deals to paid and unpaid subscribers ensures that there is always some content available to everyone.

I realize that by making this move I am likely alienating some of my existing free subscribers. The paid subscription isn’t for everyone, but I am absolutely excited by the feedback I’ve received and also encouraged by the value of the deals I’m finding. See below for some examples of each!

***As a reminder the paid subscription is only $30/year***

Customer Feedback from Recent Hawaii Deal

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Travel Deals Lookback

Hawaii Flight Deal Lookback - Originally Posted 7/13/23 - Link Here

That Same Exact Flight if you Booked Today

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Oslo Deal Lookback - Originally Published 6/20/23 - Link Here

That Same Exact Flight if you Booked Today

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Iceland Deal Lookback - Originally Published 7/5/23 - Link Here

That Same Exact Flight if you Booked Today