Jacob Rushfinn, CEO of Botsi, has spent a decade in consumer apps figuring out how to convert users. He compiled 13 principles for your onboarding flow that will make a difference. These are all from experimentation and research from top apps like Opal, Finch, Headway, Tiimo, Tolan, Zing, and more.
What you'll learn:
• Why the first screen is a drop-off point most teams never measure
• How Opal, Rise Science, and Headway hook users before they tap anything
• Why story-style intro screens beat any UI pattern you invent
• Why simple string personalization beats complex personalization almost every time
• How to make quiz questions feel like a conversation instead of a form
• Why letting people build something (a pet, a name, a journal entry) raises commitment
• How to show users the math on the value they'll get
• How to build trust across the whole flow: answer the biggest fear, lead with emotion, back it with numbers
• When to prime permission prompts and when to just fire the native one
• Why there is no excuse left to skip video, with examples from Lingokids, BoldVoice, and Ladder
• How to turn loading screens into selling screens
• How to make the free trial impossible to miss, and what to do when users close the paywall anyway
Key Takeaways:
- Your first screen is a drop-off point. It can lose 10 to 30 percent of new users before they tap anything. A plain welcome, get started, log in screen works for big brands; everyone else needs a hook that's interesting and easy, like Opal's glowing rock or Finch's "Hatch a new pet" button.
- Ask for the account when intent is highest. Tiimo moved account creation from right before the paywall to right after the welcome screen and lifted both account creation and trial starts. It also stops you from asking for an email and a payment back to back. Test it, or skip account creation until after the paywall.
- Say the user's goal back to them. Ask the goal, ask why it matters, then repeat their words on the next screen, in the plan recap, and in the paywall headline. Zing, Tiimo, and Impulse all do this, and it rarely fails to lift conversion.
- Let people build something. People value what they put work into. Finch has you design a bird, which is fun, low-effort, and raises no privacy concerns. Add presets and shuffle buttons so nobody stalls on a blank text field.
- Show them the math. Turn inputs into a concrete number: Opal's five years of your life, Rise's sleep debt, Headway's 38 book summaries a month. When users hit the paywall, they should already know what they're getting.
- Build trust before you ask for money. Most apps cram trust into the paywall. Better apps spread it across the flow: answer the user's biggest fear (privacy, for Flo), lead with emotion, back it with a number, and repeat your strongest social proof.
- Make the trial impossible to miss. People don't read paywalls. They see a price and leave, even when the trial is visible. Trial reminders, choose-your-trial screens, and multi-page paywalls force users to notice it. When they close the paywall, follow up with a second offer.
- Onboarding doesn't end at the paywall. Don't drop a new subscriber onto an empty home screen. Imprint sends you straight into your first lesson; Balance auto-starts a sleep meditation for people who picked sleep. This is what separates good trial starts from good trial conversion.
Links & Resources
- Price Power Podcast: https://pricepowerpodcast.com
- Botsi onboarding flow library: https://botsi.com/resources/flows
- Retention.blog: https://retention.blog
- Jacob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-rushfinn/
Timestamps
00:00 Why onboarding decides whether your app is worth paying for
00:45 1. Hook them on the first screen
03:00 2. Borrow UI patterns people already know
04:00 3. Ask for account creation when intent is highest
05:30 4. Ask the user's goal, then say it back to them
07:05 5. Make onboarding questions feel like a conversation
08:15 6. Let people build something
09:30 7. Show them the math
10:30 8. Build trust before you ask for money
12:48 9. Earn the permission opt-in
14:15 10. Use video, because it's cheap now
16:05 11. Turn loading screens into selling screens
18:00 12. Make the trial impossible to miss
20:20 13. Onboarding doesn't end at the paywall
22:13 Recap of all 13
24:15 What to test first and which metrics to watch
What you'll learn:
• Why the first screen is a drop-off point most teams never measure
• How Opal, Rise Science, and Headway hook users before they tap anything
• Why story-style intro screens beat any UI pattern you invent
• Why simple string personalization beats complex personalization almost every time
• How to make quiz questions feel like a conversation instead of a form
• Why letting people build something (a pet, a name, a journal entry) raises commitment
• How to show users the math on the value they'll get
• How to build trust across the whole flow: answer the biggest fear, lead with emotion, back it with numbers
• When to prime permission prompts and when to just fire the native one
• Why there is no excuse left to skip video, with examples from Lingokids, BoldVoice, and Ladder
• How to turn loading screens into selling screens
• How to make the free trial impossible to miss, and what to do when users close the paywall anyway
Key Takeaways:
- Your first screen is a drop-off point. It can lose 10 to 30 percent of new users before they tap anything. A plain welcome, get started, log in screen works for big brands; everyone else needs a hook that's interesting and easy, like Opal's glowing rock or Finch's "Hatch a new pet" button.
- Ask for the account when intent is highest. Tiimo moved account creation from right before the paywall to right after the welcome screen and lifted both account creation and trial starts. It also stops you from asking for an email and a payment back to back. Test it, or skip account creation until after the paywall.
- Say the user's goal back to them. Ask the goal, ask why it matters, then repeat their words on the next screen, in the plan recap, and in the paywall headline. Zing, Tiimo, and Impulse all do this, and it rarely fails to lift conversion.
- Let people build something. People value what they put work into. Finch has you design a bird, which is fun, low-effort, and raises no privacy concerns. Add presets and shuffle buttons so nobody stalls on a blank text field.
- Show them the math. Turn inputs into a concrete number: Opal's five years of your life, Rise's sleep debt, Headway's 38 book summaries a month. When users hit the paywall, they should already know what they're getting.
- Build trust before you ask for money. Most apps cram trust into the paywall. Better apps spread it across the flow: answer the user's biggest fear (privacy, for Flo), lead with emotion, back it with a number, and repeat your strongest social proof.
- Make the trial impossible to miss. People don't read paywalls. They see a price and leave, even when the trial is visible. Trial reminders, choose-your-trial screens, and multi-page paywalls force users to notice it. When they close the paywall, follow up with a second offer.
- Onboarding doesn't end at the paywall. Don't drop a new subscriber onto an empty home screen. Imprint sends you straight into your first lesson; Balance auto-starts a sleep meditation for people who picked sleep. This is what separates good trial starts from good trial conversion.
Links & Resources
- Price Power Podcast: https://pricepowerpodcast.com
- Botsi onboarding flow library: https://botsi.com/resources/flows
- Retention.blog: https://retention.blog
- Jacob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-rushfinn/
Timestamps
00:00 Why onboarding decides whether your app is worth paying for
00:45 1. Hook them on the first screen
03:00 2. Borrow UI patterns people already know
04:00 3. Ask for account creation when intent is highest
05:30 4. Ask the user's goal, then say it back to them
07:05 5. Make onboarding questions feel like a conversation
08:15 6. Let people build something
09:30 7. Show them the math
10:30 8. Build trust before you ask for money
12:48 9. Earn the permission opt-in
14:15 10. Use video, because it's cheap now
16:05 11. Turn loading screens into selling screens
18:00 12. Make the trial impossible to miss
20:20 13. Onboarding doesn't end at the paywall
22:13 Recap of all 13
24:15 What to test first and which metrics to watch