Anika Sharma

I'm seeing more products launch on Product Hunt that require payment to actually use any features. No free trial, no freemium tier, just a download that leads straight to a paywall.

Part of me thinks this makes sense. If your product has real value, why give it away? People on Product Hunt understand they're looking at premium tools. Plus offering free access can attract users who will never pay anyway.

But I also see the argument for temporary free access during launch. Product Hunt users want to actually try what they're upvoting. How can they give meaningful feedback or become advocates if they hit a paywall immediately?

We re in the thick of redesigning onboarding for a new consumer app trying to make that first minute actually count. Not just informative, but compelling enough that people actually stick around and use it again.

Too many products treat onboarding like a tutorial. And it becomes easy for the user to view it as just another hurdle to get through instead of a moment to get set up for a positive experience. Swipe, swipe swipe, go...

I assume I'm not the only one dealing with this problem, so I'll seek advice from those more experienced and perhaps those who have a proven track record.

Whenever a user reaches the payment gateway, they often suddenly leave, either by uninstalling the app or closing the page.