ForumsNewsToodledo Update #1

Pricing and number of users
I said this in the beginning, but we want Toodledo to be the best damn productivity tool out there. To do that, we need to sustainably (aka profitably) hire a talented team and invest into the product and people building it.

Given the current pricing structure, the only way we can afford this is by either adding new paid users or increasing the price of subscription for new users. A combination of both is most likely the answer.

So you’ll notice on the pricing page we will be running some tests. More likely than not, this won’t be so much of a pricing change, but combining the Gold and Platinum package.

Please note that there is no plan to increase the price of current paying users.

Posted by Sam:

A quick note on sustainability:

Replace free service with a VERY long trial account - 1 year.

This is long-term thinking. It gives current free accounts PLENTY of time so as to mitigate backlash. People are generally reasonable so the biggest problem with transitioning free to paid is the typical "immediacy" of it which does not honor the provider's decision to give it away which enables users to rely on a free service. A crazy long trial will give new users tons of time to develop their use of Toodledo. Your rewards are delayed but slow and steady tends to build a stronger, more sustainable foundation.

Additionally, if you must give something for free, the individual apps could be free while the syncing service is paid.

Hey Toodledo community,

This is Sam from Toodledo.

Last time we spoke I told you that I’d let you all in on our plans so you can follow along and give feedback as we go.

Well, my friend, here’s update #1.

Future plans
The past month my team and I have dug into the backend of the product, marketing, the community, analytics, and more.

We’ve come to the conclusion that people love the product as is and that adding new features should not the #1 priority at the moment.

So, if you only care about how this update will impact you personally, then you can stop reading here as there are no major product updates right now other than updating the iOS app.

But, if you want to know about changes on design, marketing, and the company, then keep on reading.

Survey
How did we come to this conclusion? By speaking with you all! We did multiple surveys, calls, shared emails, and more.

Hre are some results: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uuxJcDRlCIUvRSvl5IVQF2TmAgGhKl2u/view?usp=sharing

We were amazed at a few things:

1. Lots of active users with accounts over a decade. Monthly user churn was far below other products like Toodledo. People love Toodledo.
2. A lot of people want the iPhone app to be updated - this is a priority of our’s. We’re currently hiring an iOS engineer (here’s the job posting!).
3. Most people don’t want major changes. While I believe users of most products say that yet are often pleased with updates that improve user experience, the responses show there’s an overwhelming attitude of “it works...don’t change!” The majority of changes request were minor.
4. Loads of people want a design update. Nothing major, but more updated and modern.

Design and marketing
The first move for us will be to update the design of the landing page. We looked at the conversion rate of new visitors to registered users and it can easily be improved. We feel that we can update the website to effectively explain the benefits of Toodledo and use a more modern design that’ll attract new users.

Here is a mock up of what the page will look like (the copy is just placeholder): https://imgur.com/a/dO5P8mZ

Also, nearly 99% of Toodledo users signed up organically with very little money spent on advertising or on content marketing. We planned on testing some paid marketing and will launch a blog that shows people how to use Toodledo and become more productive.

Pricing and number of users
I said this in the beginning, but we want Toodledo to be the best damn productivity tool out there. To do that, we need to sustainably (aka profitably) hire a talented team and invest into the product and people building it.

Given the current pricing structure, the only way we can afford this is by either adding new paid users or increasing the price of subscription for new users. A combination of both is most likely the answer.

So you’ll notice on the pricing page we will be running some tests. More likely than not, this won’t be so much of a pricing change, but combining the Gold and Platinum package.

Please note that there is no plan to increase the price of current paying users.

Conclusion

Ok folks, I think that’s everything. We’d love your feedback on the design and anything else. The last thread had ~10 pages of responses, so I wasn’t able to respond to all of them but read every word. So make sure to let us know your opinions in the forum as I read them all.

Talk soon,

Sam

I've turned on a quite a few people to Toodledo, and many of them use the free version. I sure hope that doesn't go away.

Also, I use the Ultimate ToDo List as my intereface on Android. I sure hope you are working with 3rd party developers to keep those interfaces working.

Brad

Who is going to subsidize all these free loaders for their year at Toodledo? You can find many crappy alternatives and they even offer free for 30 days. .. toodi..., asa..

Posted by GSP1963:


This is helpful thanks. I've been using Toodledo for a while now and have used many other apps in the past. However, I rarely customize things. I just use the basic features. The customization piece wasn't a huge surprise to me when I saw people saying they love it as I know the community, but I was surprised at how many people actually love that.

Can you tell me a little about your set up and how it compares to the other apps you've used?

Posted by justinhappy:

What I am suggesting is to move "free loaders" to paying customers. Right now, people can "free load" forever. I am saying let them free load for only one year which is much, much shorter than forever.

Let's face it, the service is great but it's very niche, with a goofy interface, and very confusing for a new user unless they are already at the point where they can appreciate it's complexity.