How to urgently increase the number of subscribers for your subscription business? – Part 1

I run a subscription business. According to projections based on current trends, the number of subscribers is below target. However, I need to meet my subscriber goal.

What are my options for urgently increasing the number of subscribers? How can I find new opportunities?

This article is the companion piece to the “How to Urgently Increase Bookings?” series and follows the same logic.

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1. Check the Objective 🎯

The first step is to clarify your goal and identify the KPIs you need to focus on.

Do we need to increase the number of subscribers or just the number of paying subscribers? 💸

Should we focus on growing the number of subscribers, or should we look at the number of subscriptions instead? 📈

It’s essential to clarify how to count subscribers (check out the article “What is a subscriber? How to count subscribers?“).

In general, a subscriber is a customer who has at least one active paid subscription. Therefore, targeting subscribers who already have an active subscription is generally ineffective. Since they are already counted as subscribers, they can’t contribute to growth.

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2. Where Should You Look for Growth? 🔍

The second step is to properly allocate efforts between Acquisition and Retention.

The number of subscribers increases thanks to new acquisitions and decreases due to churn (subscribers who don’t renew).

Acquisition is obviously the first place to find new subscribers and increase the total number. This is especially true if your business is in a growth phase. 🚀

If your business is more mature and stable, the acquisition effort is equal to churn (100% minus the retention rate). In this case, increasing the number of subscribers requires more effort.

For example, if your retention rate is 75%, your churn is 25%. Let’s say your subscriber target is 100,000 by the end of the year. Your acquisition strategy brings in 25,000 new subscribers each year.

If you need to increase your subscriber count by 1%, or 1,000 subscribers, your acquisition business needs to grow from 25,000 to 26,000, which means a 4% increase. 📊

The retention business can also contribute by reducing churn and keeping more subscribers.

For example, if your retention rate is 75%, your churn is 25%. Let’s say your subscriber goal is still 100,000. Your retention efforts are responsible for retaining 75,000 subscribers each year.

If you need to increase your subscriber count by 1%, or 1,000 subscribers, your retention strategy should focus on improving retention from 75% to 76%. 🔄

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3. Speed of Execution ⏱️

Next, you need to understand the timeframes required to generate subscribers: immediate, short-term, or long-term. This will help you prioritize projects that can quickly contribute to growth.

a. In Acquisition

By definition, acquisition projects find new subscribers, and these will immediately increase the subscriber count. These projects should be prioritized. 🏃

Any project aimed at targeting existing customers should be excluded, as it would simply be a re-acquisition and wouldn’t affect the overall subscriber count.

It’s also essential to consider time constraints related to counting subscribers.

For example: I use a 30-day free trial to acquire new subscribers. Starting December 2nd, any new users will not be counted for this year. 🗓️

b. In Retention 🔁

The goal here is to limit subscriber losses by increasing renewals and preventing churn. Only the retention rate affects the total number of subscribers.

Billing customers earlier doesn’t impact the number of subscribers. As long as a subscription is active, the customer counts as one subscriber. Only the expiration date matters, not the billing date.

For example, if a subscription expires on June 15th, then from January to June, the customer is counted as one subscriber. If the subscription is renewed in April, May, or June, it will still count as a single subscriber from January to June. Only after the subscription expires will it be counted as one subscriber again if renewed, or zero if not.

All projects that aim to increase the retention rate in the short term should be prioritized. If the impact is long-term (e.g., an improved onboarding process), then it won’t be immediately reflected in the subscriber count.

Avoiding churn doesn’t mean stopping customers from unsubscribing, but rather encouraging them to stay subscribed. 💡

For example, removing the unsubscribe option is a bad idea. On the other hand, offering a gift to users who decide not to finish the unsubscribe process is a better strategy. 🎁

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In the next part of this article, we’ll explore concrete solutions for increasing your subscriber count.

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👉 Key Takeaways 👈

1. The number of subscribers is a moving target, as customers are acquired and lost every day.
2. The total number of subscribers is the sum of acquired subscribers and retained subscribers.
3. In retention, the subscription expiration date is the most important piece of information to know before taking action.