The subscription model isn’t just a simple model—it’s a new way for businesses to foster trust and create value.
Customers nowadays want reliable and continuous service, and this model allows for deeper business-client relationships.
Let’s look at Andrew Lee Jenkins, a business owner who vouches for subscription-based services.
When I started my business, I focused on digital marketing services, which naturally evolved into offering subscription-based packages. This model worked because it provided clients with ongoing value and predictable results, while giving my business a steady revenue stream. I also noticed that clients wanted more personalized solutions, so integrating AI to offer tailored strategies became a natural extension of our services.
Our next Founder also details his experience with retainer/subscription-based models.
These options give me predictable revenue -clients pay me a monthly fee for a package of services. These service packages are quite helpful for budgeting and financial forecasting. They ensure a steady stream of work and greater consistency when it comes to my income. As a bonus, it also helps me build long-term relationships with clients.
He also recommends affiliate marketing and digital product sales — they see a promise that’s heightened with the rise of AI.
Here is Aseem Jha, who has more insights on how AI has helped his subscription-based service.
We adopted a subscription-based model to offer clients ongoing access to our legal services, which allowed us to use AI to automate routine tasks. For instance, implementing AI-driven document review tools reduced turnaround times and increased accuracy, which was a significant value addition for our clients. The key to landing on this model was identifying a gap in the market where traditional legal services were lacking.
Let’s look into more service platforms that are being impacted by AI.
AI-Enhanced Service Platforms
Dinesh Agarwal goes into how AI was personally beneficial for his own company.
When I founded my company, the goal was to address the inefficiencies I noticed in social media management—businesses were wasting hours on repetitive tasks. By harnessing AI, we developed a platform that not only schedules posts but also learns from user behavior, optimizing content distribution to maximize engagement. This approach made it possible to offer a service that is both scalable and deeply personalized. The pivotal issue has been aligning our growth with the evolving needs of our customers, which has been crucial to our sustained success.
AI-enhanced marketplace platforms that connect service providers with customers stand out today, says Ben Mcinerney.
Here are his insights:
Our platform uses AI to match homeowners with qualified arborists, streamlining the process of finding tree care services. Additionally, content-based models monetized through advertising or affiliate marketing remain viable, especially when AI is used to optimize content creation and targeting.When starting my business, I initially considered a directory model but realized a more active matching service would provide greater value.
Business models should be adaptable to new technology, as per our next consultant, Charlene Ashley.
Many successful online business models already leverage AI to enhance efficiency and reduce operational costs. My experience running a management consultancy that could translate online has taught me the importance of being nimble and adaptable to new technology.
There’s no question we are in an AI and data revolution, which means that we’re in a customer revolution and a business revolution. But it’s not as simple as taking all of your data and training a model with it. There’s data security, there’s access permissions, there’s sharing models that we have to honor. These are important concepts, new risks, new challenges, and new concerns that we have to figure out together.
According to Greg Isenberg, CEO of Late Checkout, consumer mobile apps are making a come-back!
He notices a trend where influencers who used to push supplement stacks and skincare are quietly switching to apps.
Selling physical products is usually brutal. Convince a stranger to drop $50, deal with shipping, handle returns, pray they reorder. But apps are easy- a $5/month subscription, zero headaches, pure margin. Plus every user becomes 12x yearly revenue.
The formula isn’t too hard : build a world-class AI-powered MVP, partner with TikTok Shop creators who already know how to sell, and split recurring revenue. I built dozens of apps from 2009-2012 when an App Store feature meant 10k downloads daily. Then mobile died, but now TikTok resurrected it overnight.
He also mentions that these aren’t fancy VC-backed apps, they’re bootstrapped profit machines printing money from day one.
Affiliate Marketing
When it comes to affiliate marketing, Jessica Stansberry, who’s seasoned in sales, advises you not to compromise your integrity for a small payout.
That’s when you lose your audience’s trust, she says, which is the most valuable currency in online marketing
In affiliate marketing, you do not—absolutely do not—want to promote things you don’t use and love. If you’re being disingenuous, your audience will feel it, and they won’t click through your future affiliate links because they’ll stop trusting you. Whether it’s services that pay monthly, services with one-off fees, or products from stores like Amazon, you must genuinely know, like, and want to promote what you’re selling. Your credibility is everything.
Saul J.Berman, an ex Strategist at IBM, says that now we are in a more holistic age and that this new era requires new strategies.
Google is a great example. The overall Google proposition — or the business model — is still very valid. They make money off of this. Can they make more money if they start charging for Gmail or for some of the other components? That is a different question. But there is real value in focusing the attention of management on what your revenue model is. How are you going to make money? Look at this in the broader context.
Saul J.Berman, ex VP Chief Strategist for Digital Strategy at IBM
“Great business models for online ventures revolve around value-driven content and personalized services,” says Brandon Leibowitz, Owner of SEO Optimizers.
He goes on here about how to combine AI with SEO:
When I started my business, the goal was to offer tailored SEO strategies that would help businesses increase their online visibility. Over time, I realized the potential of combining AI with SEO to create more personalized and data-driven approaches, which significantly improved client results. AI quick analysis enables us to pinpoint what exactly drives traffic and conversions.
In the future, it’s necessary for business models to be adaptable to new technology, so as not to fall behind in the race.
Personalization is also important, and as Jessica Stansburry pointed out, authenticity matters as well.
Mobile Apps also seem to be making a comeback, thanks to various influencer platforms.
Ultimately, there is no formula for what works, but we hope these guidelines help.
About the author
Chintan Zalani
I'm the insight architect behind Bot Memo. I have spent the last decade building media assets on the internet. Bot Memo started as a simple project covering industry deep dives. Then I built a data pipeline for it. And now I love analyzing and covering all things AI startups and trends on top of our own data infrastructure.
