A life-time deal (LTD) campaign is a controversial way to get quick sales for a SaaS. It gives instant sales, but harms your business in the long run.
Let’s see how to run it properly and try to avoid the flaws.
You add a life-time plan to your SaaS. Here is how it looks like for Paracast.io, my new SaaS:
It is a plan that unlocks all the features. Priced high, but paid only once.
If your app relies on AI, the unlimited use may be costly in a long run. Set fixed limits for your LTD. E.g. “100 blog posts generations per month max” or “500 AI credits per month included”. Thus, the LTD users will burn your budget gradually. After ~12 months, such users will be generating on losses. But you will compensate it from recurring plans’ subscribers.
Last thing: if you have any paid users subscribed to your SaaS, they may want to switch to the LTD. Don’t hide the offer from them. Otherwise, you risk making them upset.
Keep the original plans available for newcomers. Some of the potential LTD buyers may decide to buy a monthly plan.
The goals of an LTD are to give you an initial boost of motivation, get initial community of your product, and get skills of selling.
Motivation
Quick sales give you wings because it validates the whole thing. Once you made 10 sales, you gain confidence of making 110.
Community
LTD instantly builds you up a product community. All the people who bought your SaaS are interested in making it better and in your overall success. They will give you tips, answer product questions and promote your SaaS in their networks.
A product community takes months to build. An LTD campaign offers a shortcut.