RunFREE: no more Peecoins

From day one, trying to figure out how best to monetize the RunPee app has been the biggest challenge. For better or for worse, I think the challenge is pretty much over. Sink or swim; I have crossed the Rubicon. After this, I don’t think there’s much I can do to change the monetization options in the RunPee app.

TL;DR

In the latest RunPee app update to v6.6.2: Peecoins have been removed from the app, along with any advertisements. Users have access to everything, everywhere, as much as they want, with no restrictions. There are reminders in the app to ask for donations.

You can tell if you have the latest version of the RunPee app by tapping on the menu icon at the top-right. In the menu list, you should see Make a Donation near the top. Or, you can tap the menu icon, then select “App Settings” and tap the “About RunPee App” option near the bottom, and it will display the current app version for you. If you need, you can manually update by visiting your local Google/Apple App Store.

It’s not for everyone.

If you are currently a monthly $1 subscriber, then you won’t see this option. You’re already donating, so there’s no need for you to see donation options. If you have purchased the Infinity Peecoin, then the messages are displayed in the event you would like to make another donation. However, Infinity Peecoin owners will have the option to remove this message from the app. It’s up to you.

You get what you pay for, sort of.

We currently have just over 1,000 monthly subscribers. That’s about one user in a hundred that subscribes for $1/month. I hope subscribers will continue their subscriptions to help support the RunPee app, even though they could end their donation and get access to the same features as someone who has never spent a dime on RunPee.

Of course, if donations decrease, it will affect the number of movies we can afford to add. At a bare minimum, we’ll average two movies a week.

The reason I decided to remove the Peecoins is that the overwhelming percentage of users have been viewing advertisements to earn Peecoins. Unfortunately, the advertisements don’t make enough money to bother counting. This is partly my fault because I didn’t put a lot of effort into finding better advertisement fits, but also, nothing would have made a dent with the volume of ad views we get.

When users use the RunPee app to see a movie, they can decide on a movie-by-movie basis if they received value from the Peetimes and donate accordingly, starting for as little as $0.29, $0.49, $0.99, etc.

I have received feedback from users indicating that they would like to help contribute more, but they don’t see many movies, so a monthly donation didn’t make sense to them. Now they can help as much as they want, but only when they want. I hope this helps increase satisfaction and revenue at the same time.

Where do we go from here?

I’ll keep you updated on the results of this experiment over on Twitter @RunPee. Fingers crossed. And thank you to everyone who has supported RunPee. We can’t do it without our fans.

Please let me know if you think of anything we can do to make the RunPee app better for you.

And as always, please remember to share the RunPee app with friends, family, strangers in line at the theater, etc. We can’t afford an advertising budget. Fortunately, word of mouth is the best advertising money can’t buy.