If you are looking for a way to start selling subscriptions online, you might want to consider using Stripe. Stripe is a payment platform that allows you to accept recurring payments from your customers, manage billing cycles, offer discounts and coupons, and handle invoices and receipts. In this blog post, we will show you how to set up a simple subscription service with Stripe in a few steps.
Step 1: Create a Stripe account To use Stripe, you need to create an account on their website. You can sign up for free and get access to their dashboard, where you can manage your products, customers, and payments. You will also need to provide some basic information about your business, such as your name, address, and bank account details.
Step 2: Create a product and a plan to sell subscriptions, you need to create a product and a plan in Stripe. A product is what you are selling, such as a newsletter, a video course, or a software license. A plan is how you charge for the product, such as the amount and frequency of the payments.
To create a product and a plan, go to the Products section in the dashboard and click on New. You will see a form where you can enter the name and description of your product, as well as the pricing and billing details of your plan. You can also add images and metadata to your product if you want.
Step 3: To collect payments from your customers, you need to create an online store where they can enter their payment information and confirm their subscription. Once you have created your subscription products and pricing plans in Stripe, you need to integrate them with your online store. There are different ways to do this, EasyPie is the easiest way to start ecommerce with Stripe. After setting up your online store with EasyPie, you can manage the whole process from your Stripe dashboard.
Step 4: Before the final step is to test and launch your subscriptions. Before you start accepting real payments from your customers, you should test your subscriptions using your Stripe test keys. Test mode allows you to simulate payments using test credit card numbers and see how they are processed by Stripe. You can also use test mode to check if your subscription products and pricing plans are working as expected, and if your integration with your online store is functioning properly. To switch between live mode and test mode in Stripe, use the toggle button at the top right corner of your dashboard.
Step 5: When you are ready to go live with your subscriptions, make sure to switch back to your Stripe live keys. You can then start promoting your subscriptions to your customers and grow your recurring revenue stream. You can also monitor and manage your subscriptions using your Stripe dashboard. You can see key metrics such as active subscribers, revenue, churn rate, and retention rate. You can also handle common tasks such as creating invoices, issuing refunds, updating payment methods, canceling subscriptions, and more.
To switch from test mode to live mode, go to the Developers section in the dashboard and click on API keys. You will see two sets of keys: one for test mode and one for live mode. Copy the live mode keys and replace them in EasyPie settings. You will also need to activate your account by verifying your identity and providing some additional information about your business.
Congratulations! You have successfully set up a subscription service with Stripe. You can now start promoting your product and growing your customer base.
Selling subscriptions online with Stripe is a great way to generate consistent income from your online store and build long-term relationships with your customers. By following the steps above, you can easily set up and launch your subscriptions in no time.
