Interesting that Scout isn't actually a freemium app by a strict definition though.<p>At least, I can't see any free plans, only a 30-day trial.<p>I'm also intrigued by the difference in subscriber rates between freemium webapps and freemium webgames.<p><a href="http://lsvp.wordpress.com/2008/06/09/successful-mmogs-can-see-1-2-in-monthly-arpu/" rel="nofollow">http://lsvp.wordpress.com/2008/06/09/successful-mmogs-can-se...</a><p>The numbers from there vary from about 5% to 15%.<p>What can freemium webapps learn from freemium games?
The 1% paid signup rate, like the "1% of shareware downloaders pay", is largely a non-scientific myth created to convey the general impression that "Well, its low -- 1% sounds good, let's go with that".<p>I do about 2.45% on my trial signups these days and I'm hardly the most successful guy at conversion optimization in the world.<p>Note that I quote it as a percentage of trial signups. As a percentage of visitors it would be <i>wildly</i> sensitive to whatever method you are using to draw visitors to your site. If, for example, you're an early-stage startup with no significant link equity but are experimenting with an AdWords campaign, it is likely that most visitors came to your site responding to an ad which told them a) what you offer and b) sign up for the free trial. Bam, high conversion rates. If, on the other hand, you're a fairly established business with lots of link equity and a developed SEO strategy, you're going to be attracting folks across the spectrum from highly motivated to looky-loos to some poor sap looking for ["Patrick McKenzie" geologist]. (He didn't sign up for my trial. Rats?)
Of course, this rule is true for non-web-app businesses as well. Improvements in quality increase the likelihood that customers will come back, and returning customers usually have higher margins (due to lower sales & support costs) than new acquisitions.
Yeah this isn't freemium at all according to the pricing plans here: <a href="http://scoutapp.com/subscriptions" rel="nofollow">http://scoutapp.com/subscriptions</a><p>Evernote is a much better example of a freemium model.
Wait a minute. You're telling me that if the number of people who stop paying me goes down, I make more money? NO F'ING WAY!<p>Seriously, is this worth writing about? You should clearly optimize all three relevant factors (traffic, conversion rates, and retention). 1% is not set in stone, and you need only get to 1.5% to get the same 50% increase.