Pricing your subscription

The price is a signal first

Fans read your subscription price before they see a single post. It tells them what kind of page this is. Very low prices say volume, lots of fans, probably not much personal attention. Higher prices say smaller, closer, more of me. Neither is wrong; they are different businesses.

Across the big subscription platforms, the most common monthly prices cluster between about $5 and $15, with $9.99 roughly the centre of gravity. Pages at $20 to $50 exist and work when the creator has an established audience or a niche with few alternatives.

Three starting points

• $5 to $8: the volume model. Suits creators who post often, have a large social following to convert, and plan to earn mostly from pay-per-view and tips once fans are inside. The subscription is a low wall.
• $10 to $15: the default. Enough to filter out people who will never spend anything, low enough that most interested fans will try it. Most creators should start here.
• $20 and up: the premium model. Works when you offer something scarce: a specific niche, a lot of personal interaction, or a reputation that precedes you. Expect fewer subscribers and more revenue per fan.

On VestaCreate fans can also follow you for free and see whatever you post publicly, so the paid subscription is not the only way in. That lets you set the paid price a little higher than you might on a platform where the subscription is the only door.

Work it backwards

Decide what you want to earn from subscriptions alone, then do the arithmetic. If you want $1,000 a month from subscriptions:

• At $7.99, you need around 125 subscribers
• At $12.99, around 77
• At $24.99, around 40

Which of those numbers looks like your real audience? That is your price. Remember that subscriptions are usually a minority of income for creators with engaged fans; tips, unlocks and customs do the heavy lifting.

A few things that do not work:

• Pricing at $3 to get people in. It attracts fans who never spend more, and it is hard to raise later.
• Copying a famous creator's price. Their audience, not their price, is why they earn.
• Changing the price every week. Fans notice and lose trust.

Credits and the price you receive

Fans on VestaCreate can pay a subscription through your direct links, where VestaCreate takes nothing, or in credits if you accept them. The cash-out rate is 75 cents per credit, so a $12 subscription paid as 12 credits pays you $9. Keep that in mind when you set the price, and keep the direct-payment option visible.

Set a price, leave it for three months, and look at the data before you change it.