onX Maps · B2C · outdoor GPS map apps
Tell free users plainly they're on the free plan and show what they're missing
Found many users didn't know they were on the free plan; no conversion numbers
Unknownupsell-expansionpaywall
What they did
After learning that many users did not realize they were in the free experience, make it very obvious ('you're part of a free product tier, and here's the value you're missing behind the paywall'), even if it is somewhat disruptive. Also add education inside individual features explaining the outcomes users get by upgrading. Watch guardrail metrics so pushing harder doesn't drive people away: repeat usage, uninstalls, customer support tickets and App Store reviews.
What happened
Key learning was that users didn't realize they were on the free tier; guest calls education the first monetization motion but gives no results.
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · How to Increase Monetization with Targeted Upsells — Brandon Gador, onX Maps“a big, I think, learning that we've had is that users didn't even realize that they were in the free experience. And so sometimes you just need to be mega like really obvious that like, hey, you're part of a free product tier”
“a thing we've been experimenting a lot with is just like education within the feature to kind of communicate the value to the user.”
Related topics
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More from this episode
- onX Maps: Test moving features between the free and paid plans to find what sells
- onX Hunt: Price tiers by how many states you cover: 1 state, 2 states, or everywhereGuest says users instantly get the difference between tiers; top tier is $100
- onX Hunt: Give top-tier subscribers discounts from gear brands, and cross-promote with themClaimed: one partner deal can cover the $100 plan; partners help drive growth
- onX Maps: Use a free trial for the niche hunting app; save freemium for big casual markets
- onX Maps: Show upgrade prompts inside the flow, to the right users after related actionsGuest says native in-flow prompts are where they've seen success; no numbers
- AllTrails: When a free user taps a paid feature, open a paywall showing that feature