Why I Pay for Draft and Other Free Products — on startups — Medium

Earlier this week I received an email from Nate Kontny, announcing an updates to his free writing tool, Draft. It included the following:

I immediately clicked the link, pulled out my credit card, and purchased a subscription for $3.99/mo. But not for the additional features or benefits. I did it to give back. I did it for Nate.

For the past few months I’ve followed Nate’s blog and exchanged the occasional tweets with him. We’re far from BFF’s but through these light interactions I feel more personally connected to him.

I was more than happy to give Nate money. I felt obliged.

I feel the same aboutBuffer. I upgraded to the $10/mo “awesome plan” not for the additional features but as a demonstration of my appreciation.

I pay to support the Buffer team that I’ve grown to respect through their writing and engagement online. And I wouldn’t doubt the relationships they’ve formed through amazing support, have influenced many others to do the same.

I also donate a (measly) $5/mo to This Week in Startups. I’ve done so for the past two years to support Jason Calacanis and his crew. What do I get out of it? Nothing really, except for the satisfaction of supporting an entrepreneur I respect who’s provided years of free, valuable content.

As the people behind a product become more human, motivation to reciprocate increases.

How are you building a relationship with your users? Even the smallest personal connection can have a tremendous effect on your brand and bottom line.

Despite what some may say, the humanization of product is feasible and scalable. In the second part of this post, I will provide examples and tactics for building “human products”.Subscribe to my email listif you’d like to receive updates when it’s published.

Also don’t hesitate connect with me on Twitter (@rrhoover). :)

Photo credit: 21TonGiant