Define a comparable operating contract
Inputs and assumptions to record
- Opening, added, cancelled, refunded and ending member counts. (not complete)
- Price and collected cash on one tax basis. (not complete)
- Current platform/payment terms. (not complete)
- Content and community promise by tier. (not complete)
- Observed support usage and finite review horizon. (not complete)
cohort contribution = collected membership revenue - platform/payment cost - content cost - member support/community cost - refund cost
- collected membership revenue
- Cash collected for the defined cohort/period, reconciled to refunds separately (CU per cohort period) — billing and bank record
- content cost
- Creator, editing, production and delivery resource attributable to the tier (CU per cohort period) — time and supplier record
- support/community cost
- Moderation, support, events and service capacity used by members (CU per cohort period) — support and time record
Use one currency, indirect-tax basis, attribution rule and time horizon. All numbers below are invented currency units (CU), not forecasts or benchmarks.
Worked example: Membership Price, Churn and Content Capacity
Invented monthly cohort: 180 paying members at 24 CU; 350 CU fees/refunds, 1,700 CU content and 900 CU support/community cost.
| Line | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Collected revenue | 180 × 24 | 4,320 CU |
| Included cost | 350 + 1,700 + 900 | (2,950 CU) |
| Cohort contribution | 4,320 - 2,950 | 1,370 CU |
| Contribution per paying member | 1,370 ÷ 180 | 7.61 CU |
| Case | Changed input | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 150 members | Same entered content/support capacity | 650 CU |
| 180 members | Base | 1,370 CU |
| 210 members +300 support | Higher support step | 1,790 CU |
Use the result without hiding uncertainty
- Reconcile one member cohort.
- Freeze tier promise and price.
- Assign platform, content and support cost.
- Model member and support-step cases.
- Check creator capacity and concentration.
- Review actual cohort movement before changing tier.
- Using revenue per subscriber as profit.
- Dividing shared content arbitrarily without stating the driver.
- Ignoring support steps and refunds.
- Using infinite lifetime value.
- Calling one month a churn benchmark.
Questions before committing
- Should shared content cost be allocated?
- Use a declared decision driver and test the result with/without shared cost so an arbitrary allocation does not dictate the price.
- How should annual memberships be compared?
- Align cash timing, earned revenue, refunds and service capacity across a finite common horizon.
- Does a higher price solve capacity?
- Only if retained members and contribution fund the promised delivery; model the response rather than assuming.
Sources and methodology
- Membership Price, Churn and Content Capacity: primary calculation methodology — Margin101: Owns editable calculation, units, assumptions and validation boundaries.
- Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers — U.S. Federal Trade Commission: Illustrates one local creator-obligation source; it supplies no membership economics default.
Model the next decision
- Subscription Pricing Tier Planner
Compare two subscription tiers by revenue, usage-linked service cost, support burden and raw contribution rank
- Subscription Churn Impact Planner
Keep logo and revenue churn separate while estimating annual contribution and replacement acquisition impact
- Support Cost per Account Planner
Allocate support labour and vendor cost across active accounts and handled tickets