Pushcroll · B2C · push-ups to unlock social media
Sell the app openly in videos instead of hiding the ad
Full-ad videos converted far better than a cinematic version
Workedorganic-short-video
What they did
Tested a cinematic, story-style version of the push-up skit (character 'bound for eternity doing push-ups') that did not feel like an ad against the straight 'full ad mode' demo. Because viewers badly want to quit doomscrolling, they tolerate being sold to.
What happened
The shameless full-ad version 'increased conversions like crazy'; the cinematic one had far lower conversion.
- Stage
- growth
- Effort
- One cinematic video vs the repeated ad format
“If If they feel, "Oh, this might actually be able to solve my problem. This is interesting," you can like go full ad mode, and and this also increased conversions like crazy.”
“Because I I did have a cinematic video, I can actually show this, too, where it it didn't feel like an ad, but this one like didn't have nearly as much conversion as the one where I had no shame in like, you know, selling the app basically.”
Related topics
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More from this episode
- Pushcroll: Post a 'Should I build this?' video about the app before building itBlew up on TikTok; MVP shipped 2 weeks later to a waiting audience
- Pushcroll: Launch with a video giving free lifetime premium to anyone who installs this week~20K downloads from ~175K views (~10%); only ~$1-2K revenue afterward
- Pushcroll: Move your launch followers into a Discord for feedback, bug reports and videos3-4K members; best feature ideas and user videos came from it
- Pushcroll: Let your community vote on designs, and build what they ask for 20+ timesPicked a better logo and shaped features; 'minute debt' was asked for 50+ times
- Pushcroll: DM 2,000 influencers and pay $800 flat for 4 videosDidn't work: ~138K views drove only 200-500 downloads; lost ~$2K
- Pushcroll: Rebuild push-up tracking to work from the front so faces show on video
- Pushcroll: Film a stranger-style 'what is this guy doing?' clip, then demo the appKept going viral; the main driver of $30K/month profit
- Pushcroll: End videos with 'comment app' and auto-DM the download linkUp to 62K comments on one video; ~90K DMs sent, 33% clicked
- Pushcroll: Put 80% of effort into the hook; aim for under ~18% skippingTheir breakout video had a ~19% skip rate; 30% means switch format
- Pushcroll: Build onboarding as a conversation: goals, pain, past attempts, then your fixConversion rose from ~7% to ~16%; paywall reach ~70%
- Pushcroll: Let people try push-up counting and pick workout times before the paywallFounders say it builds trust and lifts paywall conversion; no numbers
- Pushcroll: Pay founders you admire to review your onboardingFounders call it their highest-ROI spend; 'completely changed our trajectory'
- Pushcroll: Test a 7-day free trial against a 3-day one7-day trial won clearly
- Pushcroll: Test a weekly plan against a monthly oneWeekly won, but only slightly more ARPU
- Pushcroll: Put a short video of someone using the app on the paywallWon its test, but by a small margin
- Pushcroll: Offer about 80% off when someone closes the paywallCalled one of their two biggest tests; no result given
- Pushcroll: Build an Android version if most of your viewers are in EuropeAndroid earns as much as iOS or more; 120K vs 40K users
- Pushcroll: Post from a remote-controlled US phone to reach American viewersDidn't work; shadowbanned even with the remote US phone
- Pushcroll: Pay US students about $1,000 a month to post your winning formatJust started; no results shared
- Pushcroll: Let people close the paywall, then charge when they want more scroll time