Govind Balakrishnan

For products around inspiration and self-development like Curio, people project a future version of themselves. This translates into some people being comfortable projecting this future self, subscribing and building the habit later.

There’s a relationship between someone who builds a habit to the product and becomes a subscriber. But people are also willing to take a chance on a product, especially if they come from a good acquisition channel. A lot of people are willing to subscribe first then try it up.

When testing out the best features to make available for free, also think about the context in which users first hear about your product. Example: maybe tracks are not the most valuable to give for free (vs. saving for later) in the case where someone tells you about Curio while you’re watching Netflix.

When thinking about price testing, keep in mind that people are more interested in getting value than they are sensitive to price. There is actually a point where there is an inverse correlation (conversions falling when reducing price).

When they tried to delay the subscription pop-up to after users experience all of the product instead of after you sign up, their conversions fell by 40%. It was more preferable to be up-front with people.

Activation and revenue might not be in conflict, but they need to be thought of differently. The mindset between people coming in can be very different. Example: someone who wants to build the habit first then subscribe vs. someone who projects the future version of themselves, takes a chance on the product and subscribes directly.

Curio removed sign up, because they were asking for information without giving anything in return. Instead they became very up front about the fact that it was a paid product (first screen is the paywall), yet allowing users to experience the product without giving any information in return. Generous, but honest and upfront.

When making product decisions, go back to the “jobs” you’re trying to get done and why people come to you. Example for Curio: 1. Understanding the world 2. Self-improvement and inspiration 3. Smart escape

For a content app you have to constantly experiment on how much content choice you’re giving. You’re actually trying to aim at a moving target because people cycle through their moods and motivations.

There is the obvious form of hard activation (e.g. listening to a track), but there might be other signals as well that you can find through a more sophisticated data infrastructure. You can even find the signals that lead to a higher LTV.

If you can get people really using your product, you don’t need to talk about it. Especially if these people include Apple employees.