Spacious + Gracious – why I made my signature program lifetime access

I made a decision this week in my business that has me and my clients filled with tears of joy and relief. This decision goes against most business advice I got. I’m sharing the process here, in case anyone else needs permission to trust their gut.

TL;DR: I made my signature program pay once and get lifetime access, and it feels wonderfully aligned with my values and lights up my soul. It’s not the right decision for everyone, but it was absolutely right for me.

MY THEME FOR THIS SEASON OF LIFE, THE MOTTO I KEEP COMING BACK TO AGAIN AND AGAIN, IS SPACIOUS + GRACIOUS.

Not only is a fun alliteration, it's also what I believe the world needs right now.

The time and space to process the collective trauma of the past couple of years, to pause and ask how we want to live/work/be/exist going forward, to readjust to crowds of people and enjoy being outside.

And the grace to mess it up, to be imperfect, to try, to be consumed with feelings, to be human.?

We all need more space and grace in our lives right now, so this week I turned my flagship offer – Write Your Friggin' Book Already? or WYFBA – into a lifetime membership program.

I wrote every past participant an email, inviting them in for life, and let the current people know that once they paid up to the current price, they didn't need to pay again.

What I got in response was an outpouring of gratitude, relief, and joy – in both my clients and myself.

GOING WITH MY GUT INSTEAD OF WHAT OTHERS ADVISED

To be honest, this is how I've wanted to make Write Your Friggin' Book Already? from the beginning, but I got flawed advice from good people who warned me against it.?

"Think of all the money you'll be missing out on from repeat customers."

Sure, I'd make more money if I required people to pay me again and again, but I don't want to financially punish people when life happens and they have to put their books on pause.

Our WYFBA Success Path is designed to write a book in two years, and we've proven that's possible, but each book has its own timeline, each writer has their own pace – and lifetime access honors that.

"Lifetime is so vague, no one will want to show up for that. Can't you just do annual?”

Yes , "Lifetime" is vague, but that's what why we defined it as "for as long as we're offering WYFBA in this form as a membership program".?

Lifetime membership requires our participants to trust us that we’ll keep being here to support you in writing your book, and requires that we trust our participants to keep showing up and writing their book.

Isn’t that great though? A relationship built on trust and mutual appreciation. That's spacious and gracious.

"Your clients won't keep working on their books if they're not paying you anymore.”

It's true that people who get things for free often don't value them or follow through, I've seen that time and again in myself and my clients.

But our 85% success rate and 100% satisfaction rate in Write Your Friggin' Book Already? comes from helping my clients overcome overwhelm and self-doubt, not from charging them again and again for the same program.

SPACIOUS + GRACIOUS ALLOWS FOR ABUNDANCE IN OUR PROGRAM AND IN OUR MARKETING

With the exceptions of our retreats, School for Writers is an online business, and in the online business world there is this idea that scarcity provides value and gets people to take action.?

But what kind of action are you taking when you're backed into a corner, with time running out, told that you need to act now or forever regret it?

What value is there in telling someone from a historically under-resourced community that they need to rush their decision to spend their time, money, or energy on something?

I want people to enroll in WYFBA and stay in WYFBA because they have a story inside of them longing to get out, not because I pressured them into it.

Lifetime access allows my participants to know that if they join now and have something come up later, they’ll be able to pause and come back later.?

It also allows me the abundance of program breaks and longer timelines, so I feel less stressed to push hard to get results before their time is up and more flexibility to meet my clients where they are with compassion.

WHAT ABOUT DEADLINES?

Yes, there are real deadlines in life and business. Programs have start dates, sales end, and prices go up. Reminding people of real deadlines can feel spacious and gracious to me – creating a false sense of urgency to make a quick buck does not.

For example, my prices are doubling June 1 for Write Your Friggin' Book Already?, so I'm sending lots of emails to my list and making promotional posts reminding people to take advantage of this lower price while they can.

That's a real deadline, not some fake scarcity drummed up for business.

We also know that people will procrastinate until the last minute on everything, especially book writing, so we still have deadlines built into WYFBA – like get your first draft done in five weeks and you get a prize, or finish your fifth draft by a certain date to participate in beta-reading – but we've built rewards in to encourage participants to meet these deadlines, not punishments.

IT’S A SMART FINANCIAL DECISION

Yes, I made this decision with my heart and soul, but I also crunched the numbers and realized that long-term access would produce long-term financial gains.

? I’m doubling the price on June 1 to reflect this change.

? Our client’s finished books are our biggest marketing asset. If people drop out because life happens, they don’t become a success story. Our mission is to diversify publishing and our goal is to make this a world-renowned and highly profitable program – we can't do that if our participants are dropping out and not returning.

? When clients feel less scarcity in the book writing process, they’re more likely to continue investing in other ways. I’ve already had multiple people respond that they’d like coaching, a VIP day, or a retreat spot, now that they’ve freed up that renewal cash.?

? Long-term clients become cheerleaders in the program. Some of my clients have been with me for multiple rounds of WYFBA now, and they’re my cheerleaders in the program, acting as coaches and customer support and saving me time and money. This will only amplify as we get more long-term clients in the community.

? A majority of my clients come from referrals. My participants are all raving fans out there talking me up right now because they’re so grateful to have spaciousness and graciousness in the program.?

? My biggest hurdle to get people to buy was “what happens if I take longer?” This answers that quickly and easily – once you’re in, you’re in for life.

IN THE END, IT JUST FEELS RIGHT

I cried all afternoon when I made this decision, dancing around the house and smiling from ear to ear as I read the positive responses from my clients. I have to trust that it’s the right one, if it brings that kind of joy and relief to me and my community.

Lifetime access isn’t right for everyone or every program, but it was for me and my Write Your Friggin’ Book Already? program.?

Sometimes, we just have to say thanks to the naysayers and go with what our heart, soul, and gut want.