James Laws writes about what to consider when determining whether a new plugin feature should be a paid add-on or not.
At NinjaForms, they balance a number of criteria, but in the end he says it comes to a gut decision. That said, he advices to think through these questions:
- If you want to have the best core plugin available sometimes you place revenue generating features into your core plugin.
- If you want to have the best add-ons available you have to place features that those add-ons can extend in your core plugin.
- If you want to make money you sometimes have to sell add-ons that people think should be a part of the core plugin.
- If you want to make money you sometimes have to sell add-ons that only a few people will ever need. This raises the perceived value of your entire product line.
- If you want to be successful you don’t have to get it right every time. It’s better that you get it right more often than you get it wrong.
- The longer you stick it out the more likely you will get it right. Experience pays dividends.
In a related post, Pippin Williamson and Brad Touesnard talked about their business models on a recent episode of ApplyFilters. In the episode, Pippin noted his three business models:
- Paid only (Restrict Content Pro)
- Freemium with individual paid add-ons (EDD)
- Paid with single add-on package and free Github Access (AffiliateWP)
Pippin noted that he prefers the AffiliateWP model. As a buyer, I do as well. I like buying one package and getting everything (versus individual add-on “nickel and diming” as he put it).
