"charge more" and "raise your prices" is terrible advice.

It's easy for successful entrepreneurs with millions of dollars in revenue to say this.  But for someone just starting out - building their first project its nerve racking to charge more.  

What if no one buys?  

What if someone buys and hates your product?  

What if 1 person buys and then ghosts you - no feedback, no product usage, no insights!  

I was shit scared of these possibilities when I launched my community almost 2 years ago. (June 2022)  I was coming off a string of failures -  

- I had failed miserably with a paid newsletter. ($13 MRR in 14 months)

- I had stopped my ghostwriting agency after burn out and frustration

- I had mediocre success with a writing course ($1500 in 8 weeks)  

So I really wanted this community idea to work. But I had no reason to believe that it will work.  

- No audience

- No testimonials

- No prior experience  

No "evidence" for people to trust me with their hard earned money.  

Just a gut feeling that I could make it work. If I executed well on my raw ideas.  Clearly. I couldn't charge a premium. (fear, anxiety and 0 social proof) But I didn't want to charge $0 as well.  "Free" is bad pricing for so many reasons.  Free invites the wrong kind of users, wastes your time and energy, and nudges you in the right direction.  

That's why I launched the community at a "no-brainer" price  

- $25

- Lifetime membership

- 100% money back guarantee  

High enough to detract freeloaders, but low enough for members to "try out".  To my surprise - I had 12 paying customers at launch week.  

I kept raising prices a little and ended up with $430 revenue in 7 days!   Woohooo!!!  

Since then, as I've got good feedback, testimonials and "evidence" that it's working, I've kept raising prices.   And thankfully. I've kept getting sales

Next week, another price upgrade is coming...  

Finally, after 2 years I feel ready to "charge more".   I'm still shit scared, I'm not sure if it will work or not.   Just have a gut feeling that if I execute well on my rough ideas, things will work out well end  Let's see how it goes