The Yes-Yes Pricing Model: How to Ethically Raise Your Prices Using the Power of Comparison
This principle makes it easier for your customers to pick you
Note: Today's article was inspired by reader ’s question. Feel free to comment to leave me your question. I just may answer it in an upcoming issue.
Every customer who purchased the Atomic Course Blueprint chose to pay more than they had to. Not just a few customers—every single one.
Why? It all comes down to how our brains make comparisons.
And these comparisons affect us more than we realize. Let me show you what I mean with a recent experience I had.
was working on an email list-building project when one of our partners, with their modest-sized list, generated about 100 new subscribers for us in one day. For the company getting the new subscribers (with their 20,000-person list), this barely registered as a blip. But when I added 100 new people to my own much smaller list recently? I was absolutely ecstatic.
Same number, completely different reactions—all because of the comparison I made.
This got me thinking about how comparisons shape everything about our perceptions, including what we consider valuable and worth paying for.
Our customers aren't immune to this psychological principle.
In fact, what they buy and how much they pay are all influenced by comparisons. Once you understand this, you'll see why all my customers choose to pay more.
You'll also see how to use this principle to ethically raise your prices using what my teacher Sean D'Souza calls the "Yes-Yes Pricing Model."
What is the Yes-Yes Pricing Model?
The Yes-Yes Pricing Model is a strategy that lets you make your prices feel right and reasonable to your potential customers by using the power of comparisons. This approach creates two pricing options that both feel like a "yes" to the customer—hence the name "Yes-Yes."
Instead of debating whether to buy your product at all (a yes-no decision), the customer now focuses on which version to buy (a yes-yes decision). This subtle shift significantly increases conversion rates and average order value.
Why does the Yes-Yes Pricing Model work?
When you sell a digital product, most people have no idea what it should cost.
If it's a book in a bookstore, everyone sees all the books that are there. If the books are all $20, and your book is $10, they think, "Oh, that's cheap!" If your book is $30 or $40, they think, "Ooh, that's expensive."
But with digital products like eBooks, reports, and courses, it's hard for people to know what they should cost because they're not directly compared to something. They might have a general idea of what's expensive or not, but they really don't know.
Research shows that people automatically make comparisons whenever items are near each other—they tend to think that these items should be compared to each other.
You can use this natural behavior by creating two different pricing options for your program, a premium version at a higher price and a regular version at a lower price, that you present next to each other. This gives customers a built-in comparison that helps them make a decision.
How to implement the Yes-Yes Pricing Model
Here's a step-by-step approach to implementing this model:
1. Create a bonus
First, you need to either create a new bonus or take something out of your program and make it a bonus (this is called "unbundling").
For example, with my Atomic Course Blueprint, I had three modules that teach the essential elements required to create a tiny course that's really worthwhile for clients. But there was a fourth element about storytelling that I thought would be valuable but might be too much to include in the main course.
So I took that out and made it a bonus instead. This storytelling bonus is its own little mini-course, which made it quite valuable on its own.
2. Determine your price difference
The price difference between your regular and premium options should be small—around 10-15% difference. It should be so small that a person thinks it's foolish not to choose the premium option.
For my Atomic Course Blueprint, the premium price is $55 and the regular price is $50—just a $5 difference (10%). This small difference makes the choice to upgrade almost a no-brainer.
3. Ensure the value of the bonuses far exceeds the price difference
The value of the bonus needs to be set much higher than the price difference.
In my case, the Atomic Course Blueprint premium version comes with three bonuses:
Storyhooks ($15 value)
Feedback on Your Course Outline ($50 value)
23-Day Plan for Creating Your Next Course ($23 value)
That's $88 worth of bonuses for only $5 more. It's such an obvious choice that not a single customer has chosen the regular version.
4. Create a clear visual comparison
There needs to be a direct visual comparison so that people can easily see that:
Premium costs this amount with a list of what you get
Regular costs this amount and you only get one thing
When customers can visually see that the number of things they're getting with premium is greater than what they're getting with regular, the choice becomes even more obvious.
You can put this as a chart side by side, making the comparison unmistakable.
Avoid these common mistakes
Many people make the mistake of creating too many versions of their product—like five different options, each with different levels of bonuses. There are several problems with this approach:
It's confusing. Research shows that if you give people many choices (like different jars of jam to choose from), they buy less. They're less likely to buy than if they only have two or three options.
You don't need tons of bonuses. You only need to give one or two items extra to make the premium version attractive. Those items just need to be worth more—a lot more—than the price difference between premium and regular.
Real results from the Yes-Yes Pricing Model
When I implemented this model with a company I worked with (a personal growth product that helps people increase their confidence), we saw a 20% increase in sales after implementing the Yes-Yes Pricing Model.
And this isn't unusual. In another article I wrote (How to Get Customers to Gladly Pay 30% More), I shared more evidence about how bonuses can raise sales. Research shows that people will generally pay 30% more just to get one bonus.
Summary: The power of ethical price anchoring
The Yes-Yes Pricing Model works because it leverages our natural tendency to make comparisons. By providing two options with a small price difference but a significant value difference, you're helping customers make a choice that feels good to them while increasing your revenue.
It does a couple of powerful things for your business:
It increases your conversion rate (the percentage of people who buy)
It increases the average amount customers spend with you
And best of all, you're not tricking anyone. You're simply structuring your offerings in a way that makes the value crystal clear and the choice easy for your customers.
Want to see the Yes-Yes Pricing Model in action?
If you're curious about how I've implemented this pricing strategy in my own products, check out:
The Atomic Course Blueprint - See how I offer both a $50 regular version and a $55 premium version with $88 worth of bonuses. You'll notice the small price difference makes choosing the premium version an easy decision.
iPARA: How to organize your digital life for action - Another example of the Yes-Yes Pricing Model that has helped course creators and consultants get organized while providing excellent value at both price points.
Still here? I love that. One thing you can do for me is reply to this email and tell me what you think. When I read your reply, it makes my day.
This is an excellent idea. I’m still on my first e-book so I’ll have to create another resources so I have something to offer as premium.