Value-first trial-end upgrade page with offer: +43% upgrades
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsRedesigning the page shown when the eteamz premium trial ends lifted upgrades by almost 43%, at 95% confidence.
MECLABS ran the test for eteamz, a sports website builder with a free plan and a PLUS trial, and published it on MarketingExperiments in 2012. Several changes shipped together: value bullets with images, a single CTA, a one-time offer and a data warning.
- Upgrades after trial end: +43% relative (the source says almost 43%). This is a win.
- Confidence: 95%.
- Several changes were tested as one package, so the lift can't be credited to the bullets, the offer or the data warning alone.
- Sample size and duration: not shared.
The change
The variant shows value bullets first, then one CTA with a one-time offer and data warning.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
When the PLUS trial ended, an interrupt page asked users to upgrade or stay on the free plan. The buttons came before the value of upgrading was clearly explained.
Variant
The page stacked feature and benefit bullets with supporting images, then one CTA at the bottom. The CTA came with a one-time, use-it-or-lose-it offer and a note that premium data would stay locked until the user upgraded.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Showing the value before asking for a decision reminds users what they're about to lose from the trial.
- Specific feature bullets, such as importing up to 1,000 players and parents, are easier to believe than general claims.
- A one-time offer gives a reason to act now rather than later.
- Warning that premium data would be locked adds a loss to avoid, which likely pushed some users to upgrade.
Caveats: Several changes shipped at once, so the result belongs to the full redesign. Sample size and duration are not shared, and the test is from 2012.
Who ran it
MECLABS ran this test and published the results (MarketingExperiments). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on MECLABS →
How to run this test on your site
- Hypothesis
- If we show the value of the paid plan before asking trial users to choose, and add a time-limited offer, then more of them will upgrade because they see what they'd lose and have a reason to act now.
- Primary metric
- Upgrade rate among users whose trial has ended
- Guardrails
- Refunds or cancellations in the first billing cycle
- Free-plan churn after the page
- Support tickets about locked data
- Who should test it
- Freemium and reverse-trial SaaS products that show a page or modal when the trial ends. Be careful with the data-lock warning: it should be accurate, and it may backfire if users feel pressured.
Questions
What should a trial-ended page show?
In this test, leading with clear feature benefits before the upgrade button worked better than asking for a choice right away.
The winning page also added a one-time offer.
Do one-time offers help convert trial users?
They can create a reason to act now.
Here the offer was part of a package that lifted upgrades 43%, so its own effect isn't known.
Should you warn trial users about losing their data?
It was one of the changes on the winning page.
Only use it if it's true, and watch for complaints or cancellations.