Onboarding tactics

A/B tested a priming screen right before the paywall with the mascot bee: 'We want you to try Sunflower for free. We'll remind you before your trial ends,' then shows the paywall. Addresses trial anxiety. Tested a couple of versions of the screen.

Modeled on Clear30's onboarding and Alex Hormozi's value equation (raise dream outcome and perceived likelihood, cut time delay and effort). Flow: 'Let us build your program', enter name, pick goals from many options (dream outcome), how much time you waste daily (pain), which apps are most addictive (later screens show that app), how it makes you feel (show the opposite feeling), 'What have you already tried?' followed by a screen explaining why each method (e.g. screen time limiters) fails, with tappable links to cited research, positioning the app as the best way to quit. Social proof screens sit between questions, and extra trust-building before the screen time and notification permission screens where many drop. A shorter version is being tested because the paywall rate is lower than they want.

Copied from Cal AI's onboarding: a social-proof slide ('designed for people like you', five stars, member count, real reviews) that triggers the native rating prompt before users see the reviews. Placed after 5 minutes of reflective questions and free feedback, so users are happy when asked.

Onboarding order: choose language -> paywall 1 -> onboarding screens -> three trial-explainer screens ('try for free', 'we'll send you a reminder', 'here's how your free trial works') -> paywall 2. Paywall 1: soft paywall, close X delayed 3 seconds, weekly (slightly cheaper) + yearly plans, no trial. Paywall 2: 3-day free trial on the weekly plan, yearly at the same price as paywall 1, social proof at the bottom. Previously there was only one paywall, which carried the trial.

A/B tested one extra screen at the end of onboarding where the user commits/signs that they will work out, against control. Tracked in PostHog.

First onboarding screen makes a bold curiosity promise ('Your Apple Watch knows what makes you tired and stressed. Hook up your data, and we'll show you what's going on') and the only button is 'Sync my health data'. No 1-3 slide prelude explaining the app. Data agreements/privacy screens (never sell or share data) follow.

Client fitness app flow changed from onboarding -> register -> paywall to onboarding -> paywall -> sign up. Recommended to Footsteps with Jesus: no account creation for non-social apps; onboarding then paywall.

After iterating one or two onboarding screens at a time (small wins, hard to make big progress), they made one big jump: from ~5 to ~13 screens ending in the paywall. Added screens include login, notification permissions and mostly personalization (what the user is studying). Login was moved to the last screen, after the paywall.

Test roughly doubled onboarding length (to ~15 screens) with more personalization questions and social proof, then paywall; aim is a trial start in the first session.

Removed forced login from the first screen and put it at the end of onboarding, after the paywall; App Store/Play purchases don't need an app account. Requires plumbing to link anonymous purchases to accounts (RevenueCat handles it).

For a GLP-1 weight-loss program, V1 (launched with Costco) had a typical three-screen checkout. V2 expanded intake to ~20 questions before checkout: estimate the weight you could lose on the medication, medical history, why you want to lose weight, what you've tried. Rationale: builds confidence the care is comprehensive (not a pill mill) and moves info gathering out of the doctor visit (the aha moment) so that time goes to the patient's questions.

Original onboarding: login, name, type your goals, then the dream-life story; many dropped at typing goals because trust wasn't built. Expanded it with social proof ('proven methods, meaningful results', inspirations, people who have done it), an onboarding video and a few progressive button questions to personalize before any typing. Screens use very few words (TikTok-caption style) because users won't read paragraphs; buttons give a small dopamine hit, like Duolingo.