Nancy Anderson
Fitness professional (20 years, MS kinesiology) turned app founder; built a pre/postnatal fitness audience organically, ran white-label apps, then launched the custom app Natal (~$25/month). Known in Sub Club for removing the free trial from the monthly plan (monthly subs +2,000%) and early adoption of HSA payments via Flex.
Strong on: trust-first, founder-led content; high-touch community and support (24-hour human replies); onboarding segmentation by life phase.
Bias to keep in mind: results lean on a personal brand and highly trusting audience; several numbers are self-reported and compared to industry averages she quotes.
Sources: sources/youtube/sub-club-by-revenuecat/2026-05-27-*.
Notes citing Nancy Anderson
- Accepting HSA/FSA payments in health & fitness apps (US)US health and fitness apps can let users pay subscriptions with pre-tax HSA dollars via Flex (RevenueCat integration) — Natal made tens of thousands of dollars in two weeks without announcing it, offering it on the annual plan with a trial; Ladder also rolled it out.
- Free tier or not? Freemium vs charging from day oneWhether to offer a free tier at all — RevenueCat data shows no-free-tier apps convert 10.7% vs 2.1% by day 35 with equal retention, but a free tier pays when free users are your marketing (Opal) or your network (Tinder).
- Hard vs soft paywallsWhen to force users to pay or leave (hard paywall) versus letting them close it (soft), with a case where adding the X halved revenue.
- Judge paywall tests on net revenue after refunds (matured cohorts)Trial-start lifts from forcing tactics (no X, undismissable discount) can be wiped out by refunds — BoldVoice's refunds rose more than trial starts — so score paywall experiments on net revenue after refunds per exposed user on a matured cohort (trial + ~1 week + ≥2 weeks).
- Long or short onboarding before the paywall? (avoid the middle)Sesame's GLP-1 intake went from 3 to ~25 steps and conversion rose 40% (step-to-step >99%), while Tinder won by cutting dating sign-up to ~90 seconds — pick long or short based on the aha moment and decision stakes, never a "balanced" middle; remove negative-psych steps like password creation.
- Raising subscription prices (Skylight $39 → $79)How Skylight doubled its subscription from $39 to $79/year with minimal loss of attach or retention — price tests (incl. hardware discount), choosing below the ARPU-max $99, grandfathering existing subscribers, honouring the old price on request.
- Removing the free trial (pay-up-front plans)When dropping the free trial wins — Natal's no-trial monthly grew monthly subs 2,000% (quarterly +46%, annual +21%), Claim went paid-only after 34% trial starts and 50–55% trial-to-paid — and the prerequisites, plus counter-cases (Ladder, Skylight).
- Reverse trials — converting users who closed the paywallGive users who dismiss the paywall a free week of Pro, push them to enable Pro features, then warn that Pro is ending and offer a discount — Momingo's free-user conversion went 0.4% → 4.5%.
- Subscription funnel benchmarks (trial start, trial-to-paid, install-to-paid, LTV per install)Target numbers for subscription apps — 5–10% install-to-trial (10%+ with a hard paywall), 30–40% trial-to-paid, ~2–3% install-to-paid, and ≥$3 realised LTV per install before scaling Meta.
- The three-screen pre-paywall sequence (explain the free trial)A 2–3 screen sequence before the paywall ("try free", "we'll remind you before it ends", trial timeline) that raised trial starts 56% in one app; Blinkist, Rest of Me, Cal AI variants.
- What to put behind the paywall (drawing the free/paid line)How to decide which features are free vs paid — keep the core promise free, gate new self-explanatory features, start things behind the paywall (moving out is easy, moving in is painful), meter usage visibly, and watch for "disgust" reactions, not just A/B lifts.
- What to show when users close the paywall (exit offers)Exit-offer ladder for dismissed paywalls — longer (14-day) trial, discount, discount + trial, free credits followed by a review prompt, and finally a forced email capture.