A subscription apps · B2C · App Masters' own apps
Ask 'How did you hear about us?' and hard-paywall only people from ads
Untested idea; a shared chart showed 5% soft vs 34% hard paywall conversion
Unknownpaywallanalytics-attributionpaid-social
What they did
Add a 'How did you hear about us?' onboarding screen (as ReciMe does). If the answer is Instagram, Facebook or TikTok (paid channels), show the paywall with no X; else (e.g. 'Search on App Store', organic/ASA) show a soft paywall with an X to avoid angry reviews. Implement as a simple if/else in code, or via the Apphud + Superwall integration. Rationale: forces a decision, and sends purchase signals to Meta faster.
What happened
Host's hypothesis, backed by his own hard vs soft test (6% -> 12-15% trial starts) and a chart shared on Twitter (soft 5% vs hard 34%). Desmond Ho reached $100K+ MRR on Meta with a hard paywall.
“So, maybe make it a soft paywall for those that found you organically through ASA, all right? But for those that came in through Instagram, or Facebook, or even TikTok, any paid channels, maybe take away the X, right?”
“Secondly, it sends signals to Meta a lot faster than you if you had a soft paywall, right?”
“So, if they select Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, cuz I'm running ads, show a hard paywall, else show a soft paywall.”
Related topics
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