KBMH · B2C · kettlebell home workout app
Show the one-time 50% off yearly offer to every existing free user
500+ extra yearly subs and ~25K EUR in 3 weeks, after many refunds
Mixedupsell-expansionpaywall
What they did
Happened by mistake in December 2025: the offer meant for new users was shown to every free user on app open, including lapsed users with a past trial/subscription who were not eligible and were charged full yearly price (the system price dialog showed it, but people missed it). Many complaints and refunds.
What happened
After refunds, 500+ additional yearly subscriptions in 3 weeks (~25K EUR); regular weekly revenue unaffected. Downside: many support complaints and refund requests from ineligible users charged full price.
- Effort
- 3 weeks, whole free-user base
“instead of showing the offer only to new users, we showed it to everyone. Every single free user free user in the app was hit with the paywall the moment they opened the app”
“after all the refunds, we still got more than 500 additional yearly subscription in 3 weeks, which translated into approximately 25,000 euros in additional value”
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
- KBMH: Post a workout reel every day until you hit 100, then judge~2,000 followers and a few hundred dollars after 3 months; later the base for 450K
- KBMH: Watch Brendan Kane's podcast talk and do every task in his free workbook20-40K new followers a month; single reels brought 60K and 52K followers
- KBMH: Put a few hundred dollars a month behind your best reelsPart of the 20-40K followers/month growth; not measured on its own
- KBMH: DM every new follower and sell interested ones on a Zoom callA couple hundred dollars in the first 3 months
- KBMH: Launch in 3 weeks with one program and no login screenApp approved despite bugs; grew into a 40K EUR MRR business
- KBMH: Spend 3 months testing 30+ paywalls, prices and onboarding lengthsInitial conversion near 30% by end of Q1, settling ~16%; revenue reached 20-25K/month
- KBMH: Test different screenshots and app names on your App Store pageNew users 2,000 -> 6,000 per quarter with the same social traffic
- KBMH: Right after sign-in, show swipeable slides of what the app doesFounder says it worked very well; no numbers
- KBMH: Ask for an App Store rating in onboarding if users already know youTons of reviews; being moved to make room for the tracking prompt
- KBMH: Offer a free trial only on the yearly plan; monthly has noneHalf choose yearly; 50-60% of trials convert to paid
- KBMH: Give paying users a WhatsApp group where they can talk to the founderFounder says it raised conversion and retention; instant bug and UX feedback
- KBMH: When someone says they love the app, reply with the review link'Works like magic'; no numbers
- KBMH: Hire a senior developer who pushes back on your feature ideasSaved 'enormous' time and money; no numbers
- KBMH: When new users skip the paywall, show a one-time 50% off yearly offerA large share of new revenue; regular subscription revenue unaffected
- KBMH: Let creators make their own link and 25%-off code for a 50% commissionMost creators ignored it; active ones earned only $200-300/month
- KBMH: Engage with creators for 3 months, then pay them monthly for a weekly post4 creators signed; likely drive more revenue than tracking shows
- KBMH: Run a plain white image with one line of text as your adCPA about 5x lower than abs-and-promises ads
- KBMH: Turn your best organic reels into Meta adsSomewhat profitable, but well behind the plain text ads
- KBMH: Drop lookalike and interest targeting and let Meta pick the audienceBroad worked much better; lookalikes and men 35+ didn't work
- KBMH: Test 5 new ads a week for installs, then move winners to a sales campaignKeeps testing affordable; not every install winner converts on purchase
- KBMH: Tell Meta every trial start or purchase is a 25 EUR saleAds profitable within 7 days; trial-to-paid stayed stable
- KBMH: Track ads in a daily sheet, subtracting your usual organic sales firstShows ads profitable within 7 days; month on track for 100K EUR
- KBMH: Add web checkout so ad money comes back faster than App Store payouts
- Price at $9.99, $14.99 or $19.99, not odd amounts like $12.49Rounded prices tend to perform better in App Masters' data; no numbers