App Masters · Dec 23Copy Headway’s $100M+ Web2App Funnel Strategy (That Converts Like Crazy)
Its quiz runs about 50 screens, talks about the user instead of the product, then moves to a paywall with at least 50% off, one-click upsells and an eight-email winback sequence reaching 90% off. It earns hundreds of millions a year, and a chatbot version of the quiz vanished after about a month.
Tips
- Send checkout abandoners to the same paywall with a deeper discount▶ 25:11Headway's normal price was compared with a visibly lower downsell price, and Igor says most big apps use this technique.
- Run an eight email winback sequence with escalating discounts for quiz leavers▶ 34:22Igor says a typical app gets 10% or less of sales from email and 20% is a miracle, yet Headway uses it as a core revenue lever.
- Keep winback emails to one button and one discount message▶ 32:52Headway's emails contain one button each and link straight back to the paywall.
- Charge upsells in one click using the saved web payment token▶ 26:35Headway's upsells are priced at 14.59 and 9.59 and charged instantly on click.
- Charge in-app purchases with the card saved from the web funnel▶ 29:21Igor says web2wave built this into its SDK, and Headway shows another upsell when the app launches.
- Use a deferred deep link so payment lands in an activated app▶ 28:52Headway uses this flow on its success screen after payment.
- Copy a proven funnel structure instead of inventing a new UI▶ 3:47Headway is the only funnel Igor saw built as a chatbot, and it disappeared after about a month.
- Match funnel length to how considered the purchase is▶ 31:10Headway's quiz is about 50 screens and takes several minutes, yet it drives hundreds of millions in revenue.
- Open with the outcome users want, not the app name▶ 4:59This opening is Headway's standard first screen across its tested funnel variations.
- Start the quiz with easy questions and reward answers with fun screens▶ 8:02:
- Give feedback on every answer so the quiz feels like a conversation▶ 12:38
- Ask questions that imply features and benefits instead of stating them▶ 20:32Igor himself assumed the app had content from Steve Jobs and LeBron James when he first saw the screen.
- Use identity questions to trigger the labeling effect▶ 15:31Headway's questions about work life balance and self doubt do not personalize the book summary product.
- Add social proof throughout the funnel and again near the end▶ 17:53
- Fill loader screens with reviews, sneak peeks or small questions▶ 19:35Igor's clients saw higher drop off on loader only screens than on other screens.
- Reassure users on the email screen so they do not drop▶ 20:45
- Start the paywall with a discount of at least 50%▶ 23:08Headway's quiz never fully shows the product until the paywall, where the FAQ answers what you get.
- Sell a low introductory price that rises later, and skip free trials▶ 36:54Steve saw a 99 cent first week become one client's number one winning subscription plan.
