Stronger · B2C · gamified workout tracker
Make everyone start a free trial first; free version only after they cancel
~25% boost, their biggest ever; few complaints, but less sharing
Workedpaywallpricing
What they did
The app was freemium for a long time. A toggle mistake on New Year's Eve made it a hard paywall for a couple of hours; conversions spiked with few complaints. They then made it trial-first: to use the app you must start a Pro free trial; if you cancel, you get the free version after the trial expires.
What happened
Overnight their biggest boost, probably ~25%. Trade-off: lower K-factor (paid apps aren't shared with friends), which they don't measure.
In their words
The Superwall Podcast · Peter Gillan - My App Makes $600k/Year Using This Easy Growth Strategy (copy me)“Turned out we just had a bug and everyone opening the app was getting hit by a hard paywall and couldn't go to another workout unless they paid.”
“So now, we do still have free functionality, but in order to access that, you have to have started a like a free trial. And if you cancel it, then you can see the free version after your trial expires.”
“It seems quite obvious, but it was a tough decision, because it does reduce your K-factor”
Related topics
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More from this episode
- Stronger: Post the same 6-second fade-in app screenshot Reel over and overEst. 150-300M views, a 100M-view month; low conversion and now fading
- Stronger: Copy a winning video across many accounts, changing a few words or colors each timeAdopted after a rival did it with ~10 accounts; no separate numbers
- Copy a rival's viral video format and post it from 10 accountsDownloads visibly ramped up; out-scaled the team that invented it
- Stronger: Design every feature to look great as a screenshot for social postsScreenshots are the main money-maker; founder claim, no numbers
- Stronger: Post 2-3 slide TikTok carousels of real, unpolished app screensHistorically their best-converting channel; weaker in the past year as 20 rivals copied
- Stronger: Post a rough founder video of a fun app feature before launch~15K followers in week one; then hit #3 in Health & Fitness at launch
- Stronger: Reply to comments with videos showing their lift as random objects in the appA series of viral videos; likely most of the account's 4.9M likes
- Stronger: Test when and how often the paywall shows before testing its wordingFounder says they now monetize per user among the best workout trackers; no numbers
- Stronger: Turn workout numbers into a strength rank users can show off12 months with no copycat; became the main marketing asset
- Stronger: Adapt viral video formats from other app niches, then test hooks by watch timeHow they find each new format; no numbers given
- Stronger: Keep content in-house; hire agencies only to scale a proven formatTwo founders make almost all content; few affiliates
- Stronger: Fund the app with government grants instead of investorsStayed bootstrapped; no amounts given
- Copy a rival's strength score and add game-style ranks for each musclePerformed 'brilliantly' per the guest; Stronger later added ranks too
- Runna: Give each running influencer their own workout plan in the appGuest says it built a strong brand and rocketed up the charts; no numbers
- Build the new app as a tile-based game that AI tools can't copy yet