Ladder · B2C · strength training app
Offer a 7-day free trial without asking for a credit card
Users who finish one or two workouts convert at a very high rate
Workedpaywallproduct-activation
What they did
7-day free trial with no payment details collected at start, so the product (getting users through one or two workouts) does the selling. Chosen at launch on a hunch that it is a better consumer experience and to stand out in a crowded COVID-era fitness market.
What happened
Conversion is very high for trialists who complete one or two workouts; trial engagement predicts conversion, week-one workouts and month-one retention.
- Stage
- launch
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · How to Use Segmentation to Maximize LTV — Greg Stewart, Ladder“In the app itself, we have a seven-day free trial. We intentionally don't ask for a credit card upfront, which we didn't know was unique when we launched.”
“So, we use the product to convince, not getting them to pay, and then hoping that something happens after the fact.”
Related topics
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New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from Ladder
All 21 Ladder tactics- Run a big yearly user survey and use AI to read the answers7,500+ responses in a year; led directly to the nutrition feature
- Let users log reps and weights, then suggest next weights and show their progress70-75% of users now log every workout; guest sees it correlate with retention
- Have coaches tell users to log their weights mid-workout, not in a help pageJournal use climbed to 70-75% of workouts; guest calls it 10x more effective than FAQs
- Send ad clicks to a web survey and flag likely payers to TikTok and InstagramWorking really well, host says, even with fuzzy web-to-install tracking
- Target serious runners with training plans that adapt after every runWon the race-training niche; later bought by Strava
- Read your five-star reviews to find the result users want, then target 3 workouts a weekBecame the goal the whole product is built around; no retention numbers given
More from this episode
- Ladder: Make a separate ad and coach-led program for each type of lifterFounder says it brings in users more likely to stick; no numbers
- Ladder: Aim every feature at getting new members to 3 workouts in week oneHitting it in week one makes month-one retention very likely
- Ladder: Nudge members to cheer on others so new trial users get lots of cheersCheers received correlated with workout completions and long-term retention
- Ladder: Test annual prices, lead the paywall with annual, and add annual-only featuresAnnual members now outnumber monthly; payback periods very tight
- Ladder: Pitch annual only to trial users who worked out; offer others a cheap first monthHelped make annual the majority plan; no split numbers
- Ladder: Offer non-converted trial users their first month for $5, then $29.99About half stay into month two at full price; consistent across cohorts
- Ladder: Run 6-week workout series and pitch discounts to past leads before each startsFounder says deals work best at these moments; no numbers