Matt here with your weekly Subscription Prescription 💊

Frequency doesn’t seem like much, but at its core it will make or break your business. In this week’s dose, we dive into when frequency is easy, why control matters, and instances where subscriptions aren’t always your best bet.

This week’s dose is also a full-length podcast. Listen in or watch on your favorite platforms:

💊 Frequency Isn’t Flashy—but It’ll Make or Break Your LTV

This week’s dose is all about something almost no one wants to talk about: subscription frequency. But if you’re serious about retention, frequency is one of the most important dials you can turn. I’m walking through what I’ve learned across hundreds of brands—what to test, what to watch, and where to be flexible if you want to stop losing subscribers to mismatched cadence.

Here’s what every subscription brand should be thinking about:

1. When Frequency Matches Consumption, Retention Becomes Easy

There’s one golden rule with frequency: it should align with how people actually use your product. It sounds obvious, but too many brands choose frequency based on what’s best for revenue timing, not what fits the user’s routine. And when those are out of sync, you’ll see churn rise fast.

When customers have too much product, they cancel. When they run out, they cancel. But when their delivery cadence aligns with consumption, they stick. This is especially true in categories with predictable usage, such as skincare, supplements, or any product with a daily dosage. Your job isn’t just to sell the product, it’s to make sure the timing makes sense. And if you’re not building in systems to check in, educate, and adjust cadence, you’re leaving LTV on the table.

2. For Variable Use Products, Control Beats Consistency

Some products don’t have a consistent usage pattern across users: protein powder, pet food, even razors. That doesn’t mean you can’t drive retention. It just means you have to lean harder into giving people control.

The key with variable consumption products is reducing friction. That means easy ways to pause, skip, or adjust - not buried in your portal, but front and center through SMS, email, and inserts. I’ve seen brands double their retention simply by making those options obvious and convenient. And for products with unpredictable usage, you might need to let customers bulk buy or move outside the subscription entirely, and that’s okay. Retention is about repeat revenue, not just locked-in billing cycles.

3. Sometimes, Subscription Isn’t the Best Tool

If you sell a product with wide seasonal swings or irregular usage: think lubricant, niche supplements, or replacement parts - subscription might not be the ideal model for every customer. That doesn’t mean you stop focusing on retention. It means you get smarter about how you engage.

For these brands, I’ve seen huge success with post-subscription flows that offer timed bulk discounts, seasonal campaigns, or one-off bundles. Tools like Raleon are helping brands segment by buying behavior, predicting when consumers are ready to make another purchase.

This shift from “subscription-first” to “retention-first” is how you can win when buyers don’t align with simple subscription frequencies.

Wrapping It Up

If there’s one lesson I’ve learned from working with hundreds of subscription brands, it’s this: the best retention strategy isn’t about clever offers or flashy perks. It’s about getting the basics right. Frequency is one of those basics. It’s not glamorous, but it’s foundational. When you take the time to make frequency fit the customer, not just your margin, you’re building a system that scales.

Make it easy to adjust. Make it flexible. Make it make sense.

That’s how you keep subscribers around—not just for months, but for years.

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

 - Matt Holman 🩺

The Subscription Doc