# Trial timeline instead of a feature list on the paywall: +23% trials

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Paywall (App)
- Elements: Free trials, Paywall design
- Date shared: 2021
- Test run by: [Blinkist](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/blinkist/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://growth.design/case-studies/trial-paywall-challenge
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/gd-blinkist-trial-timeline-paywall/

Blinkist replaced its feature-focused trial paywall with a screen that only explains how the free trial works, step by step, and promises a reminder before the trial ends. Trial starts rose 23%. Blinkist ran the A/B test; the case study was published by Growth.Design.

## Result

**+23% trial starts**

- Trial starts: +23% for the timeline paywall over the feature-list paywall.
- Push notification opt-in: rose from 6% to 74%, because the app asks to send the promised trial-end reminder right after the trial starts.
- Customer complaints: down 55%, according to Growth.Design.
- Trial cancellations: Growth.Design says they also fell, but gives no number.

## Control

A typical trial paywall: a bold restatement of the core offer, a list of reasons to subscribe, a faint close button that looked like a back arrow, and an asterisk pointing to small print.

## Variant

A paywall with no features or benefits at all. It walks through the trial as a timeline and promises to remind the user before they are charged.

## Why it likely won (our reading)

- The main reason people held back was fear of forgetting to cancel and getting charged. The timeline answered that fear head-on.
- Removing the asterisk and small print likely made the offer feel less like it had a hidden catch.
- A close button users can actually find may lower the feeling of being trapped, which can make people push back against the ask.
- The reminder promise gave users a clear reason to allow notifications, which explains the jump in opt-in.

## Caveats

Growth.Design does not share sample size, test length or confidence, and the trial-to-paid effect is not reported. The complaint and opt-in figures may come from after launch rather than from the split test itself.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we replace the feature list on our trial paywall with a clear timeline of what happens and when, plus a reminder before billing, then more users will start a trial because the fear of a surprise charge goes away.
- Primary metric: Trial start rate (paywall view to trial start)
- Guardrail: Trial-to-paid conversion
- Guardrail: Refund requests
- Guardrail: Install-to-paid
- Who should test it: Apps that use free trials with automatic billing, especially where users already know what the product does by the time they see the paywall. It fits less well with no-trial paywalls, or when users reach the paywall before they understand the value.

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Credit: Blinkist ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/gd-blinkist-trial-timeline-paywall/).
Usage: Free to use, quote and build on, with credit and a link: name the practitioner or organization that ran the test and link to its LiftArchive page. The results belong to the practitioners who ran and shared them; the summaries and commentary are LiftArchive's.