FaithFull · B2C · calorie tracker for Christians
Skip the free trial and make people pay before using the app
Always beat trials in his tests; buyers engage more, but some 1-star reviews
Workedpaywall
What they did
No free trials at all; users must buy to use the app, and the app tries to deliver value from day one. The founder tried repeatedly to make trials work and they never converted as well. Accepts occasional one-star reviews from people who wanted a trial. May test trials again later.
What happened
Hard paywall out-converted trials in every attempt; paying users engage more and take the community seriously. Cost: some one-star reviews over the lack of a trial.
“we don't do trials. Um, we found that no matter how of- like, how hard I tried to make trials work, they just never converted as well as just a hard paywall”
“when someone actually buys it, they're so much more likely to engage and to actually be a part of the community and to take it seriously”
“even now, we get we get like one-star reviews just because we don't have trials”
Related topics
Get tactics like this every Monday
New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from this episode
- FaithFull: Build a calorie tracker just for Christians trying to lose weightFounder credits the niche for ads and messaging working; no split numbers
- FaithFull: Turn your phone sales script into onboarding questions about pain and goalsInstall-to-paid jumped from 3.28% to 5.11% in one month
- FaithFull: Keep adding onboarding screens, from about 10 to 26, while sales keep risingConversions kept going up with each added screen; paywall view rate reached 62%
- FaithFull: Include a monthly live coaching call in the subscription and show it on one onboarding screenRevenue per payer $39 to $43; purchase conversion 7% to 9.78%, prices unchanged
- FaithFull: Raise the monthly price from $12.99 to $14.99 to nudge people to annualMore buyers chose annual; conversion did not drop
- FaithFull: Raise monthly to $19.99 and quarterly to $39.99, keep annual at $59.99Revenue per payer $32 to $38, and the pricier paywall converted better
- FaithFull: Test the yearly price at $89 instead of $59
- FaithFull: Remove the 'Smart start' label from the quarterly plan on the paywallRevenue per payer $31 to $33; conversion also rose and more chose annual
- FaithFull: Label the yearly plan 'Most impact' and say 10% of revenue funds evangelism'Most impact' beat 'Best value' and 'Save X%' labels; no numbers given
- FaithFull: Try asking people to sign up after the paywall instead of firstNo big change in paywall views; login stayed first to tie purchases to users
- FaithFull: Keep one Meta ad account for purchase campaigns only; test installs in anotherFounder says it keeps Meta finding buyers, not cheap installers; no numbers
- FaithFull: Tell Meta when people sign up, see the paywall and tap buyCost per result dropped about 50%
- FaithFull: Send Meta an 'achievement unlocked' event when someone hits a 7-day food streakImpact unknown; meant to help Meta find users who stay engaged
- FaithFull: Keep launching new ads: videos, UGC, testimonials, AI cartoon testimonialsHundreds of variations tested; an AI cartoon testimonial just got a first purchase
- FaithFull: Hire a real creator to reshoot your best AI ad with the same scriptThe remake beat the original best ad on Android and on iOS
- FaithFull: Test Meta ads on Android first; move only lasting winners to iPhoneAfter 8 months, the iPhone campaign hit ~90% day-one ROAS and outearns Android
- FaithFull: Set up iPhone ad tracking values so any purchase counts, and yearly plans count mostPart of the iPhone campaign reaching ~90% day-one ROAS; no isolated numbers
- FaithFull: Run Android and iPhone ads in the same Meta accountAd comments went from 50/50 hate to mostly positive; iPhone launch skipped the backlash
- FaithFull: Open onboarding with 'Struggling to stay consistent?' instead of 'Track calories'Pain-point first screen won the split test; no numbers given
- FaithFull: Send men and women through separate onboardings that repeat their own goal backImage-based goal screens 'work so well'; no numbers
- FaithFull: Offer app users weekly one-on-one coaching as a pricey add-onFounder says it has been 'really cool'; no numbers
- FaithFull: Run an in-app community where the coach answers posts, plus group callsFounder calls it huge for retention; no numbers
- Oomph: Turn the most-used feature of an old app into a new standalone appLed to FaithFull, which now converts 7.21% of installs to paid
- FaithFull: Run App Store search ads next to Meta adsLess success than Meta; put aside for lack of time