How to structure onboarding as a story

1 The bottom line

Build onboarding as one story that names the pain, teaches the core idea, and asks for commitment before the paywall. Users who feel the problem and understand the fix are ready to pay.

2 Key takeaways

• Put the paywall inside onboarding, after a short warm-up. Most people buy in their first session.
  • 82% of trial starts happen on the day of install Jacob Eiting, RevenueCat40:12.
  • A few benefit screens before the paywall brought a 234% increase in sales over showing the paywall right away Steve Young and Lucas, Paddle7:29.
• Name the pain and the benefit before anything else. Users forget why they installed, and a clear pain makes the price feel small.
  • After onboarding framed the pain, $30 a year felt like nothing to solve it Jake Castillo, Cal AI53:15.
  • Momingo's benefit-led onboarding was part of the flow that lifted free-user conversion from 0.4% to 4.5% Steve P. Young, App Masters8:34.
• Teach the core idea so the trial ask feels earned. A user who gets the concept can see why it is worth paying for.
  • Rise collects information, then gives back the user's sleep need and sleep debt before asking for a trial Leon Sasson, Rise11:34.
• Build commitment with a string of small yeses. Each yes makes the paywall feel like the next step.
  • Lucid ends with a series of yes answers before it shows the paywall Steve P. Young, App Masters4:15.
• Time the ask to a peak of motivation. Commitment is strongest right after users feel the size of the payoff.
  • Opal showed a lifetime phone-time projection before the trial offer, and trial sign-up from downloads rose from 7% to 17% Opal.

once you get that clicks for people, then you almost like earn the right to be like all right, do you want to start a free trial?

Leon Sasson, Rise

2.1 Pick one story before you build screens

The whole path, from the ad to the paywall, should tell one story about one problem.

• Make ads, onboarding and paywall say the same thing. Jake Castillo, Cal AI53:15
  • Ads name the pain points. Onboarding repeats them and drives home the impact before the price appears.
  • A polished ad followed by a poor experience feels like a bad hotel.
  • At Swiggy, the team reframed from "we are a food delivery app" to "what is in it for you" and tied marketing messages to onboarding. Results came quickly Anuj Rathi, Jupiter Money15:47.
• Write for a new user who is lazy, vain and selfish. Anuj Rathi, Jupiter Money15:47
  • Assume they have no time, are attached to existing habits, and only care what is in it for them.
  • Carry on the exact marketing message and promotion that brought them in.
  • Anuj says this changes product success more than core features built for loyal users.
• Use a fixed arc: problem, promise, key insight, mechanism, proof, FOMO. Asia Paloni, Welltory18:18
  • The team failed repeatedly before it used this framework.
  • As a former copywriter, she says the formula matters more than the words on any screen. Onboarding did not work until the full arc was in place Asia Paloni, Welltory25:54.
• Write the journey as a storyboard with as few milestones as possible. Georgiana Laudi, Forget The Funnel32:21
  • Split it into struggle, evaluation and growth. Aim for about six milestones.
  • Complex products may need three or four in evaluation alone. Airbnb's wall journey had about 12 steps Georgiana Laudi, Forget The Funnel32:21.

2.2 Open with the promise, in benefits, with proof

The first screens remind users what the app does and why they can trust it.

• Use the first screen to say what the app does. Steve P Young, Fastic5:18
  • Fastic uses animation and benefit language: reach your goals with intermittent fasting, the scientifically proven method to lose weight.
  • People who downloaded long ago may have forgotten what the app is about.
  • Another app pairs a clear description with "loved by 1 million users" on screen one Steve P. Young6:15.
• Write benefits, not features. App Masters2:33
  • Use three to five benefit screens. Say "make a resume that wins interviews," not "a thousand resume templates."
  • Momingo sells outcomes such as getting there on time stress-free and never missing your stop again Steve P. Young, App Masters8:34.
• Add proof, even if you have no reviews yet. Steve P. Young and Chaim, App Masters7:51
  • Borrow public research about your category. A sleep sounds app cited that pink noise improves memory by 27%.
  • Calm uses stats like 92 percent and ends with a testimonial from a member since 2019 Steve P. Young, Calm2:10.
  • Steve says specific, odd numbers like 92 percent increase sales Steve P. Young, Calm2:10.
• Let the slides read as a short story that ends in a call to start. Sobhan Eskandari, Penman11:24
  • Penman moves from keeping thoughts together, to speaking them, to notebooks, to sync, to "start writing."
  • Make slides auto-advance like an Instagram story instead of waiting for a tap Steve P. Young, Learna5:04.
  • One indie app used a couple of tagline screens to build interest. Sales went from one or two a day in December to above 50 a day Josh with Steve P. Young, App Masters2:54.

