Frequently Asked Questions

No!

No!

Really. This was one of the goals for coming up with a paid plan: add value for paid members without taking anything away for free members.

Free members still get full access to the community. You can still post jobs. You’ll still get the newsletter every other week with member updates. You can still attend weekly video chats (the Salons) and the 1:1 SpeedUp events hosted on Upstream, along with any others like First Wednesday. You can still log in as often as you want and connect with as many members as you want. You can still use #wanted and #offers and even the #bookclub to your heart’s content. You still get access to the members-only Meetup group. And you’ll get to keep connecting with everyone else here, even as the membership keeps growing.

Not everyone will want to pay. Some won’t have the budget, even with a package designed to be as reasonable as possible. That’s fine. Keep doing what you’re doing. I’m so thrilled you’re here, and there are so many others who are just as appreciative. None of that changes. I’m touched that you care about this group enough to even read this. Thank you.

Not for charity or for goodwill.

You should become a premium member because you selfishly want access to what’s launching for the community (see more below).

And, as a bonus, you’ll get to fund this roadmap so it happens a heck of a lot faster.

When you subscribe to Serial Marketer's annual plan, you get a ton of perks for one straightforward, annual rate. Your investment in the community will create even more opportunities where you can invest in yourself and your business.

• Video recordings and transcripts from weekly Serial Marketers Salons (including archives)
• The opportunity to join Serial Marketers Advisors where you can host 'office hours' around your specified areas of expertise; you can charge a fee or do it pro bono to generate leads
  
  
• Member name and link featured on Serial Marketers website
• Opportunity to feature classified-style 'wanted' or 'offered' listings in the Serial Marketers bi-weekly newsletter (based on availability)
• Opportunity to share Member News featured in Serial Marketers bi-weekly newsletter
• Invite (free) to annual members-only events in any city with at least 20 active annual members (events will be virtual as needed)
• Access to a searchable member database (coming Q3-Q4 2020)
• Opportunity to submit thought leadership materials to a central library exclusively for Serial Marketers members (coming Q3 2020)
• 10% discount on community membership for each of up to four additional members of your team
• 10% off rate card for sponsoring Serial Marketers events and Serial Marketer newsletter (pending availability)
• Early access to new features and resources launched by Serial Marketers

There’s much more planned, so as more people subscribe, it will contribute to an even richer roadmap that everyone in the community will benefit from.

I thought of offering that and wrote all the offer details. But most didn’t make sense for someone who would join for a month or two and then leave; the benefits make much more sense for someone who will be in the group for months if not years.

I won’t rule out adding a monthly plan down the road, but it likely will be minimal value compared to the annual and lifetime plans.

Because I want to.

Okay, you deserve a better response.

For two years, Serial Marketers has been a hobby. As the community grows, so does my time investment. That’s all because I want to spend time doing this, and if I could, I’d spend all my time doing this.

Along the way, I’ve received messages on an increasingly frequent basis from people who are deriving a ton of value from it. I love that. I’m thrilled every time I hear about someone hiring others in the group, sourcing tech or service recommendations, connecting with others in the group, learning something new, and saving time.

I want to build on that and create new ways for members to derive value. I’ve started to invest in more resources behind the scenes. We have some talented freelancers around the world contributing in ways such as editing the newsletter, creating marketing automations, and web design and development.

Some will help put food on my table. How’s that for candor?

Most of it though will go toward four areas:

• Additional freelance staff, and more hours from existing staff
• Product development
• Tech subscriptions (Trello, Zapier, Mailchimp, and more; I love recommendations too)
• Marketing and advertising (this makes sense for a marketing community, right?)

If there are ways you’d like to contribute to any of this, please let me know. Even if something isn’t feasible immediately, maybe there are other opportunities coming up.

No. There will be private groups for premium members to help manage lists and roll out access to new features. For most purposes day-to-day, it won’t be clear to anyone who’s a premium member.

The rate of the annual plan may increase over time.

The discount for current members – the 1,300 or so of you who joined over the past two years – will apply forever. If rates increase, your discount will still apply, even though the overall rate will increase. That means current members will benefit from coming in at the lowest rate. The plan is to sunset the code by the end of the year so that there’s plenty of time to join but it won’t be an offer that lasts forever.

If you want to lock in rates for life and never pay more for premium membership, you’re welcome to apply for the lifetime plan. The value of the lifetime plan will increase over time, as there won’t be rate increases.  

Write David Berkowitz in Slack, or email david@serialmarketer.net.