🧂Will people pay for it?

Hey there, happy Saturday! Today, I want to share some thoughts on how pricing can help validate your business.

"Free gives you vanity metrics. Payment gives you validation."

When I first started offering design services on Twitter, I made a classic entrepreneur's mistake: prioritizing volume over validation.

I spent countless hours creating free landing page designs for anyone who asked, regardless of their business stage or commitment level.

Some projects took days to complete because I believed showcasing quality would naturally attract paying clients.

The results? While many praised the designs, not a single free recipient requested the Figma files to implement them. Even more telling: when I later offered these same founders the designs for just $35, none of them took the offer.

The Power of Putting a Price Tag on Value

This experience taught me a profound lesson about business validation: the willingness to pay, even a nominal amount, is the ultimate indicator of serious customers. This principle isn’t limited to design services—it’s a universal truth in business.

Think about it: when someone pays for your product or service, they’re not just handing over money. They’re:

• Demonstrating a genuine commitment to solving their problem

• Investing in their own success

• Showing they have the means to implement solutions

• Validating that your offering holds real market value

Using Pricing as a Validation Tool

Here’s how you can use pricing to validate your business:

1. Start with a modest price

   • Even a small amount ($35–50) acts as an effective filter.

   • Focus on getting any payment rather than maximizing revenue initially.

   • Use early payments to validate your market.

2. Track conversion metrics

   • Monitor who pays versus who simply expresses interest.

   • Note the characteristics of paying customers.

   • Document the problems they’re trying to solve.

3. Analyze customer behavior

   • Observe how paying customers engage with your product.

   • Compare engagement levels between free and paying users.

   • Use these insights to refine your offering.

4. Adjust your strategy

   • Phase out free offerings that don’t convert.

   • Focus resources on paid channels that work.

   • Build features and services based on feedback from paying customers.

The Hard Truth About Free Services

Here’s a tough pill to swallow: if you can’t get anyone to pay—even a small amount—for your product or service, you likely have one of these problems:

• You’re targeting the wrong market.

• Your value proposition isn’t clear.

• The problem you’re solving isn’t urgent enough.

• Your solution isn’t compelling enough.

From Theory to Practice: Making the Shift

After my experience with free designs, I completely restructured my approach. Now, my service comes with a clear price tag (sometimes I even let new prospects “name their price” for the first project).

The results?

• Higher-quality clients

• More serious engagements

• Better use of my time

• Increased revenue

• Clearer market validation

Remember: free users may give you visibility, but paying customers give you viability.

Ready to validate your own business?

Start by putting a price on your service—even a small one. You’ll quickly discover who your real market is and whether your offering holds true value.

Want to learn more about how I turned my design business from free to profitable? Follow my journey on X or reach out directly to discuss your own business validation strategy.

Reply to this email if you’d like me to break down any of these points further in future newsletters!

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