Free trial reminder: Shaw Academy's A/B test

The bottom line

Reminder email lifted sales 14%, cancellations held steady

Outcome	No reminder	Reminder 3 days before end
Sales	Baseline	+14%
Cancellations	Baseline	No significant change
Significance	—	>99%

The main risk of reminding users, more cancellations, did not show up, and the sales gain held at over 99% significance.

Shaw Academy added an email that reminds users 3 days before their free trial ends, and sales rose 14% without a notable rise in cancellations. The result shows that a bold change can pay off when its risk is kept under control.

Key takeaways

A trial-end reminder email raised sales by 14%. The result held at over 99% significance.
- The email goes out 3 days before the free trial ends.
The reminder did not significantly increase cancellations. Cancellations were the main risk of reminding people that a trial is ending.
The test was meant to boost trial sign-ups while managing risk. A reminder could have driven more users to cancel, so the risk was watched.

The test and its result

One email, 3 days before the trial ends

Timing the reminder just before the charge gave users a nudge to commit, and few used it as a cue to leave.

A reminder email sent 3 days before a free trial ends improved conversion without a meaningful cost in cancellations.

The new design added a reminder email for users on a free trial.
- The email is sent 3 days before the trial ends.
- The test sits in the paywall and free trial category.
- The aim was to boost trial sign-ups while managing the risk of more cancellations.
The change improved trial conversion rates.
- Sales rose 14% at over 99% significance.
- Cancellations were not significantly affected.
- The test shows the value of bold experiments with controlled risks.

Version A and version B as Shaw Academy tested them. Screens from abtest.design.

In the growth library

Shaw Academy, Paywall & free trial test. Promising a reminder email 3 days before a free trial ends can raise trial sign-ups without a meaningful rise in cancellations. Shaw Academy's test of this idea produced a 14% increase in sales at over 99% significance.

Lessons that draw on this: