A consumer subscription app · B2C · guest's current stealth app
Show the paywall right after onboarding, before users can open the app
+50% conversion vs letting users try features first
Workedpaywallexperimentation
What they did
Previously users finished onboarding and entered the app (home screen, pick a scan / swipe on jobs) and were paywalled at the first valuable action. Tested a complete hard paywall straight after onboarding, with no access to the app. Sprout also switched to a hard paywall and saw better conversion.
What happened
50% increase in conversion on the newest app; also better on Sprout. She now recommends hard-paywalling right after onboarding.
In their words
The Superwall Podcast · Nicole Cheung - she makes $400k/mo from ai apps (while in college)“But then we ran a test um of complete hard paywall after the onboarding. They don't even go into the to the app. Unfortunately, we see a 50% increase in conversion.”
“I would actually recommend a lot of users Well, a lot of founders to just completely hard-paywall right after the onboarding screens, cuz for some reason, the conversion is better for for Sprout and for my newest app.”
Related topics
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New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from Sprout
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- Train 2-10 creators until one goes viral, then scale to hundreds200+ active creators; 100M views a month, peaking at 400M in one week
- Move from beauty to job-hunting students, who have more money to spend$250K MRR within 8 months
- Run the same creator playbook on each new app you launchTwo new apps at ~$200K MRR combined within 3 months
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- Find creators who fit the format through application forms and VA outreach
More from this episode
- GlamUp: Post the same before/after makeup slideshow with one fixed hook, caption and audioFirst post hit 10M views; millions of views a day at peak
- GlamUp: Strip makeup off Pinterest photos, then add it back in-app for big contrastContrast made the slideshows go viral; founder claim
- GlamUp: Find a viral format on your own accounts first, then hire creators to copy itFounder went viral first on all four apps; scaled GlamUp to 30-40 creators
- GlamUp: Let users skip paying by inviting 3 friends with a code1.6M share/code requests; codes flooded TikTok comments; conversion barely dropped
- GlamUp: Put the app name in the copy-paste referral message so TikTok search ranks itSearching 'GlamUp' on TikTok shows only their content; founder claim
- GlamUp: Triple the weekly price from $3 to $9Conversion rate went up despite the 3x price
- Raise monthly and annual prices 20%, then test another 20%Conversion and revenue per download both rose; second +20% in test
- GlamUp: When people close the paywall, show the same plans at 50% off
- GlamUp: Limit scans per week by plan, and offer a bigger plan when they run out
- GlamUp: Show a fake 'analyzing' scan with blurred results, and run the AI only after payment
- GlamUp: Ask for a rating mid-onboarding; make users tap 'I rated' to continueOther founders who copied it say ratings improved; softer version still works
- GlamUp: After each onboarding question, show a screen on how the app beats the alternativesFounder says it primes users to convert; no numbers
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- Sprout: Recruit creators in influencer-run Discords and on Handshake, then vibe-check them in 15 minutesMany top creators had no experience; founder claim
- Sprout: Pay creators $10-30 per post plus view bonuses that shrink per view at scaleFounder says the decreasing tiers work best; no numbers
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- GlamUp: Rebuild a hit men's looks app for women, launching a rough MVP in a month1M users in 6 months; ~$150K MRR peak