Pingo AI · B2C · AI language speaking app
Test a 3-day against a 7-day free trial, US and abroad separately
Near-even in the US; 7-day converted ~2% better internationally (early data)
What they did
What happened
In their words
Morrie Schonfeld - How I built a $500k/mo ai app (so you can just copy me)
Joseph Choidifferent ways of communicating the value of the product as on the paywall, but the trial timeline just outperforms those, too?
Morrie SchonfeldYeah, exactly. So like on the notification end, I recently like test out like a 3-day versus a 7-day free trial. What we still have to do like the data is still coming in. There's still like 2 days left of data to set from that, but in that, one thing I tested is like, okay, like what if we change like the trial notification? Like you'll get notified 2 days before your trial ends versus 1 day before your trial ends, and like that leads to a difference in conversion. Like people like perform differently depending on when they think they're going to be notified.
Morrie SchonfeldCuz again, like I think people generally like I know I do, like there'll be times someone shows me a free trial, I'm like, "I don't want to do this. Like I'm going to forget." Like or like, "I don't really care enough. I just want to try it out." But if they reinforce like we really try and reinforce like, "This is really low cost to you. Like you will be reminded that your trial is going to end. Like you can cancel this anytime. Like pressing …
Joseph ChoiReally good insights. I appreciate the in-depth analysis. Is the 3 versus 7-day like a big difference? Do you Are there trade-offs between doing 3 and 7-day trials as the first option that people Cuz I know like you said you present the 7-day after they've abandoned the 3-day um or said no to it.
Morrie SchonfeldIt's pretty interesting. So like so far, conversion like really mildly different in the United States on 7 versus 3, like point uh 0.7 to 0.3% difference. ARPU is like a 20 cent difference, and trial conversion rate is marginally different. The cancel rate is maybe like 5 to like 7% higher.
Joseph ChoiThe cancel rate is higher in seven or three?
Morrie SchonfeldHigher on the 3-day, yeah, cuz I think it's because people get notified Like you subscribe today and you get notified tomorrow, like it's really fresh on your mind. Internationally, if we look at 3-day versus 7-day, conversion rate was a lot different. It was like 2% difference. 7-day was 2% higher. But like, again, like the ARPU was like a few cents higher on one of the 3 days, but like the conversion rate was a little higher. Like oh, it's kind of an interesting The variables have been really different in different categories.
Morrie SchonfeldLike I have to do a deep dive and see like this experiment technically Like I closed the experiment, but like the data pulling stops on like Monday. And so then I need to go and see like exactly like what's the best. Cuz for us, too, the other consideration is like I need to see how much people use Pingo in the first 3 days of their 7-day trial, because if what we learn is that like, okay, people on the 7-day trial use it all 7 days pretty …
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More from this episode
- Only build an app whose main feature looks interesting on videoTalking to the AI became the core of every video; app reached ~$500K/month
- Film yourselves talking to the app on TikTok, one account per languageReached $20K MRR in about 3 months with almost no outside creators
- Show people using the app in every video, not just talk about the topicLanguage-topic videos without the app flopped; app-demo videos went viral and converted
- Tie videos to beginner lessons and culture moments, like K-dramas or the TikTok banA 'basic Korean quiz' got 77K views; a TikTok-ban/RedNote video got 1M
- Film the AI tutor roasting a learner until they cry on cameraTop video hit 52M views; the format has worked in every language since September
- Let users write their own scenes for the AI so creators can script funny videosCreators found the viral 'mean Pingo' format with it; users now ask for a mean mode
- Post language-tip slideshows that end with a pitch for the appSome hit 1M views, but accounts burned out fast; weak-CTA slides converted far worse
- Have assistants DM small creators learning the language, then move them to emailBuilt a roster of ~100 creators across ~20 languages
- Pay creators a base per video plus bonuses at 50K to 1M viewsKeeps creators paid for their time and chasing viral hits; no numbers
- Treat creators like investments: drop the weakest, keep the stars, train the middleTop 20-30% of ~100 creators drive most views; cut 30-50 who drove none
- Coach creators on lighting, camera angle, sound and doing something on cameraJust started; small tweaks tend to help good creators, no numbers yet
- Scale winning formats through a pay-per-view creator network; test ideas with core creatorsWinning variations get scaled quickly; spend is easy to flex; no numbers
- Make viral videos for learners of RussianAbout half of new users came from Russia and couldn't pay; Russian content killed
- Show a timeline on the paywall: free today, reminder before billing, cancel anytimeBeat social-proof and yearly-vs-monthly paywall versions; no numbers given
- Offer the free trial only on the yearly plan and hide the monthly one
- When someone backs out of a 3-day trial, offer 7 free days at a lower priceConverts better than showing the 7-day trial first; exact lift not given
- Bill US users through web checkout to keep more of each sale
- Join Y Combinator, then raise quickly on strong revenue and CAC/LTV~100 investor meetings booked; round closed in about 3 days
Tags: trial-length, 3-day-trial, 7-day-trial, geo-segmentation, ai-costs