Practitioner pattern · Steve P. Young (Sells App Masters agency services; his agency has worked on LeadMeNot's growth)
If fewer than 5% of installs start a trial, switch to a hard paywall
Host's first move for such clients; niche hard-paywall apps reach 10-20% install-to-paid
Workedpaywallvalidation
What they did
For client apps getting downloads but with a start-trial rate under 5%, the first thing App Masters does is put in a hard paywall. It is the fastest way to find out if there is real demand (product-market fit). Works best in certain categories; freemium can still work. Average install-to-paid is ~2%; niche apps solving a big problem behind a hard paywall reach 10-20%.
What happened
Host has seen install-to-paid as high as 20% and 10-20% for niche hard-paywall apps vs ~2% average.
- Stage
- apps with downloads but low trial starts
“It is literally the first thing we do when we have a client that's getting downloads, but the start trial rate is very low. So if it's under 5%, I just hard paywall them”
“there's no better way to figure out if you have product-market fit than just hard paywalling them.”
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More from this episode
- LeadMeNot: Sell bulk app licenses to universities and churches to give their people5-6 universities and first churches signed in ~6 months; 5-7% of $108K ARR
- LeadMeNot: Pitch Christian universities and churches first, and lead openly with your faithEarly institutional wins are mostly faith-based universities; host calls it the easiest yes
- LeadMeNot: Pitch churches on 'digital wholeness' for their congregation, not porn blockingStill being tested; no numbers yet
- LeadMeNot: Give each organization a code members type in at the paywall for full access150 of 200 licenses redeemed on the spot at a campus talk; ~1 month of dev
- LeadMeNot: Charge organizations through a web payment link and pay 3%, not the app store cutOnly a 3% fee on institutional revenue
- LeadMeNot: Promise buyers a usage dashboard, show a mockup, then quickly build a demoSale closed before the dashboard existed; demo ready by the next meeting
- LeadMeNot: Cold email organizations with your personal story and keep asking for 15 minutesAsbury's 200-license deal and most university deals came from cold outreach
- LeadMeNot: Ask your network, investors and every prospect to introduce you to other buyersOne ministry call produced three intros on the spot
- LeadMeNot: Offer a free 1-2 month pilot to a small group, with success goals agreed upfront3-5 of a 10-man church group found it helpful; elders want it church-wide
- LeadMeNot: Sign organizations for 12 months, and lock the price if they commit for 3 yearsNo renewal data yet; first contracts just signed or sent
- LeadMeNot: Charge early organizations little, to collect logos and stories rather than maximize revenueInstitutions are only 5-7% of ARR so far; partner logos now on the website
- LeadMeNot: Send partner schools ready-made campus marketing materials so students sign up
- LeadMeNot: Bid on a state agency's public request for gambling-blocking softwareAward still pending (decision by October 1)
- LeadMeNot: Quietly pitch the app to your own church while it is Android-onlyFailed: only two members used Android; waited for iOS and multi-device first
- LeadMeNot: Put up a hard paywall: monthly with no trial, free trial only on annualSome users paid $100 just to get past it; founder was surprised
- LeadMeNot: Grow an Android-only app with Google ads, then add Apple ads and MetaHost says Google alone hit revenue milestones; no figures; Meta not yet profitable