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sounds backwards. let me explain.
i built a small software tool as a side project while working my full time PM job. it helps teams publish product updates automatically instead of writing them by hand.
launched at $9/mo thinking lower price means easier sell.
**what actually happened:**
* people signed up for the free trial and disappeared
* the ones who stuck around kept asking for features instead of paying
* $9 made it look disposable. nobody took it seriously enough to put it into their workflow
raised to $29. same product, nothing else changed.
**what shifted:**
* fewer signups but the people coming in were actually evaluating it for their team
* first paying customer within a week
* conversations went from "does this do everything?" to "how do i set this up?"
the $9 crowd was shopping. the $29 crowd was solving a problem.
**three things i learned:**
1. your price tells people what category you're in. $9 says hobby tool. $29 says business tool. people trust what they pay for.
2. if nobody's converting, try raising your price before adding features. most founders do the opposite and waste months building stuff that doesn't move the needle.
3. the people willing to pay more give you better feedback, stay longer, and actually use the product. cheaper users churn faster because they never committed in the first place.
still very early (one paying customer) but the quality of every interaction improved the moment i changed that number.
has anyone else experienced this? raising price and getting better results, not worse?
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