App Marketing Strategies That Led to Headway's 27M Downloads

Discover the app marketing strategies that led to Headway becoming the most downloaded book summary app worldwide with over 27 million downloads.

Today's guest is Yeva Koldovska, Headway's Product Manager. She began her journey at Headway when it was an early-stage startup and witnessed its growth to over 170 team members in just 4 years since the launch.

You will discover how to optimize your web2app strategies, how to drive web-based subscribers, and the latest tips for optimizing your entire app funnel whether its on the web or mobile.

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[r.l.]

I enjoyed this interview so much, thank you for sharing your tips

[omarsfr]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:09 *[📱] Introduction to Headway and its Success Story*
- Overview of Headway's success as the most downloaded book summary app worldwide with over 27 million downloads.
- Discussion about Headway's roots, development, and recognition in the European startup scene.
01:34 *[💡] Monetization Strategy and Pay Wall Optimization*
- Emphasis on monetization as a priority throughout Headway's product development stages.
- Implementation of discounting strategies on pay walls and the importance of optimizing pay wall experiences.
- Discussion on the effectiveness of discounting during high-excitement moments for users.
06:30 *[💰] Effectiveness of Discounts and Non-Trial Plans*
- Insight into Headway's strategy of offering discounts at key points in user engagement.
- Explanation of why non-trial discounts tend to perform better in terms of user conversion and LTV optimization.
14:04 *[🚀] Team Structure and Growth Strategies*
- Details about Headway's team structure, including product teams and content creation teams.
- Discussion on the role of teams in achieving Headway's massive download numbers and success in the market.
15:14 *[📊] Advertising and Acquisition Cost Optimization*
- Brief overview of Headway's advertising strategies, focusing on Facebook ads, creative targeting, and optimization.
- Insight into maintaining cost per acquisition (CPA) goals and utilizing event-based optimization for advertising campaigns.
18:01 *[🔍] Onboarding Process and Personalization*
- Discussion on the effectiveness of long funnels, quizzes, and personalized onboarding experiences.
- Insight into how asking questions during onboarding enhances user engagement and perception of product value.
20:15 *📊 Understanding user data for improved conversions*
- Utilizing user data for increased conversions.
- Data-driven approach for onboarding and retention.
- Creating user personas and segments based on data.
22:15 *📱 Explaining Web to App campaigns*
- Definition and types of Web to App campaigns.
- Importance of pre-landing pages and web onboarding.
- Utilizing web payments for user acquisition.
28:26 *🛠️ Tips for optimizing pre-landing pages*
- Customization for audience targeting.
- Incorporating social proof in pre-landing pages.
- Utilizing custom product pages for attribution.
35:03 *💻 Challenges and strategies for Web Onboarding*
- Differences between web and app payments.
- Trust and safety considerations in web payments.
- Designing persuasive and informative web paywalls.
40:37 *📱 Mobile Paywall Strategies*
- Importance of simplifying paywalls, especially for mobile users.
- Leading with benefits and FAQs before asking for payment can improve conversions.
- Using limited-time offers and engaging copy to trigger loss aversion and urgency bias.
45:02 *🛠️ Addressing Payment Processing Issues*
- Challenges with payment processing on Google Play and iOS App Store.
- Strategies like enabling retry logic and optimizing subscription flows.
- Importance of ensuring seamless user experiences during subscription sign-ups.
46:20 *🧑‍💼 Ideal Product Team Size*
- Benefits of cross-functional product teams with various skills.
- Recommended team size of 8 to 10 members for effective collaboration.
- Importance of having a diverse team with designers, engineers, product managers, analysts, etc.
47:28 *💰 Strategies for Increasing In-App Purchases*
- Emphasizing building for outcomes to improve in-app purchases.
- Focusing on App Store Optimization (ASO) based on user needs and keywords.
- Consideration of implementing subscription models for one-time purchase apps.
01:02:26 *🤳 App Marketing Strategies*
- Focus on paywall, subscriptions, and monetization.
- Improve app screenshots with more social proof and helpful tools.
- Test video vs. no video in screenshots for better conversions.
01:04:32 *📊 Pregnancy Tracker App Feedback*
- Emphasize deeper value messaging for users.
- Add more questions in the onboarding process.
- Optimize trial offerings to increase conversions.
01:06:13 *🔄 Onboarding Process Enhancement*
- Improve the onboarding flow by making the "continue" button more prominent.
- Provide clear instructions and actions for users.
- Simplify the layout and design for better user experience.
01:09:44 *🤑 Pricing Page Optimization*
- Focus on value-based messaging rather than free trial duration.
- Offer trials on the most beneficial plans to increase conversions.
- Simplify the pricing layout and highlight savings for better clarity.
01:15:19 *🚀 Launching Nibble App*
- Nibble app's strategy focuses on visual and interactive learning.
- Targeting a different audience and covering diverse educational topics.
- Testing hypotheses and isolating value propositions for better user engagement.
01:20:10 *🎨 Unique Value Propositions and Product Differentiation*
- Leveraging unique strengths for product differentiation,
- Importance of eye-catching visuals and custom covers for attracting users.
01:21:31 *💰 Monetization Strategies and Paywall Placement*
- Showcasing paywall early in the user journey for better conversion rates,
- Utilizing discounts and targeting specific in-app events for higher user engagement.
01:22:55 *🌐 Web vs. App Onboarding Strategies*
- Different approaches for web and app onboarding strategies,
- Importance of having an onboarding screen for better user experience and engagement.
01:24:23 *🔍 Optimizing User Engagement with Summary Pages*
- Testing the effectiveness of summary pages after quizzes for user engagement and conversion,
- Variability in performance between web and app platforms for summary pages.
01:25:58 *💡 Maximizing Monetization with Limited Resources*
- Focus on paywall testing and multiple payment options,
- Highlighting the value of premium plans and creating value-based onboarding flows.

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[soulfate]

Another fantastic interview thank you!

[ehibble]

I loved the video, lots of gold nuggets in there, also Yeva was an amazing guest. Personally, I love Yeva's points about value based messaging during the onboarding process.

One question I had was, do you ever make changes that decrease revenue but might increase user experience and user sentiment? For example, I like the idea of having trials on all plans (weekly, monthly and yearly), so there's less at stake, should they forget to cancel the trial. Of course ideally they don't cancel because they like the app, and upgrade to yearly for more savings.

[UnrappHQ]

Wow. Absolutely best interview I’ve seen on optimizing the app onboarding and monetization strategies. I’m certainly going to incorporate these tactics.

[annastoyanova]

Do they also pay the book authors? If I write a book for 2 years and someone just gets the essential and makes money out of it I will really be mad and feel robbed.

[caisantangyi]

Wow this is gold love it. I watch it without any skip

[rcxqrlj]

Brilliant interview Steve, awesome quest!

[efeeeeee]

My app is android so in app revenue is lower than iOS should i add a deal section after 2nd opening the app?