Committing to a new platform is a big decision. If you’re considering Uscreen, you want to make sure you’re setting yourself up for success. By now, you probably know everything there is to know about Uscreen’s features and the alternative platforms out there, and you just want someone to tell you one simple thing: Is Uscreen worth your time, effort and investment?
And the answer to this is: it depends!
It depends on several factors – like your audience size, what stage your business is at and if you’re ready to launch it. We’re going to break all that down for you in this article, and tell you when Uscreen is worth it and when it might not be for you.
We’ll cover:
- Who Uscreen is for
- Who Uscreen is not for
- Cost and ROI (with real examples)
- Ease of use
- Customer support
- How to migrate to Uscreen from another platform
- Suitability for niche content
- Retention and long-term success
- The drawbacks of Uscreen
Who is Uscreen for?
Uscreen is best suited to:
- Established creators and video businesses who want to grow
- Video creators who are ready to launch a business with content (and a willing audience) ready
- Entrepreneurs, businesses and creators who are already familiar with monetization
- Businesses and creators who are committed to launching their own streaming service with the budget in place
Uscreen’s main audience includes entrepreneurs, content creators and businesses who monetize video content through subscription-based memberships or pay-per-view.
The platform is particularly valuable to independent creators, such as YouTubers, educators, independent filmmakers, and fitness/yoga instructors who want to build a sustainable income stream by owning their audience and offering exclusive content behind a paywall.
From art classes to pilates; Uscreen best serves fitness and wellness brands, educators, video creators, media businesses, and event organizers for on-demand and live-streaming content. It also supports corporate training providers, B2B content creators, and niche entertainment communities looking to monetize exclusive video content.
Check out our examples page to see the different niches that our customers have brought to life, and how they use Uscreen to do it.
Key takeaway: Uscreen is best suited to people who already have an established video business or who are ready to launch one and have a substantial audience interested in their content.
Who is Uscreen not for?
Uscreen is likely not the best fit if:
- You’re new to monetization
- You’re still building an online following (ideally you want to have 10,000+ followers on Instagram and/or 15,000- 20,000 on YouTube)
- You don’t have a fully fleshed-out business idea
- You don’t have the budget yet (see our pricing plans here)
- You don’t have content ready to launch with
- Your content isn’t video-centric
- You’re hoping to generate completely passive income (while Uscreen helps unlock freedom, you’re still running a business that requires time and effort to maintain)
Uscreen might not be the right fit for video creators and businesses who are new to monetizing their audiences. We tend to see the greatest success on Uscreen from those who already have an engaged audience online with experience selling to their audience (whether that’s courses, community access, merch, etc).
Essentially, you want to have already generated interest in, and tested out your niche by monetizing through social media or fan-funded platforms and be ready to take the next step in launching a branded video membership business.
If you’re not there yet, that doesn’t mean Uscreen isn’t for you, but it probably means it’s not the best choice for you right now. Focus on building your foundation first. (We have plenty of free resources that can help you in our blog and YouTube channel).
Cost and ROI
How much the platform costs, and what return you’ll get from that investment is likely your main concern right now. No matter what we’re buying, we all want to make sure we’re getting the most for our money and that the purchase is going to be worth it.
So let’s start by talking about cost…
Uscreen pricing
With Uscreen, you may pay a more premium price, however, our prices reflect our dedication to providing the most seamless, premium experience possible for you and your members.
High-quality video streaming, monthly feature improvements and releases, and reliable customer service for you and your members are only a few benefits you’re guaranteed to experience with Uscreen.
We scale with you, so as your membership grows, your members will continue to enjoy a smooth, intuitive experience.
This has certainly been the case for Leah Maselli, Founder of Pilates By Leah. After migrating her membership from Playbook to Uscreen, she experienced a 90% increase in revenue and an 85.4% growth in members.
One of the biggest benefits Uscreen offers is your own branded apps – both mobile and TV. The set-up, build and maintenance of these are included in your monthly costs (if you were on the app essentials plan or above).
You also have 24-hour access to technical support, and helpful team members responding to your questions (no AI bot frustration).
The platform is updated with new features in direct response to what our customers want. We listen to what you need, and make sure our platform evolves to meet those needs. This is part of what you’re paying for; a partner that is dedicated to providing you the best tools to help you succeed.
Return on investment: Uscreen ROI
The return on investment you’ll get from Uscreen all depends on what you put into it. Like any business, it takes work to make it successful and that’s down to you.
