Ask YC: Give Beta users a free release copy?

[anand]

We're getting close to launching our product which is a consumer desktop app. We're currently in private beta.

Should we give our beta testers a free or discounted copy of the final Pro version? Some sound like they are expecting a free copy or they'd be offended.

I want to be as generous as possible and establish strong long-term relationships with our customers, especially those who've given us extensive feedback. But we've got a big beta list that took time to generate and thats a lot of potential revenue we're kissing goodbye. I'm conflicted.

[MikeW]

Long answer to a short question: (It depends.)

Some things I've picked up from being a beta tester, to running betas, and working at a company that did betas from tens of beta testers to many thousands of beta testers:

- There are groups of people who jump from beta to beta, trying to get a free ride without having to pay for the software (always jumping to the next beta because it's "good enough" if it doesn't meet a high quality bar)

- There are those who go well beyond the extra mile and help shape the products giving insights we never thought of. Those people were worth far more than $25.

One of the teams decided they would give the final version of software worth hundreds of dollars to any tester who submitted one or more pieces of feedback. This worked to: - Help links between the testers and the company long term. - Was a fair way of rewarding anyone who at least found an issue or design flaw.

Managing a good beta community takes a LOT of time and resources. At the start of the beta I spent more time engaging with users though the bugtracker/email (which ended up establishing norms) than actual deving, but when I ended up with 3 or 4 testers who understood what I was trying to achieve and try out what I wanted - they were brilliant. So perhaps instead of trying to figure out who should get pro versions and who should not:

- Give anyone who gave you valuable feedback/real bugs the pro product since it's so cheap - but be transparent. Loads of testers feel involved (and feel they have the right) to something so if you are transparent about the criteria then they can be applied to everyone rather than "top" people. Beta tester revolts get ugly and cost so much time and goodwill. - Find some way of rewarding the top few testers who you have a good relationship with and help your development and product evolution.

Although just about every project has had completely different expectations, motivations and feedback loops so chop and change any advice to suit you. However in every project I was involved with: the testers felt part of a community so don't ruin that.

[aaroneous]

Wil Shipley (Omni Group, Delicious Monster, etc) has a great talk called "Monster Marketing" full thing here: http://www.viddler.com/explore/rentzsch/videos/4/).

~25mins in he talks about being a software slut. Do that.

[anand → aaroneous]

Nice. I like the suggestion of giving beta users a free copy of software if they found a bug you didn't know about.

[SingAlong]

Select a small set of users of different sets (like those who speak minimal english) and and of different age groups and whatever categories you want.

Since you are in private beta and you work on paid stuff. Give them free copies of the final pro. Thats the best you can thank them. That's a lot better than paying every beta tester $50 and of a lot more value and respect to them. If its a good product they would be more than happy to get a free copy.

[phil_KartMe]

as a customer, i would be very upset if something was taken away from me, unless initially it was clearly labeled a trial (and beta does not equal trial--gmail is still in beta).

could you let them use the pro version they have for free (version 1), and offer them a discount in 6 months for upgrading to Version 2? or offer them a maintenance & support package for a fee?

[shutter]

I'd say it depends on the number of beta testers; you say you had a big beta list, so it might make more sense to offer a discount rather than just free versions, if you intend on doing anything at all.

Is the Pro version more featureful than a "non-Pro" version, or is the app itself the only version?

[anand → shutter]

How deep of a discount would make sense? We're looking at a $25-30 price point.

We plan on having a Free and Pro version. The Free version will have a generous helping of the features. It'll be fully functional and not crippled. The Pro will have a few more icing features, but stuff that can be lived without.

[modoc → anand]

Have you gotten $25 worth of testing, feedback, bugs, tweaks, etc... out of your average beta tester? I'll bet you have.

If so, you should give them a free pro copy, and ask them to introduce their friends to your software. If your beta testers are a good sales demographic, they probably have many friends who are also good sales demographic folks.

[anand → modoc]

I wouldn't say our average tester has given us $25 worth of testing. But some definitely have, even more than $25 worth. Separating these after the fact is potentially sticky.

[silencio → anand]

Well, would there be some not-sticky way of separating them after the fact? like, say, based on amount of non-trivial input they've given? There are sometimes beta "testers" who never really give any input.

For my startup, we're providing a service we'll be charging for monthly. All the beta testers will get some kind of discount we've yet to figure out yet (a few months free, most likely, or some steep discount) and all beta testers actually telling us about issues something probably double that if not more.

I guess I just don't like the idea of rewarding someone giving me absolutely nothing in return equally as someone giving me invaluable amounts of help.

[DaniFong → silencio]

In general you don't need to give beta testers much more than thanks, and the chance to try shiny new things. Earnest thanks tends to make them pretty happy, all by itself.

Btw, What's your startup, silencio? My email is dani.fong at gmail.

[anand → DaniFong]

BumpTop. http://bumptop.com a 3D desktop yo.

[shutter → anand]

I'm not an expert on pricing strategies, so this is just my opinion tossed out there: That's a reasonable, relatively low price point, so I think a small discount would be all right. But it depends on how many users you have, and what their current opinion of the value of your pro version (vs. the free one) would be.