The Subscription Playbook, chapter by chapter

Read each chapter online with what's changed since 2022, listen to it, then use the matching tool to apply it to your business.

Chapter 1: Subscription recurring revenue: the ultimate business
Why recurring revenue plus a moat beats one-off sales, from the 1926 Book of the Month Club to why subscription businesses sell for revenue multiples.
17 min read, Subscription vs One-off Profit Calculator · Subscription Model Selector · Listen
Chapter 2: Choosing your subscription model
The eight models (member benefits, consumables, unlimited content, boxes, bundled services, insurance, SaaS, minimum commitment) and how to pick yours.
16 min read, Subscription Model Selector · Subscription Price Calculator · Listen
Chapter 3: Choosing your pricing model
Fixed fee, advertising, e-commerce, transaction processing and data/APIs, plus freemium vs free trial and annual vs monthly.
14 min read, Pricing Model Picker · Annual Discount Calculator · Listen
Chapter 4: Usage-based pricing
How Procore prices on construction volume, net dollar retention, the downsides and the four factors to get it right.
14 min read, Value Metric Finder · NRR and GRR Calculator · Listen
Chapter 5: Dig your moat
The MOATS framework: Marketing supremacy, One, Audience, Toughness and Switching, with Nubank, GoPro and Stripe.
18 min read, MOATS Scorecard · Network Effects Scorecard · Listen
Chapter 6: Network effects
The six network effects that turn small companies into fortresses, chicken-and-egg, and gamification.
19 min read, Network Effects Scorecard · MOATS Scorecard · Listen
Chapter 7: Land and expand
Lift revenue without a huge sales team: Patreon, a local bakery and DocuSign's keys to success.
14 min read, NRR and GRR Calculator · Pricing Table Builder · Listen
Chapter 8: Grow client numbers on a shoestring
Community, webinars, referral programs and embedded integrations, plus 50 low-cost tactics.
17 min read, LTV:CAC and Payback Calculator · Starving Crowd Niche Finder · Listen
Chapter 9: Minimize churn, maximize usage
Groove's 71% churn cut, Uber's modern loyalty program and the best practices that keep subscribers.
17 min read, Churn Rate Calculator · Churn Risk Checklist · Listen
Chapter 10: Are you on track? Product/market fit
Netflix, Looker, Patreon, GitHub and Superhuman's PMF engine, plus bootstrappers who did it on tiny budgets.
17 min read, Product/Market Fit Survey Scorer · Synthetic Customer Panel · Listen

Read the whole book free

The Subscription Playbook as a free ebook and audiobook. Australian business owners can claim a free hardcover, shipped free.

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