Uscreen is a great tool; it gives you everything you need to make your business work, but you need to be dedicated to using it to its full potential.
We have a great customer success team that helps you get set up and make the most of the platform, but your success will depend on your launch strategy and how you engage with your audience about your membership.
Memberships take a little bit of work. They are not something that is passive, they’re not something that is ‘one and done.’ They are something you need to continuously work on, continuously create new fresh content and engage your members on in order to see success with it.
Jade Beason, Content Creator & Founder of The Creator Project
Real examples of Uscreen ROI
Abundance Plus is a niche video membership all about homesteading, where founder Justin Simon shares his passion with 1.08M followers on YouTube. The membership has 7,700 paid subscribers and generates over $1M in annual revenue.
We went from $30,000 a month to over $130,000+ a month with the Abundance+ launch with Uscreen. When I look at that number, I am absolutely blown away and honored because that means I’m bringing a lot of service into the world. That’s the measure of success.
Justin Rhodes, Founder of Abundance+
Liz Kohler Brown moved her video membership business The Studio Membership to Uscreen after initially launching it on Kajabi. The results? Her membership is now bringing in $75k a month with over 1,800 active members.
And thirdly, The Bloom Method, a membership empowering women at every stage of motherhood, has blossomed into a successful app with $1M+ in annual revenue and 5100+ paying subscribers.
How easy is it to move to Uscreen?
If you already run a video membership on another platform, the thought of moving it is daunting. But it doesn’t have to be.
Uscreen has a dedicated migrations team who handle the entire process for you. The Uscreen migration process happens in four stages:
- Understand your needs: Hop on a call with our Migration experts where we’ll evaluate what is needed to help you migrate your content & users.
- Develop tailored plan: Together we’ll outline the migration timeline, specific capabilities of the platform you’re migrating from, and create a detailed plan to action.
- Secure content and user migration: We’ll begin bulk migrating your content and users. Let us worry about the technical stuff so you can focus on your customer experience.
- Launch and go: We guide you through a successful platform launch, ensuring your audience is informed and excited.
Here’s what our customers have to say about their migration experience:
Migrations can be daunting, and especially for us, we already had over 600 videos. One of the first things Uscreen helped me with was sitting down and discussing, “Here’s how memberships with large content catalogs categorize their content, why it works for them, and how you could do it too.”
So, before the migration even started, we had everything categorized, and I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like. Fast forward to post-migration, it’s now self-explanatory for users. There’s no confusion about what to do.
Macy Pruett, Founder of Fittest Core
Check out our collection of migration customer stories to dig into details about why they chose to migrate, what the process was like for them, and how their businesses are booming since moving to Uscreen.
How easy is Uscreen to actually use?
Uscreen is an all-in-one platform that gives you everything you need to run your video membership business. It’s designed to be easy to use, letting you focus on the video content while the platform takes care of everything else. You don’t need to be technically gifted to use it, far from it.
Like Liz Patient from Pilates for Runners:
Uscreen is quick and easy to get set up and started. It’s a no-code website builder, and our team builds your apps for you. All you need to do is add your content and branding and voila! You’ve got yourself a video-on-demand website ready to go.
Don’t just take our word for it though, see what our customers are saying:
Will I have access to support?
At Uscreen, we pride ourselves on providing excellent customer service to our partners. Everyone has access to 24/7 tech support to help you when you need it, and that’s from an actual human being, not an AI chat bot.
For customers who are scaling their business with a custom pricing plan, you’ll have a dedicated customer success representative. They’re here to help you get the most out of Uscreen – your success, after all, is our success.
All our customers also get free access to our Membership Plus video catalog, which is built on Uscreen. This is a library of resources covering all aspects of video membership, with expert advice on how to make your business a success.
Will Uscreen work for my niche?
As long as you have the audience, Uscreen will work for your niche! In fact, the more niche you are, the better. I’ve dug out some examples to share some super niche memberships built on Uscreen that are thriving:
Your Book Of Memories is a lovely art based membership which teaches you how to create memory books from scratch, all the way down to using hand made paper. It’s all about creating something meaningful and beautiful for your most cherished memories.
Your Saltwater Guide teaches members how to fish in the saltwaters in Southern California, sharing exclusive new game plans each week.
Jump Rope Dudes encourages members to try a new approach to fitness in this unique membership centered around, you guessed it, jump rope!
