Subscription Tiers: Sell Guides, Calls and a Private Club

A subscription used to be one plan with one price. Now a product can have up to 20 subscription tiers, each with its own content, price and billing periods. Buyers pick what fits them, and you earn more from the people who want more.

Tiers aren't just for guides. Here are a few ideas.

What you can sell with tiers

A guide with a personal call. A Lisbon guide in three versions. "Guide" for $5 a month: a PDF guide and a map you update every season. "Guide and routes": plus GPX walking routes and picks for every day. "With a personal call" for $25 a month: all of that plus a 30-minute call with you once a month to help plan the trip.

A private travel club. A "Member" tier: a private Telegram or Discord chat, a monthly live session and recordings of past sessions. An "Inner circle" tier: everything in Member plus a monthly group call and an in-person meetup each season, like a shared trip or a walk in your city.

Trip planning as a service. "Route review": once a month the subscriber sends their travel plan, and you review it in a video with suggestions. "Personal planner": you build the itinerary yourself around their dates, budget and interests.

A course with feedback. "Self-paced": video lessons on travel photography or blogging. "With a mentor": plus homework reviews and group Q&A calls.

Presets and reviews for photographers. "Presets": your presets plus new ones every month. "Presets and review": plus a monthly video review of subscribers' photos.

Always up-to-date information. Entry rules, transport prices, ferry schedules, new hiking routes. This kind of information goes stale fast, and a yearly plan with a discount fits it best.

For digital nomads. "Base": a list of places to stay, coworking spaces and neighborhoods that you update every month. "Community": plus a private chat and a monthly Q&A meetup.

How a tier works

Every tier has:

• a name and a short description, like "Trail ready: the guide, GPX tracks and trip planner";
• a price and billing periods: 1, 3, 6 or 12 months;
• a "Recommend this tier" option that highlights the tier for buyers;
• content: the files and videos that subscribers to this tier get;
• access after the subscription ends: let subscribers keep the last paid version, or open the content only while the subscription is active.

You don't have to build a higher tier from scratch. Under Include content from another tier, pick a lower tier and all of its content is included. If you later add a file to the lower tier, it shows up in the higher one automatically.

How to give access to a club, calls and consultations

The calls and chats happen wherever you like: Zoom, Google Meet, Telegram, Discord or WhatsApp. TrekGuider takes care of payments, renewals and access to your materials.

The simplest way is a welcome file for the tier, like a PDF called "Welcome to the club". Put in it:

• the link to your private chat;
• the schedule of calls and live sessions;
• a link to book a personal consultation;
• the club rules.

In Media & Files, check which tiers get this file. Add recordings of past sessions as video links from YouTube or Vimeo.

For a club or consultations, choose Access only while subscribed in the tier settings. That way the invite and the recordings are available only while someone is paying. When someone cancels, you get an email, so you can remove them from the chat once their paid period ends. It's also a good idea to refresh the chat invite now and then and update the file.

For guides and lists, Keep the last paid version works better: after canceling, people keep the last version they paid for.

Prices and discounts for longer plans

You can set prices two ways:

• a monthly price plus a discount for longer periods;
• the full price for each period.

For example, a tier costs $12 a month. You give 15% off for six months, so that plan costs $61.20. With 25% off for a year, the yearly plan costs $108. Buyers see the savings on longer plans and the monthly equivalent. The whole period is billed upfront.

Money-back guarantee

You can add a money-back guarantee on the first payment: 7, 14, 30 or 90 days. A guarantee badge appears on the product page, which makes it easier for new subscribers to say yes. If you don't want a guarantee, choose No returns. Either way, subscribers can cancel their renewal anytime.

What buyers see

On the product page, buyers choose a tier and a billing period. The recommended tier is highlighted, and Compare plans shows all tiers side by side: what's included and what each one costs. The subscribe button stays on screen as people scroll.

Subscribers can switch to another tier or billing period from the product page. The change starts at the next renewal, with no charge today. They can cancel in My Purchases → Subscriptions and keep access until the end of the period they paid for.

Promo codes work with subscriptions too. The discount applies to the first payment.

Making changes

You can change prices anytime, and new prices apply to new subscribers right away. Current subscribers keep paying their original price.

Changes to tier names, descriptions and content go through moderation. Until they're approved, buyers see the previous version, and your product keeps selling.

A saved tier can't be deleted, only hidden from new subscribers. People already on it keep their access and their price.

How to get started

1. Create a product or open an existing one.
2. In Pricing, choose Subscription and add your tiers. If the product already has a subscription, click Customize tiers & billing periods, and the current subscription becomes your first tier.
3. In Media & Files, upload your materials and check which tier gets each file and video.
4. Choose your refund policy and submit the product for review.

Start with two tiers, a basic one and an extended one. Once you see which one people pick more often, add a third.