Ning Update: Introducing Ning Pro, Ning Plus and Ning Mini

[Eric Suesz]

Our CEO, Jason Rosenthal, just posted a blog post about our upcoming plans and pricing. I thought I would reprint it here for Creators. 

"I’m excited to introduce three new versions of the Ning Service that we will roll out in July. When we announced two weeks ago that we were going to refocus on paying Ning Networks and phase out our free service, we knew there would be many questions about what the new Ning would look like. Our goal with these offerings — as explained below — is to enhance the experience Network Creators have on Ning, and by extension, the experiences your members have as well. 

What will we be rolling out in July? We’ll start with many of the things Network Creators have been asking for and extend the service from there. The end of Ning promotional links, leading to a more customized, branded experience for you and your members. An ad free experience and the option to run your own ads — if you like. Easy content export and back-up. The end of Ning ID and ability to add Facebook and Twitter sign-in. API access for a more integrated experience. The ability to charge for membership and accept donations. We’ve listened to your more frequent and pressing requests and combined them with our current premium services into three new product offerings — Ning Pro, Ning Plus and Ning Mini.

For full comparison of the three plans, click here.

Our pricing plans offer incredible value relative to our current Premium Services. For example, your Ning Network currently has the option to Use Your Own Domain, Remove Create Links, and Run Your Own Ads. You can take advantage of all of these services for about $55/month right now. With the Ning Plus, you’ll be able to have them all for $19.95/month. We will also offer current Network Creators a one-time annual pricing discount that provides even greater value.

We also recognize that many small non-profit, family or other small group Ning Networks have limited budgets, and we value what you’ve created on Ning. For $2.95/month or $19.95/year, Ning Mini provides a powerful set of features to continue to grow and engage with your members — ad-free or with your own ads.

We’ve also heard from many Network Creators who use Ning in the classroom as an integral part of their curriculum. I am particularly excited to announce that a major education company will be sponsoring Ning Mini Networks for educators in primary and secondary education. Ning will remain free for K-12 educators and their students. We’ll have details on this program soon!

We will roll out Ning Pro, Ning Plus and Ning mini in July. Current Network Creators will have 30 days following the roll-out to decide which plan best fits their needs. For Ning Creators using our free service who choose to move to another service, we will offer a simple way to export all of your content.

We know there’s a lot of questions, including how to choose a plan, when you can sign up and what happens if you don’t choose an option. That’s why we’ve created a place with all the details about this new offering, including details, a timeline and FAQs (also available in Spanish, here). I look forward to your feedback, both in the comments below and on Creators."

[Kristy]

Very smart business move, by the way, to find a sponsor for K-12 educational networks. Bravo.

[The Wizard.]

I'm pleasantly surprised. The new pricing structure will actually save me money and I am excited to hear of the upcoming member subscription plan!

[Knaldskalle]

That's right. Might as well teach those little tykes about the realities of corporate America from early on.

[Star-Dust]

Hey, those little brains are our future. l want them smart. And haven't you heard, teachers took a cut in pay where l live.

[Knaldskalle]

I'm sure Ning can find someone to sponsor teachers' wages.

[EAM]

I am hoping the payment tiers are varied/open flexible so that the NCs get to do the determinate cost for their own tiers - including a FREE option for my users... This would help a lot of the not for profit set too.
I also NEED paypal integration... for the tiers...

PLEASE DO THIS NING.

please please

[EAM]

My thoughts...

So it looks to me like you will be better supporting third party developers with the API?

I would like to say - on the ability to charge. You guys really need to allow us to decide multiple levels of service as you have. Some networks will run really well at a free, $5, $10, $25 stepped system, or a free, $3, $5, $7 and others will run great -depending on services at $20, $40, $60, $80. Each network creator needs to be able to name and set those price points and features based on their own models.

I do think you need to bump up that first level or make a second with up to 500 members. Most wont get anywhere near that - but it really needs to be a doable number for say a blog membership.

I will keep reading - and I encourage others to as well - looks to me like they are listening...and some of you are not. (This from a very grumpy and critical creator such as myself)

[Thinker]

The cut down features of mini are understandable from the point of view of needing to make a profit, and mostly acceptable, but we have over 1,000 members, most of whom would not be able to support our site financially, so we were wondering about another option, say 2,000 members, 5GB for pictures, for say, $40-$60 dollars a year? Is that feasible? 10GB is better, but we understand about costs. We will miss chat, maybe we could add an embedded chat instead.

150 members really works only for new sites, not for sites that have been around for a while.

In short, what we need is 2,000 members capacity, and ideally 10GB storage capacity, everything else can be sacrificed for the sake of cost.

[Thinker]

I saw the donation mini discussion, I guess it tells me what I need to know what to expect from NING. I think I will just let my 3 non profit sites simply die a natural death.

I support what NING is doing with the charges, but some do not understand overseas financial realities. In some countries $20 is average monthly salary for a college educated professional. Although I do live in the USA, most members and moderators of my sites are from overseas, and I am not willing to bear the financial burden alone for so many people.

I had to move around the above response a few times to deal with some persistent trolling, in case you were wondering

[Oisin]

I am currently paying for using my own domain and I will probably go with Ning Plus, as it has everything I need. However I am concerned at the level of support that Ning offers under it (Help Center Support).
If someone pays they should be entitled to some level of Premium Support.
I have had an issue with Support for the last 4 months with regard to listing my Network on Ning Search and it still has not been sorted despite many promises.
So, I am very concerned about it, and it is difficult to commit to paying more without knowing exactly what support will be offered.
Perhaps someone at Ning can advise on exactly what depth of support can be expected?

[DulceOración]

Hello
Thanks for the info, just published. I just want to know if these new prices come into effect immediately. Also if the prices will change in July. How many networks I can include in the package of $ 19.95, and if I can pay with money order.

[Kristy]

Here's a question for ya (Eric, John, Liz, etc...)

In the case of an NC with a network over 150 members who opts for Ning Mini - what's the procedure? Do they have to kick people prior to changing plans? Are you considering a grandfather clause?

Just curious. It seems that there are a number of people on this forum who might be in this situation. :)

K