Our video below covers how to create a streaming app even for small niches, and how to make this work for you:
Customer retention: Is it worth it in the long run?
The two key features in the Uscreen experience that are the biggest contributors towards customer retention are community and apps.
These two elements are what makes the difference between a standard streaming service and a personalized experience that your members truly feel part of.
First, let’s talk community. Our internal data finds that Uscreen creators have seen 50% higher member retention when including a community as part of their membership, with the community often described as the most valuable aspect.
Plus, hosting regular live streaming events over time can result in a 2x increase in monthly recurring revenue.
Your community is a valuable way for you to form a real connection with your members, and keep them motivated to continuously engage with your content and membership.
Features like challenges, live streams, push notifications and calendar create structure in an otherwise potentially endless scroll of on-demand videos. They create routine and a sense of taking part in a group activity, rather than tackling it alone.
The community features have become central to the success of Abundance Plus:
We’re riding the wave of the future, and that future of entertainment and education is this individualized content. What Uscreen has done for the average creator has empowered them to not just have their own channel on YouTube — that’s empowering enough — but now they can have their own platform, their own YouTube, their own Facebook, their own community. They have a better sense of ownership and community.
So, find the passion and pursue it consistently and patiently. Even though it’s your passion, there are some days when it sucks, and you just have to keep going. Have the Nike mentality — just do it. Stop thinking so much.
Justin Rhodes, Founder of Abundance+
Apps are also fundamental to the user experience and how your members access and engage with your membership.
Let’s take a look at the key data behind why apps are so important:
In fact, basketball membership In The Lab+ gets 79% of their viewership from the app and being able to offer branded apps to their members has reduced churn for Find What Feels Good:
Since we updated to the native Uscreen apps, we’ve seen our churn dramatically decrease. It’s a cohesive experience now, and it inspires confidence in our community to stay with us. Plus, having our own app feels personal and intimate because it’s something our members can take with them.
Chris Sharpe, Co-founder and COO at Find What Feels Good
Check out the full customer stories about how they built successful memberships with Uscreen:
👉Read how In The Lab+ doubled their viewership and built an online empire
👉Read about Find What Feels Good’s 201% customer growth journey
What are the limitations of Uscreen?
While there’s a lot you can do with Uscreen, it’s important to be aware of what you can’t do. Afterall, Uscreen isn’t for everyone and we want to make sure you’re making the right choice for your business if you choose our platform.
- No ad-based monetization options: Uscreen supports monetization through SVOD and TVOD, in other words, monetizing directly from your subscribers.
- Can’t embed videos from your Uscreen catalog: Your video content is only accessible behind a paywall, which means you can’t embed videos onto your website from your video catalog.
- Isn’t designed for physical product sales: Uscreen is a digital-only video service, it’s not designed for selling physical products but it does have an e-commerce tool that lets you sell products directly within the video player. You can also link an external e-commerce solution to your Uscreen site.
- Not built specifically for courses: While you certainly can organize your content as a course on Uscreen, it isn’t tailor-made for selling courses, so it doesn’t have some of the more advanced course features you might find elsewhere.
- It’s video-led: Uscreen is a video-specific platform, so it’s not the best choice for creators who want to work in a variety of mediums.
- It’s expensive: There are cheaper platforms out there. If you’re just starting out and are unsure if Uscreen will fit your budget, then it might not be the right choice for you at the moment. You can always launch and move to Uscreen at a later date when you’re ready to grow your membership.
Check out how Uscreen compares to other popular OTT platforms, including Vimeo, Kajabi, Muvi. Mighty Networks, Arketa and Patreon.
So, Is Uscreen Worth It?
Over 4,000 creators have found success with Uscreen, but whether it’s worth it for you personally, is all down to you. Here are three key questions to ask yourself if you’re still unsure if the answer is a resounding yes or not:
- Do you have the budget? Our growth plan starts at $199 a month (or $149 billed annually) and the app essentials plan is $499 a month (or $449 a month if you pay annually).
- Do you have an established audience? Uscreen works best for creators who already have an existing audience or community.
- Are you ready to launch? You have a solid business idea that’s fully fleshed out, complete with branding, a video catalog of at least 20-25 videos and a launch strategy for getting people to sign up (and stay).
Saying yes to all three? Talk to our sales team to get specific on what you need and which Uscreen plan suits your video business and ambitions.
Build, launch and manage your membership, all in one place.