2.3 Teach the idea and make the problem felt

Before the ask, the user should understand the concept and feel why it matters to them.

• Use onboarding to teach the concept, not to cut friction. Leon Sasson, Rise11:34
  • Rise found that shortening onboarding, the e-commerce habit, does not fit a product that must explain a concept.
  • Collect the right information, then give something back before the trial ask.
  • User interviews show people are happy they learned a concept during onboarding Leon Sasson, Rise11:34.
• Tie unfamiliar ideas to something users already know. Crystal Widjaja, Gojek and Kumu37:00
  • Many Gojek users did not know what a digital wallet was. The team put each user's virtual account number on a picture of a credit card and sent it.
  • Top-ups increased just from sending that picture.
• Bring users back to the emotion that made them download. Asia Paloni, Welltory31:00
  • After the permission and education screens, slow down with a question like "Ever feel tired even when you haven't done much all day?"
  • The goal is not mainly a yes. It is to return users to the place where they remember why they came.
  • Then show the user's own stress number for the day.
• Follow bad news with a screen that shows recovery. Asia Paloni, Welltory31:51
  • Telling people they are stressed makes them feel helpless. Welltory shifts to an empowerment narrative right away.
  • After showing 192 stress minutes, it shows a day timeline with a blue recovery period and says the body fought back.
  • Next comes a 30-day calendar of built-up stress, with only about 20 to 30% relieved without the app, then the paywall.

2.4 Ask questions and build commitment

Small, active steps make users invest in the plan before they are asked to pay.

• Get users to say yes several times before the paywall. Steve P. Young, Flo4:07
  • Flo shows a screen asking users to commit, such as agreeing to track periods and log symptoms, followed by a break screen.
  • Headway uses a fuller yes ladder. Its onboarding is a model to study Idan Waller and Steve P. Young, BlueThrone14:15.
• Ask users to commit to a goal and a pace. Steve P. Young, Learna6:35
  • Add a step where users pick a goal and commit to daily practice. Choosing how fast to go works too Steve P. Young, Cal AI5:00.
  • Duolingo already used commitment in onboarding Steve P. Young, Cal AI5:00.
  • WeWard rebuilt its onboarding around commitment and emotion. It was named the biggest win of the year, with a large increase in retention Yves Benchimol, WeWard59:58.
• Alternate questions with reading screens and proof. Steve P. Young, Cal AI4:27
  • Cal AI puts social proof screens with numbers between questions, so users get a break.
  • Coursiv shows an "AI profile" of where the user is and can get to, plus a personal challenge with a timeline across months CP Young, Coursiv5:08.
  • Sprout adds a fun-fact page right after "Have you tried other job search apps?" Nicole, Glam Up and Sprout17:50.
• Get users to put something of their own into the product. Steve Young and Lucas, Paddle10:10
  • A recipe app has users import a recipe. A photo and video client asked for photo access before the paywall, and conversions went up.
  • A debloat app has users scan their face and see a slightly exaggerated rating before the paywall. Users feel sunk cost and urgency Rafael Kramer24:58.

2.5 Build to a peak moment before the ask

End the story on a high point, so the paywall arrives when motivation is strongest.

