Canva · online design tool
Rewrite the paywall to say what users get out of it, not what engineers built
One of the year's biggest growth wins, per a podcast the guest heard; no numbers
Workedpaywall
What they did
Paywall copy originally highlighted what engineers were proud of. Changed it to the benefit users were actually looking for. Guest suggests finding that benefit by asking users why they downloaded the app and reusing their words in paywall and onboarding copy.
What happened
Described as one of the biggest growth wins of that year.
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · Top Growth and Monetization Insights for Subscription Apps — Sylvain Gauchet, Babbel and Growth Gems“I have that old story from a podcast I was listening to uh from Canva, where one of the biggest growth win was, you know, in one of the years was just to change, you know, that copy, that benefit copy”
“But when they shifted it to what users were looking for, uh it was it was a big difference.”
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 Canva
All 4 Canva tacticsMore from this episode
- Pok Pok: Double the subscription price, then check whether those subscribers stick aroundRevenue more than doubled and conversions rose, but the higher-price cohorts' retention quickly tanked
- PhotoRoom: Launch with only a monthly plan so you see who cancels and can ask whyNo numbers; guest says monthly renewals show real retention early, at a cash-flow cost
- Reflectly: Ship one big change every week and compare the 7 days before and after
- Let fans buy your app as a gift, especially for December holidaysAbout a third of December sales; many gifts bought by existing customers
- Burner: Survey users on which features to charge for and what they'd payNo numbers; a heavy A/B-testing team still relies on it for context
- Rise Science: Use onboarding to convince people the app will improve their sleep, not to teach buttonsNo numbers; experimented a lot to nurture intent toward the paywall
- Send a follow-up offer to people who played with the paywall but didn't buyNo numbers; guest says some convert at a 10% discount
- Ask engaged monthly subscribers to switch to yearly a few months in