Podcast App onboarding teardown

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Paywall is the very first screen, before any signup or a single play. One plan, $34.99/year with a 7-day trial and a dismissible X. You're asking at peak install intent, which catches the people who already decided they want a podcast app, but you've built zero value yet so most will hit the X. I'd test firing this after one episode plays.

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The ATT prompt fires right on top of the paywall, and the copy is honest about it: 'deliver personalized ads to you.' Stacking the tracking ask on the monetization moment is a lot to throw at someone in the first ten seconds. Honest copy tends to lower opt-in, so I'd test moving ATT to after they've played something.

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Login and Import sit up in the corners, never forced, and the 'onboarding' is just browsing real podcast tiles by category. Deferring account creation like this lowers dropout since people can use the app before committing. Sensible for a content app where the value is obvious.

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Rate prompt this early, before they've listened to anything. You're asking for five stars before earning them, which risks low or negative ratings from people who haven't felt any value. I'd gate it behind an actual listen or two.

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Two things stacked on the home feed: a 'Stay up to date' notification primer and a banner cross-promoting their sleep app ('Enjoy +700 nights of sleep stories & sounds'). The cross-sell to a sister app is a cheap way to move installs between owned apps.

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They route you all the way out to the App Store page for 'Rest: Coach for Better Sleep,' a sibling app from the same publisher. Cross-promoting an owned app to existing users is about the cheapest acquisition channel there is. Bold to do it mid-onboarding though, before the podcast app has hooked anyone.

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Browse by Interest, the one bit of personalization in the flow, and it lands post-paywall inside the app. Picking categories here could feed a better first session, but none of it is captured before the paywall where it would help justify the price.

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Same paywall again, now reached from a permanent Premium tab, button reworded to 'Try Free & Subscribe.' Most people never convert on the first paywall, so a standing entry point that re-asks whenever intent spikes picks up the later buyers.

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