I've written a number of times before about startups who employ the freemium model which brings together a free option plus premium paid upgrades. Most startups give away so much for free that users have no reason to upgrade. Most startups I speak with do little (or no) testing to see just what the right level is to set the free/paid bar at.

Marketing Sherpa posted a case study late last week of a golf supply company that increased their sales 685% by adding a "haggle" button next to the item price. The golf Web site is pretty Web 1.0 in look but the case study is well worth a read. You've got to keep testing your pricing plans until you find the sweet spot. It could easily mean the difference between small growth and major paid usage growth.

TEST TEST TEST