onX Hunt · B2C · hunting map app
Lead ads with the one feature everyone talks about, then teach the rest
Land ownership maps are the easiest way in; no numbers
Workedpaid-socialcontent
What they did
Advertises a 'door opener' feature to get people to try the product: for onX Hunt, land ownership maps. If that doesn't sell on the spot, follows up with educational content across influencers, ambassadors, retargeting and marketing automation, since flashing sales and deals attracts fewer power users.
What happened
Land ownership is one of the biggest draws and a very easy door opener.
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · Channel Experimentation and the Tiktokification of Video Ads — Ryan Watson, onX“a lot of what I tell people with a subscription app is figure out your door opener creative for getting people interested in your product.”
“For us, uh one of our biggest draws is our land ownership, right? I mean, that's everybody talks about that for onX. Um it's a very easy door opener for people to check out the product.”
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 onX Hunt
All 5 onX Hunt tactics- Price tiers by how many states you cover: 1 state, 2 states, or everywhereGuest says users instantly get the difference between tiers; top tier is $100
- Give top-tier subscribers discounts from gear brands, and cross-promote with themClaimed: one partner deal can cover the $100 plan; partners help drive growth
- Use a free trial for the niche hunting app; save freemium for big casual markets
More from this episode
- onX: Sell the maps on SD cards in hunting stores first, then use that money to build the appSold out right away in Montana; buyers asked for other states; funded the app
- onX: Name the company after what people type into Google, like huntinggpsmaps.comGuest says it worked well and fueled early growth; no numbers
- onX: Write helpful hunting articles so readers can be shown ads laterBrings some direct sales, but mainly fills the retargeting audience; no numbers
- onX: Advertise where you can target by interests, and try lots of video ad networksMany third-party display video networks failed; a few found the customer
- onX: Try Snapchat and TikTok ads even if you think your customers aren't thereSnapchat brought customers and still gets spend; TikTok became a great channel
- onX: Have your marketers film their own low-budget TikTok adsSome of the team's self-made ads were among their best; no numbers
- onX: When a short video ad works, run it on every channel and tweak it for eachShort lo-fi video generally does well everywhere, with small per-channel differences
- onX: Pay hunting influencers for content and loyalty, not just promo-code salesGuest says it helps retention and supplies ads, blog and site assets; no numbers
- onX Hunt: Give top-tier members deals from partner brands, like $200 off dog trainingMeant to lift upgrades and keep members longer; no numbers shared
- onX: Use push and in-app messages to teach new users the features that matterGuest calls it a huge part of their marketing; no numbers
- onX: Send people you retarget to buy on your website, not in the appKeeps about 30% more revenue per sale; install ads still drive most acquisition
- onX: Test free trials that turn into paid plans unless people cancel
- onX: Judge a new ad network by whether sales grow while conversion rates holdFormal incrementality tests with some partners came up short for a niche audience
- onX: Build a separate app for each hobby instead of one app for everyoneSome cross-sales between apps, but small; no bundle yet