Fascinating indeed!
I recently watched a livestream from Ariel Michaeli (Appfigures) featuring Hannah Parvaz (https://lnkd.in/dzuVBkkS), and it had some fascinating insights on user activation. If you’re in the app business, I highly recommend giving it a watch. Here are a few key points that stood out to me: - The activation point is crucial. It’s the stage where users are likely to stick around—after this, the dropoff rate is much less significant. Identifying this point can make a huge difference in retention strategies. - The activation funnel runs in parallel with the conversion funnel. Think of it as a dual process: while you guide users from install to signup, onboarding, and free trial to paying (the conversion funnel), you also need to ensure that non-paying users experience enough value in the app to eventually convert. - Onboarding paywalls can dramatically improve conversions. Including your paywall during the onboarding flow can lead to such significant conversion rates that you might not worry as much about activation later, especially if you're in the early stages of a business. This really resonated with me as a solo developer. While some of my apps retain a good percentage of free users, I rely on subscriptions and in-app purchases—not low-paying ads. I’m leaning towards gating more (or even all) features to drive conversions. If it helps keep the lights on in the long run, I’m all for it. Hannah also made an interesting observation: the approach depends on your product's maturity and stage in the business lifecycle. For example, established apps like Duolingo have so much confidence in their product that they can afford to delay showing the paywall until after a user has completed a lesson. That’s a luxury not all of us can afford early on, but it’s a valuable perspective for long-term growth strategies. What’s your approach to balancing activation, free value, and conversion in your apps? #mobileapps #growth #product #monetisation
