Smells of desperation

[mysterycat 1]

I like evernote, I've used it for years. Some months I pay for it, some months I don't and just use basic service. Sometimes I pay for... yes, AN ENTIRE YEAR. Right now, I don't really need the extra features of premium. I may well be a paying user again in some months. But then now might be a good time to try the alternatives. There are alternatives.

 

Anywhere I look at evernote.. on Windows or on Android, there are constant popups and banner ads essentially saying "PLEASE PAY. PLEASE PAY NOW. Please you must pay now😫". You even email me multiple times saying PLEASE! PLEASE PAY NOW!

 

I WAS PLANNING TO PAY AGAIN, MAYBE IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS WHEN I START USING EVERNOTE MORE AGAIN. Is there a way to turn this annoying ***** off? Because life is too short to only test drive one note taking app.

 

Thank you, desperate bunch of f***s.

[gazumped 11,667]

Hi.  Welcome to the wonderful world of nagware.  Most free apps are either so dumbed down you have to buy in to use them for anything at all,  or - like Evernote - they pretty much give you a the same experience as a paying user,  but they will keep reminding you that you're actually getting a free ride,  and might want to pay for the experience.  And the web storage.  And the bandwidth you're using. 

AFAIK there's no way to avoid some reminders,  though if they're so frequent as to be annoying you might want to completely uninstall and reinstall your app to see whether it helps.  If you do go back to paying,  you'll be able to get some online support - for the moment you can try Twitter and @EvernoteHelps

We're a mainly user-supported Forum,  so no control over nags of any kind.  It's nice not to be desperate though...

[PinkElephant 8,117]

Or very simple: As long as you are on a free ride, there is no way to avoid that the billboards along the road just jump into your face.

Because it is not EVERNOTE that is pursuing you, it is not the paying users that pay your bill along with their own, it is just you yourself who decides to take a free ride.

I do not blame you, I do not blame EN (maybe for a little too forceful marketing, but just maybe), but I think you should abstain from complaining as long as you pay ZERO - everybody who is on ZERO in today’s web pay with their attention or their data (which EN does not do).

[DTLow 5,736]

6 hours ago, mysterycat said:

 Is there a way to turn this annoying ***** off? Because life is too short to only test drive one note taking app.

Yes, simple solution.  
Complete your "test drive" and either
- Drop the app
- Switch to a paid plan

[Dave-in-Decatur 3,960]

I've been a steadily paying member for long enough that I don't remember the nags. But I think @PinkElephant has a decent point: since Evernote does not gather or sell your information, or stick ads into the app or your notes, the nags are essentially the price you pay during those periods when you're using the service for free. Honestly, I think your policy of only paying for Premium when you need it is very reasonable. Unfortunately, it does come with this alternative "price."

BTW, seeing that this is your first post, @mysterycat, I'd ordinarily say Hi, and welcome to the forums. I don't say that to people who address me as a desperate ****.

[mysterycat 1]

Point taken, pay all the time regardless of usage or find another app.

I disagree though that evernote gets no value from free users. I don't know anyone else IRL that uses evernote. Evernote seems to have invested a fair few features in work/sharing, yet I don't see any of that happening. I work in tech and started a side project with a colleague. We needed a solution and my colleague hasn't used evernote before. Guess what.. we went with another option.

[gazumped 11,667]

4 minutes ago, mysterycat said:

I don't know anyone else IRL that uses evernote.

There are any number of surveys out there that (still) show Evernote as the most popular note-taking app by far,  and they claim somewhere north of 225M users - more people than the entire population of Japan.  Every time I have a RL tech conversation about notes there's usually a 'you too' moment from one or more of those present...  But you need to go with whatever works for you personally,  your particular use case and budget.  No arguments there - good luck with the project...

[DTLow 5,736]

18 minutes ago, mysterycat said:

I disagree though that evernote gets no value from free users.

I'm interested in how you think that works

Beyond your "test drive", there is the Premium theory that the paid account conversion rate increases with the length of time using Evernote. My opinion is free accounts should be booted after a set time

[PinkElephant 8,117]

Personally I see several use cases for  a free account, and several others for a paid one. If you are really using EN seriously or with a professional background, you will be on a paying account.

However, there may be people to whom most content is shared to. There may be others that were on a paid account, maybe their use case is over, but they still need the information as an archive. I think EN is doing good not to cut off usage by time out as a singular criteria.

