Matt here with your weekly Subscription Prescription 💊

Last week I met up with some friends at ChargeX, Recharge’s subscription conference. We had an incredible discussion about our favorite tactics for growth, what’s overhyped in subscriptions, and what’s coming. This is an absolute must-read and listen!

This week’s dose is also a podcast episode, so listen in or watch on your favorite platform. You’ll get a long list of tips from the experts on this week’s episode:

First things first - what are you doing this Thursday at 1pm EST?

Join me and Ben Davis, the founder of TryNow, for a LinkedIn Live session talking subscription conversion strategies.

How do you get more people to take the subscription from your PDP? This session will answer that question!

💊 Four Tactics You Should Be Using (and Three You Should Probably Drop)

This week’s dose is coming straight from the floor of ChargeX in LA, where I sat down with three subscription experts I trust deeply—Andriy Rudnyk (The Good Subscription Agency), Bryan Starck (100 Celsius), and Jordan Narducci (DTCPG)—to trade notes on what’s working right now in the world of DTC subscriptions.

The focus?
We each brought one underused tactic, and we wrapped with a lightning round of things we think are completely overhyped.

Let’s get into it. These are the kinds of insights that shift your revenue trajectory.

1. Make “Subscribe & Save” the Default

Tactic: Pre-select the “subscribe & save” option on your product pages
Why it works: It dramatically increases take rate—often from 5% to 20%—without changing your offer or page design.

We’ve seen this simple switch double or triple subscription revenue in a matter of weeks. Not by changing the discount or adding upsells—just by making subscription the default. And when it’s paired with the right offer design (like free gifts, better ongoing value, or stronger visual cues), it becomes a true no-brainer for your customers.

Yes, you’ll get some “I didn’t mean to subscribe” support tickets. That’s where smart UX and proactive onboarding come into play. If 70%+ of your new subs are sticking around, you're doing it right.

💡 Remember: the default next action for a subscriber is a repeat purchase. The default for a one-time buyer is... nothing.

2. Use Staggered Discounts to Protect Margins

Tactic: Offer a strong discount on the first order, then reduce the discount on recurring orders
Why it works: It helps you acquire more subscribers without giving away margin every month.

Most brands are stuck on flat discounts: 20% off forever. But here's the play: lead with 25–30% off the first subscription, and then drop to 10–15% on renewals. Customers rarely notice or care about the drop—especially if the product’s good and the value’s still clear.

One brand cut recurring discounts by 10%, saving $10 per order without hurting retention. That kind of margin can absorb tariff hikes or fund subscriber perks that actually drive LTV.

Bonus: Bryan from 100 Celsius shared this gold quote from Brian Tate at Oats Overnight

3. Use Free Gifts as Value Arbitrage

Tactic: Replace heavy discounts with high-perceived-value gifts
Why it works: It gives customers a “wow” moment while preserving margin.

Instead of $10 off, give away a $25-value product that costs you $3. It feels like more value to the customer—and it actually costs you less.

Free shipping is another under-leveraged perk. If you already include it in your subscription orders, don’t bury it—highlight the value. Say it out loud: “Includes $10 free shipping.”

You can even show a subscriber gift timeline (month 2: shaker bottle, month 3: tote bag) to add visual stickiness and extend retention. This isn’t just a first-order tactic—surprise-and-delight gifts are retention levers too.

4. Add Bulk Subscription Options (1, 3, or 6 Months)

Tactic: Offer 1-, 3-, and 6-month supply subscriptions with matching frequencies
Why it works: It boosts average order value and long-term retention.

More units = more margin to play with = bigger upfront offers. But here’s the kicker—3-month subscribers consistently retain better than 1-month subs. That’s across brands, categories, and order sizes.

We’re seeing strong take rates for the middle (3-month) option, which lifts both AOV and LTV. Just make sure you're adjusting the frequency to match. If you send 3 bottles now and renew next month? Congrats, you just invented your own churn problem.

Pro tip: Visual design matters. Stack your options vertically—1-month, 3-month, one-time—and make one-time the least appealing. People buy the middle.

Extra tip: Check out our prior dose on how to get bundles right: https://newsletter.thesubscriptiondoc.com/p/dose-149

Now, the Overhyped Stuff…

Here are three things that get way too much attention and not enough actual performance:

❌ 1. Beautiful Subscriber Portals

Portals are not the growth engine you think they are.

Customers don’t log into your portal to shop—they’re there to cancel or change something. Make those two things seamless. Everything else (upsells, banners, custom styling) is fluff unless you’re nailing those core jobs.

Want to upsell? Use post-purchase flows or shipping notifications. Don’t count on someone visiting their portal just to buy more from you.

❌ 2. Free Trials

They sound great. They almost never work.

A free first order (just pay shipping) usually tanks retention. You’re not converting once—you’re converting twice (into a trial, then into a paying subscriber). And each step adds churn.

Unless you’ve tested the math like crazy and have an unusually sticky product, skip the free trial and lead with a strong value-based offer instead.

❌ 3. Gamification and Surprise & Delight for Retention

It’s fun. It’s sexy. It’s mostly noise.

You don’t need to send confetti or hold subscriber raffles if your product is solving a real need on a cadence that matches your customer’s usage. Start there. Gamify after you’ve nailed the basics: acquisition, activation, and frequency alignment.

Final Dose

Here’s the thread that ties it all together:
→ Your goal isn’t just to get more subscribers. It’s to get more valuable subscribers.
→ Each of these tactics helps you do that—by improving acquisition without sacrificing margin, and creating longer, stickier customer relationships.

If you want help testing any of these, or figuring out which one is best for your product, my DMs are open, or reply to this email.

Until next Tuesday, that’s your Subscription Prescription. 💊

 - Matt Holman 🩺

The Subscription Doc