• Make users feel the size of the payoff before the trial offer. Opal
  • Opal projects lifetime phone time and shows the years users could save. It works like the commitment effect of gym memberships.
  • The same framing also attracted users who were motivated to engage after the trial started.
• Show a personalized plan being built, then ready. Steve P. Young, RiseGuide6:21
  • Run a loading animation from 0 to 100%, then a "your personalized plan is ready" screen with a tap to commit.
  • Wisey ends with a 30-day plan of 90 short lessons, three a day, built around the user's goals. The first lesson earns a one-day streak Steve P. Young, Wisey3:37.
  • One founder saw a 10% conversion increase from this screen, which is anecdotal Steve P. Young, RiseGuide6:21.
  • Steve says it helped other clients by 9 to 10%. App Masters is adding it to its own app and will share data Steve P. Young, Productive4:45.
• Wow users and let them win. Ajay Mehta, Tolan29:04
  • Subscription-gated apps must reach an aha moment before users open Apple Pay. Tolan uses a cinematic story with a character called the Oracle who interviews you.
  • Cal AI ends with falling chips and money, a "setting everything up" screen and a congratulations screen with the user's goal. Steve calls it casino mentality Steve P. Young, Cal AI7:35.
  • Subtle animation lifts conversions in client A/B tests Steve P. Young, Breathwrk2:16.
• Test the screens before the paywall, not just the paywall. Leon Sasson, Rise18:28
  • Rise calls this the pre-paywall onboarding phase. Users should feel they are building toward something.
  • Rise has had a lot of success moving the paywall or changing the screens before it, without changing the paywall itself.

2.6 Place the paywall at the end of the story

Show the paywall inside onboarding, after the warm-up, and keep other asks out of its way.

• Put the paywall in the first-time experience. Jacob Eiting, RevenueCat40:12
  • Skipping it there is a huge unforced error. Make onboarding feel premium and convince the user the app is for them.
  • At Elevate, the team built an interactive 2D multimedia experience for the first two minutes.
  • Top decile apps have 3x higher trial start rates than the median, but only 2x better trial conversion.
  • Many people never reach the home screen, and 80% of downloaders do not come back the next day Josh and Steve P Young, Miracle Morning12:02.
• Warm users up first, do not lead with the paywall. Steve P. Young4:49
  • Tease the product and build up to the offer in a short sequence. Being too aggressive too early costs sales.
  • Adding an onboarding sequence before the paywall lifted results about 420% for one app and 30% for a bigger one Idan Waller and Steve P. Young, BlueThrone38:25.
• Hold back a high price until users are eased in. Steve P. Young and Rosie6:29
  • Second Nature costs about 70 pounds a quarter, so it shows no price at first. A quiz in the user's own language makes them feel known.
  • The first money screen asks whether they are ready to invest 10 pounds a week in their health. That is an easy yes.
  • Rosie nearly bought the app while only testing it, because the quiz felt so personal.
• Move account login to after the paywall. Brett Bauman and Zack Hargett, Coconote49:27
  • Apple and Google already identify the buyer. Create the account at the end of onboarding and link the purchase to it afterward.
  • Login as the first screen caused about 10% drop off. Moving it was their biggest onboarding win, though it takes plumbing because store purchase state and account state are separate.

2.7 Where they disagree

Some tactics depend on the product, so test them against your own flow.

• Permission requests before or after the paywall. Steve P. Young and Flo, Sick Days27:40
  • A blood pressure app saw conversions drop when it asked for Apple Health before the paywall, and do better after. Steve's rule: most things increase conversions except for health.
  • A photo client did better asking for photo access before the paywall Steve P. Young, Flo Period and Pregnancy Tracker3:30.
  • Welltory asks for health sync on screen one and over 90% connect, though Asia admits it is not tested thoroughly Asia Paloni, Welltory27:28. It also asks for notifications right away, against best practice, because that worked best Asia Paloni, Welltory28:31.
• Short onboarding or a longer teaching flow. Edward Tian, GPTZero24:00
  • A consumer product must be premium and quick to value. A product that changes how people work needs ongoing education.
  • Rise says concept products should not shorten onboarding Leon Sasson, Rise11:34.
  • A skeptical teacher shifted her view only after a whole series. Ambassadors who share the training carry that education at scale Edward Tian, GPTZero24:00.
• Show pricing after an intro, or send users straight into creating. Steve P. Young, Mematic5:21
  • Steve calls pricing during onboarding one of the best practices, after one or two intro screens.
  • He admits that sending users straight into creating is a reasonable alternative.
• How much the exact words matter. Dollar Shave Club
  • A conversational, playful tone in the early funnel steps led to a 5.24% increase in subscriptions. It was run as an A/B test.
  • Asia Paloni says the arc matters more than the words on any screen, so get the story right first Asia Paloni, Welltory25:54.