We launched a web subscription that’s 30% cheaper than our iOS IAP tier but getting existing subscribers to migrate is proving harder than expected.
Anyone dealt with this transition before? What messaging actually worked for you?
Email campaigns beat in-app notifications here. People need time to think before they’ll switch.
Timing beats everything else. Catch them right after they’ve used a premium feature they actually love - that’s when the value’s still fresh. Skip the savings pitch upfront. Lead with what they’ll keep or get extra, then drop the price difference as a nice bonus. Always add a deadline. Open enrollment works because nobody wants to miss a deal they’re eligible for.
We tried this with our photo editing app - biggest problem was trust. People assume there’s a catch when something costs less.
Transparency saved us. We straight up told users why it’s cheaper: Apple grabs 30%, so we’re passing those savings along. Suddenly it felt like getting an insider deal, not buying something inferior.
The switch had to be brain-dead simple too. One-click migration that automatically kills the old subscription. Make them cancel manually and you’ll lose half your conversions.