Hi everyone,
I built a niche tool called Pinterest for Miro. It solves a specific pain point for designers: getting mood boards from Pinterest into Miro without manually taking 100 screenshots.
But I made a mistake in how I sold it.
The Failure: Betting on Subscriptions
Initially, I launched with a standard $11.99/month subscription. I thought recurring revenue (ARR) was the holy grail of SaaS.
The result? Zero retention.
Users would sign up, use it for one project, and cancel immediately. Or they would tell me:
"I love it, but I only use it seasonally. I hate monthly bills."
I realized I was fighting against my users' natural behavior.
The Pivot: Utility vs. Platform
Last week, I decided to listen to the data. I realized my product is a utility, not a platform. Users don't "live" in my app; they use it to get a job done.
So I killed the subscription and launched a $49 Personal Lifetime Deal (and a $15 credit pack for teams).
The Result: Immediate Validation
Within 24 hours of switching the pricing page, I got my first 2 organic sales at $49. No ads, no marketing push, just a pricing model change.
It turns out, for small utility tools, people just want to own the software, not rent it.
If you are a designer using Miro, you can check out the tool and the new pricing here: Link to Pinterest for Miro
My Question to you:
Has anyone else experimented with LTDs (Lifetime Deals) vs Subscriptions for micro-SaaS? I'd love to hear your experience in the comments.
Top comments (2)
That's a cool tool! Any tips for identifying when your app is more of a utility than a platform? As creators, we sometimes get blinded by this.
Great question! It's definitely a blurry line, but here are the 3 signals I look for:
Time Spent vs. Time Saved:
Platform: Success = Users spend more time inside (e.g., Miro).
Utility: Success = Users spend less time inside. They want to get the job done and leave. My app is definitely the latter.
Data Gravity:
Do users create and store value inside your app? Or do they just pass data through it?
Since my users export everything to Miro immediately, I don't have "data gravity." I'm a pipe, not a bucket.
The "Toothbrush Test":
Do they use it twice a day, every day? Or just when they have a specific problem?
If usage is sporadic (project-based), a subscription is usually a hard sell.
Hope that helps!