Hit 300 Subscribers w/ 1 Simple Feature

Subscription growth was incredibly stagnant through Spring. But one pretty simple (OK, super simple) update has made all the difference in boosting this growth.

I added a button to the app home screen nav bar that says "Try Plus." It takes you to a screen that gives details on the Plus subscription, and that's it. The screen isn't new, just the button!

What prompted this?

A close friend of mine recently subscribed to the paid version of Happyfeed and told me that they didn't even realize there was one. So, I figured, how many other users might want to support the app and didn't even know that they could? It was definitely a question worth exploring.

How do I know the update worked?

I'm tracking where subscriptions come from in my app using Mixpanel. Each subscription page view is sent a "referrer" field that references the UI component the user tapped to get there. (Well worth the additional setup.)

Now, most of my subscriptions come from the new component - which feels a little insane.

Key takeaway: Don't be afraid of cluttering your interface or scaring away users. Experiment and go with whatever works!