Do you sell products or services online but can’t predict your income because customers make one-off payments or only purchase during a particular season? It’s about time you switched to the recurring revenue model.
Recurring revenue is a portion a business earns weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or even annually. Unlike one-off sales, recurring revenue is stable, predictable, and counted to occur at regular intervals with certainty.
Let’s explore the top 6 ways to create recurring revenue for your online business.
Top 6 Ways to Create Recurring Revenue for Your Online Business
1. Subscriptions
Most online businesses use subscriptions to generate recurring revenue because it is increasingly popular and trustworthy.
People who subscribe to your product or service pay a fixed fee regularly, typically yearly or monthly. Subscriptions are often used by companies that provide services and digital content through box subscriptions or physical product subscriptions.
You can offer subscriptions when you think people frequently like ordering your product on regular bases.
2. Affiliate Marketing
In affiliate marketing, you promote someone else’s product and earn commissions whenever a user purchases.
Most affiliate programs only allow you to earn once after a sale.
Can you imagine affiliate programs that let you earn over and over as long as the customer you referred remains a paid subscriber? Simply put, you can earn recurring revenue from affiliate marketing.
There are several best recurring revenue affiliate programs for your online business; you just need to choose one that suits you.
3. Long-Term Contracts
Companies dealing with telecommunication or utilities are known for offering long-term contracts. Before customers sign a contract, they should agree on the regular payments to be made in a given period according to the terms and conditions of the agreement.
If a customer’s contract expires, it can be automatically renewed for the same period, and if customers end their contract earlier than expected, they are subjected to an extra fee.
4. Memberships
You can also offer membership on access products and services, creating recurring customer revenue. Customers pay a compulsory fee to become loyal members, usually yearly or monthly.
The fee allows your customers to access all your products and services. Companies like online communities and gym clubs often use this branch of recurring revenue.
There are several best membership management software for online businesses; you can choose one that suits you.
5. Scheduling Product Bills Based on Usage
Businesses that follow this type of recurring revenue bill their customers at different intervals based on the product or service usage.
To follow the same procedure, you must define metrics by scheduling intervals, setting the rates, billing accordingly, and measuring customers’ usage.
You can provide and range the bill of the product or service daily, hourly, or yearly.
6. Per-Seat Billing Model
It’s also known as the per-user billing model. It is a type of recurring revenue where businesses bill customers based on the total number of customers using the product.
The bill paid by each customer increases with the number of users, and the amount is either paid yearly or monthly.
You can use a per-user billing model if you sell your product to your team collaboration clients for your agency.
Conclusion
There are multiple recurring revenue online ideas that you can quickly try today. Choose one of the best that suits your experience and skills.
If you administer even one of the recurring revenue above, you’ll be great to generate reliable and predictable income from your business.