Key insights from App Growth Annual 2024

Last week’s inaugural App Growth Annual was truly something special. With a full day of in-depth insights, we’re here to share some of the highlights that stood out to us the most.

But first up, we’ve teamed up with Sylvain Gauchet of Growth Gems (and Babbel) to offer you what is the most comprehensive roundup of takeaways you could hope for. Head on over to this LinkedIn post and you’ll find a downloadable PDF with over 120+ insights plucked from the day’s talks, one of the workshops, as well as our webinar series leading up to the big day.

In this post, I’ll be cherry-picking a few of my personal favorites, plus sharing all of the available recordings so you can catch up on anything you missed.

Phil Carter: The Subscription Value Loop — A framework for growing consumer subscription businesses

1. Prioritize product-market fit for strong value creation: Building a strong foundation starts with nailing your product-market fit. Use tools like the Product-Market Fit Survey to gauge how well your app resonates with users. Aim for over 40% of respondents to say they’d be “very disappointed” if they could no longer use your product. If you’re below that mark, focus on the user segments that score higher and iterate on your product until you get there.
2. Leverage the Subscription Value Loop to drive compounding growth: The best subscription apps drive growth through a framework of Value Creation, Value Delivery, and Value Capture. Quickly connect users to your app’s core value proposition, distribute through sustainable paid and organic channels, and capture enough value (revenue) to reinvest back into your growth.
3. Design a flexible pricing and packaging strategy: A single subscription tier doesn’t give you much room to optimize or capture varying levels of willingness to pay. Instead, introduce multiple subscription tiers to appeal to a broader range of users. For example, Tinder’s various tiers — Plus, Gold, and Platinum — offer different levels of value, helping users find the right fit while maximizing revenue.
4. Don’t underestimate the power of paywall testing: Your paywall’s visibility and conversion are critical to revenue growth. Maximize your paywall view rate by testing its placement throughout the user journey: pre-onboarding, during onboarding, and post-onboarding. Aim for an 80% paywall view rate, as suggested by industry benchmarks.
5. Minimize involuntary churn to boost long-term retention: Involuntary churn can silently erode your subscriber base. Reduce failed payments by using techniques like dunning (retrying failed payments), validating payment information before purchase, and proactively communicating with users about billing issues. Supporting alternative payment methods like Apple Pay or local payment options can also help retain users who might otherwise churn.

Tammy Taw — Finding success on Google Play: Android buyer insights and revenue optimization strategies

1. Understand your buyer segments to maximize revenue: Different segments of buyers — subscribers, in-app purchasers (IAP), and hybrid buyers — behave uniquely across geos and categories. Hybrid buyers, for example, make up only 7% of buyers but generate 25% of total revenue. Identify these segments and their behaviors to refine your pricing strategy and boost monetization.
2. Tailor your pricing strategies by geography and category: Buyer behavior and spending patterns vary widely between geographies and app categories. For instance, North America has a higher proportion of subscription buyers, while regions like Japan and South Korea lean towards IAPs. Align your pricing and SKUs to these market preferences to capture more value.
3. Introduce IAPs to complement your subscription offering: In-app purchases can play a dual role: attracting hesitant buyers with standalone offers (e.g., 3-day passes) and adding more value for existing subscribers (e.g., consumable content or virtual currency). By carefully segmenting your offers and pricing, you can enhance user experience without cannibalizing your core subscription.
4. Experiment with subscription tiers and localized pricing: Increase your conversion rates by offering various subscription tiers (e.g., weekly, monthly, annual) that cater to different user needs and local economic contexts. Weekly plans can be effective for lower-intent segments, while localized pricing can help improve conversion in emerging markets.
5. Dynamically move users between buyer segments to maximize LTV: Leverage user behavior data to move customers between segments, such as from “hesitant buyer” to “committed subscriber.” Use cues like acquisition source, device type, and responses during onboarding to understand intent and optimize the offers you present at different stages of their journey.

Gina Gotthilf — They clicked on my ad, now what? How to optimize landing pages and onboarding

1. Simplify copy and design to boost conversions: Users have short attention spans — assume laziness when designing landing pages and onboarding flows. Use a 5th to 7th grade reading level for your copy and reduce visual clutter to make your key message stand out. Keep the page focused with a single call-to-action (CTA), and make sure your headline directly supports what the button says.
2. Optimize for mobile first: Mobile visitors outnumber desktop users 5:1, but desktop visitors convert at a slightly higher rate. To take advantage of mobile’s volume, ensure your key value proposition is visible without needing to scroll. Use a simplified visual hierarchy to make it easy for users to engage with your content on small screens.
3. Gradually upsell through soft walls: Don’t push users to sign up or upgrade too soon. Allow them to experience value first — like trying a lesson on Duolingo before creating an account. Repeatedly prompt users at strategic moments to create profiles or upgrade to premium, leveraging soft walls and loss aversion to increase engagement and drive conversions.
4. Amplify your PR efforts with urgency: Create a sense of urgency to boost your PR results. When launching Duolingo in new markets, Gina would arrange for Luis von Ahn to speak at top universities and conferences, using these appearances to establish credibility and secure interviews with local journalists. Learn more about PR for app launches and promotion.
5. Think beyond traditional ads: An “ad” is anything that moves a potential user from outside your product into your product. This could be a social media post, a PR mention, or even an email campaign. Consider every touchpoint an opportunity to build user trust and drive them deeper into your app’s world.

