How I combined psychology, design and metrics to improve trial activations by 3x and paywall views by 2x
By reframing the story, reducing friction, and clearly positioning the app as the user’s path to transformation
My roles
CEO
UI
UX
Copy
Platform
iOS
Flutter
Key outcomes
3× trial activation
2× paywall views
1. Context & my role
What is Spiriguide?
SpiriGuide is a clarity & growth AI companion app that I’ve built end-to-end over the past year. UX, UI, product strategy, copy, development (Flutter), analytics & more.
The state at the start
After the first launch, reviews were very positive (4.8★ across 60+ reviews, used in 100+ countries), but trial activations and early retention weren’t where I wanted them to be yet. The onboarding I had designed looked good, but it focused on letting people try the chat and showing marketing arguments, not on committing to a transformation.
My decision
I decided to redesign the onboarding from the ground up with a single goal: turn a nice experience into a conversion and retention engine.
2. The problem
It was designed like a marketing page, not a transformation journey.
From Mixpanel and RevenueCat, I could see:
Trial activation rate was stuck around 4–5%
Many users played with the chat and dropped off without ever starting a trial
The value proposition (“gain more clarity, direction, purpose”) was too abstract.
Users didn’t feel they had that problem
D1 and D7 retention had room to grow
In short: the onboarding was aesthetically pleasing, but it wasn’t creating commitment or making the problem and transformation tangible.
3. Goals
Increase trial activation without adding unnecessary friction
Shift the mindset from “try the app” to “start a 4-week journey”
Help users feel their current pain before presenting the solution
Make the transformation concrete through visuals and narrative
Keep implementation fast so we can ship quickly and iterate often
4. Approach - 4 key design decisions
Approach 1
TRANSFORMATION
Issue
Letting users try the chat during onboarding created a low-intent, “maybe later” mindset. I was seeing a ~40% drop off on the trial page alone.
Decision
Removing access to the chat before the paywall and reframing the onboarding as the beginning of a 4-week transformation.
Execution
The flow builds towards a clear promise instead of showcasing features.
The flow starts with a clear promise and social proof
Clear and interactive animation to present Spiriguide's mission. This helps users see why the world needs Spiriguide, and thus why they do too, without feeling salesy.
Why it works
Users don’t commit to tools. They commit to who they want to become. This shift alone changed the tone from “play around” to “start something meaningful”.
Approach 2
SHOW DON'T TELL
Surface the problem with questions
Issue
My audience doesn’t walk around thinking “I need more clarity,” even if that’s exactly what they’re missing.
Decision
Use questions to make users notice what isn’t working, instead of telling them “you lack clarity”.
Execution
Added reflective question screens designed to make them realize their doubts and lack of direction
These questions make see where they could do better, without telling them explicitly. I think of it like a movie director: "Show, don't tell”
In other words, we are qualifying them
Why it works
Once users experience the gap in their own words, the rest of the flow doesn’t feel like selling, it feels like responding to a need they’ve just discovered → “Clarity”
Approach 3
BEFORE / AFTER
Visual before/after with animated graphs
Issue
Even with better narrative, I felt the transformation was still conceptual.
Decision
Make the change visceral and visual with an animated before/after moment.
Execution
Asked: “What do you struggle the most with right now?” (e.g. self-doubt).
Next screen:
A stagnant, moody graph labelled with their struggle (e.g. “Self-doubt”)
The graph then morphs into an upward curve labelled with desired states depending on what they seek (“Clarity”, “Confidence”, “Direction”)
Animations keep the experience feeling alive and hopeful, with light gamification that doesn’t break the calm tone
Why it works
It’s a personalized, visual before → after that reflects back what they just shared, positioning SpiriGuide as the bridge between the two states
Approach 4
Personalized plan screen
A pre-paywall “personalized plan” screen
Issue
The old paywall felt abrupt and generic. Users hadn’t yet seen a concrete plan
Decision
Insert a personalized summary right before the paywall so the trial feels like a natural next step
Execution
Introduced a summary screen with:
a clarity “score”
their main focus for the week
a goal: a clarity level to aim for after 4 weeks (builds retention and commitment, similar to aiming for a certain body weight, but here it's a clarity level)
We found a tangible way to represent this abstract concept of ”clarity” through a visually appealing ”inner light” that feels alive as it is softly animated, and the clarity percentage for users more practical users. It also reinforces the concept.
The paywall comes after this, framed as: “Start your plan” rather than “Buy access to the app”
Why it works
Users see exactly what they’re about to get. This pre-paywall screen turned out to be a “cheat code” that significantly increased intent and paywall views.
5. Results After A/B testing both variants
Based on Mixpanel data over 3 weeks of traffic after launch
Trial activations
12-15%
200%
Spiked above 30%, then stabilized around 12–15% (3× the original 4–5%).
Paywall views
65%
100%
D1 & D7 Retention
+2-3%
Improved
Users reporting
This redesign turned onboarding from a “nice introduction” into a core growth lever.
Despite the onboarding being longer, there is virtually zero drop-off throughout the flow. Most users dropoff at the paywall of course and on the first screen. That’s the next area I plan to optimize.
6. Key learnings
Great onboarding isn’t just UI, it’s storytelling and psychology aligned with the product’s promise
Letting users “try first” can be the enemy of commitment for transformational products; selling the journey works better
Asking the right questions so users feel their problem is more powerful than naming it for them and gives an opportunity to frame the product in their own words
A personalized, pre-paywall summary is one of the highest-leverage screens in a subscription app
Curious? See it in action
Thank you for reading
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