So even if a part of my fee goes into supporting others that do not pay, I see it as a part of the EN ecosystem from which I benefit. But maybe the question of sustaining somebodies account for free should not only view at the movement of data, but on the volume of storage as well. Who needs a huge archive can export his data to ENEX or else, and who has so many items shared into his basic account that is is not living data any more, should be motivated to move up, or leave for good. 

[gazumped 11,667]

I don't think Evernote gets value from 'free' users.  Offering a free level of account access is a sensible thing for any online service,  because it means potential users can try out a service to see if it's a good fit.  The only other 'free trial' option is where users give credit card details but "won't be charged for the first x days".  Cancel (allegedly) before the deadline and you don't get charged - forget (as most of us would) and you pay - at least until you see a charge you don't recognise and then cancel. 

The freemium option is a more open way to allow new users to try something out - and it doesn't require the company to collect and store thousands of credit card details securely,  only to have to delete them later.  (There's even a service now that will give you an unchargeable credit card to register for free trial periods...)

Your free users are however occupying server space and using network capacity to sync and store their stuff while they 'try out' the system,  so they're a drain on resources.  A sneaky part of me thinks that 1) you therefore need to 'remind' such users that they could pay to get better features and 2) if such reminders get too annoying for an individual,  it's no great loss because either that user pays or goes.  Win either way.

From a users' point of view I would never think to use a free service for anything remotely important.  You really do get what you pay for. 

Subscribing gets you benefits like

1. you have more credibility for suggestions,  complaints and can expect some assistance when you need it
2. the company is (slightly) more likely to stay in business for longer with paying users
3. you'll get updates - news as well as technical stuff - so you'll know what's coming up

(Item 2 is the main requirement - I don't want to lose features,  or even the whole app because they can no longer afford to support things I need.  Looking after yourself and your family is a universal driver.  A certain level of income is required to allow companies to stay in business...)

 

[dagbo 34]

On 11/2/2019 at 2:15 AM, gazumped said:

A certain level of income is required to allow companies to stay in business...

 

This point seems to elude so many people. Evernote as far as I am aware is not a charity and -- after a brief flirtation as a potential Unicorn - is trying to simply be a company that makes an excellent product that it hopes people will pay for so it can turn a profit and stay in business. I sometimes trial other note taking apps and think seriously of leaving, but in my experience none come close to the simplicity and reliability of Evernote.

I also have confidence in the new CEO and his desire to methodically improve the product in a slow and steady fashion. I want the bells and whistle of the web app in my Windows 10 environment, but I'm willing to wait until a stable version is available and the testing is over...

[dagbo 34]

Oh, and I forgot to mention most people at my small company use Evernote daily.

[DTLow 5,736]

On 11/1/2019 at 7:15 PM, gazumped said:

Subscribing gets you benefits like

and https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/articles/209005157-Compare-Evernote-subscription-plans    
        https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/articles/209005247-Evernote-system-limits

Personally I could not function under the Basic plan upload limits

[jefito 5,589]

On 11/1/2019 at 7:42 PM, mysterycat said:

I disagree though that evernote gets no value from free users. 

The previous doesn't seem to be any way justified -- or even connected to -- by the statement that followed it:

On 11/1/2019 at 7:42 PM, mysterycat said:

I don't know anyone else IRL that uses evernote. Evernote seems to have invested a fair few features in work/sharing, yet I don't see any of that happening. I work in tech and started a side project with a colleague. We needed a solution and my colleague hasn't used evernote before. Guess what.. we went with another option.

I'll grant that an an inducement to get an understanding of how to use Evernote and then to pay them, Evernote does get value in terms of future revenues. But that's about it. So how, exactly what value does Evernote get from long-term free users? Servers and companies don't run on fairy dust; it costs money, which free users don't provide.

On 11/1/2019 at 11:09 AM, mysterycat said:

I WAS PLANNING TO PAY AGAIN, MAYBE IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS WHEN I START USING EVERNOTE MORE AGAIN. Is there a way to turn this annoying ***** off? Because life is too short to only test drive one note taking app.

Thank you, desperate bunch of f***s.

You get them to stop asking you to pay by, um, paying. Duh. And calling them naughty names drops you way down in the credibility column. Be serious: you were in no way going to start paying for the service.. Just to be clear -- I have a second free account to go along with my premium account, and their attempts to get me to upgrade are not any bit irritating at all. Maybe I understand that businesses that don't make money don't survive?

The price you pay for not paying is the occasional request that you upgrade. Otherwise, Evernote Basic is free (as in free beer) to use. Use it, or do not. Just don't whine about it.