Nikita Bier — Sub Club podcast live: Unconventional growth tactics for subscription apps

1. Sequence your launches for validation and growth: Going viral doesn’t happen overnight. Test your app’s potential to grow within small, defined communities (like a single school or social circle) before expanding. Then, validate your app’s monetization strategy before going broader. By optimizing for network effects in smaller segments, you can set the foundation for larger-scale growth.
2. Prioritize activation over monetization when necessary: Monetizing too early can limit your app’s growth potential, especially if activation requires a certain number of users or interactions. Prioritize activation to establish strong network effects and a healthy user base before pushing for monetization.
3. Use progressive design to adapt the app experience: Your app’s design should evolve based on user stages and community dynamics. This means changing the user interface, content, and messaging as users progress through different phases — from onboarding to regular use — to maximize engagement and conversion.
4. Lean into product-led growth channels: Certain channels, like SMS invites and one-to-many story posts (on Instagram or LinkedIn), are ideal for product-led growth. You’ll get more traction with younger audiences through one-to-many sharing, while older users respond better to 1:1 sharing.
5. Capture latent demand through user observation: Look for patterns in how users engage with your product or similar products. For example, Nikita’s idea for Gas stemmed from observing trends like teens using emojis for feedback and the popularity of anonymous feedback apps. Identify what’s driving behavior and use those insights to shape your product strategy.

Yu-kai Chou — Applying the Octalysis Framework: Increase conversion, monetization, and retention by harnessing your users’ intrinsic motivations

1. Leverage the 8 core drives of motivation: The Octalysis Framework identifies 8 core drives that power user motivation: 1️⃣ Epic Meaning & Calling, 2️⃣ Development & Accomplishment, 3️⃣ Empowerment of Creativity & Feedback, 4️⃣ Ownership & Possession, 5️⃣ Social Influence & Relatedness, 6️⃣ Scarcity & Impatience, 7️⃣ Unpredictability & Curiosity, and 8️⃣ Loss & Avoidance. If your product lacks any of these core drives, there’s little motivation for users to engage. Map out where these drives appear in your app and fill any gaps.
2. Create a balance of white hat and black hat motivators: “White hat” motivators (e.g., empowerment, meaning, and accomplishment) make users feel good and in control, but they lack urgency. “Black hat” motivators (e.g., scarcity and loss) create urgency and obsession but can lead to burnout if overused. Combine both types to create compelling experiences that drive long-term engagement without pushing users away.
3. Use scarcity and exclusivity to drive action: People want what they can’t have. Implement scarcity tactics like limited-time offers, invite-only access, or temporary promotions to boost motivation. A great example is referral programs that restrict the number of invites a user can send — this creates a sense of exclusivity and urgency.
4. Harness the power of unpredictability and curiosity: Create anticipation and excitement by adding elements of unpredictability to your app. Daily rewards, randomized bonuses, or hidden “easter eggs” can keep users coming back. But avoid attaching these surprises to heavy tasks — associate them with simple actions like opening the app to prevent user fatigue.
5. Avoid the “data illusion” when optimizing for black hat motivation: Be cautious when analyzing data linked to black hat techniques like urgency or FOMO. These tactics can temporarily boost engagement, but over-reliance may lead to high churn. Consider the broader context and user happiness — not just the numbers — when deciding whether to implement or scale back on black hat strategies.

Jacob Eiting — Closing keynote

1. The growth loop is a long game — Jacob emphasized that there’s no magic bullet for sustainable growth. Building, acquiring, converting, and retaining users is an ongoing process that requires persistent effort and iteration. At RevenueCat, we see this play out every day — it’s all about finding where we can help developers add value at each stage and continuously grinding through the process.
2. Our mission: help developers make more money: RevenueCat was built on a straightforward mission: helping developers succeed financially by providing the tools and infrastructure needed to monetize their apps. Jacob believes charging users in an honest, straightforward way is the best path to creating long-term value for both developers and their users. It’s why we’re laser-focused on solving these problems.
3. Staying grounded in data and financial transparency: One of the reasons RevenueCat has been able to scale sustainably is through clear financial management and transparency. We’ve raised over $60 million in funding, with more than half still in the bank, giving us more than 5 years of runway. That solid financial position allows us to keep building better products, supporting developers, and investing back into the subscription app ecosystem.
4. Expanding into new areas like web billing and paywalls: RevenueCat is constantly evolving our product suite to better support developers. We’re rolling out web billing integrations, predictive LTV models, and a fully customizable paywall product — all designed to give developers the flexibility and insights they need to test, iterate, and optimize their revenue strategies.
5. Why we acquired Dipsea — and what it means for you: One of the more surprising announcements from Jacob’s keynote was our acquisition of Dipsea, a spicy audiobook app and one of our earliest customers. This move gives us a unique opportunity to gain first-hand experience operating a large-scale subscription app, experiment with our tools, and directly apply what we learn to build even better products for our customers. We’re looking forward to sharing these learnings with you all. Read all about our acquisition here.

And the workshops

While the workshops weren’t recorded — these were private sessions where everyone could be candid with their input and experiences — I didn’t want to end without featuring them in some way. So, here’s a gallery with a photo from each session!