# Free Trial Conversion Page: https://alidemirbas.com.tr/en/lab/journeys/free-trial-conversion Trial started → first value → paid conversion or handoff at expiry ## Purpose Guide a new trial user to the core value event before asking them to pay. Goal: Progression & Milestone · Category: Activation & Usage ## Steps - **Trigger**: Free trial started - **Action**: Email: Introduce the first value-producing action - **Wait**: Wait 2 days - **Decision**: Was the core value event completed? - Yes: In-app: Show the next relevant capability - No: In-app: Show the next required step - **Action**: In-app: Show the next relevant capability - **Action**: In-app: Show the next required step - **Wait**: Wait until 7 days remain - **Decision**: Paid? - Yes: Paid conversion completed - No: Move to Trial Expiry Reminder - **Exit**: Paid conversion completed - **Handoff**: Move to Trial Expiry Reminder ## Guardrails - Do not cover activation problems with discounts. - Stop onboarding messages when the user converts. ## Core rule Activation comes before conversion; hand off to expiry messaging only when its window opens. ## When to set it up This journey belongs where most trials end without the core value event ever happening and trial-to-paid conversion stays low. Define the core value action before you start; trial start, that action, the trial end date and the plan change must be tracked on the same account, with an email address and an in-app message surface ready. If accounts that complete the core value action still do not pay, the problem is plan or price fit rather than activation; a discount will hide that problem, not solve it. ## How to set it up - **Trigger and entry**: Entry happens the moment a free trial starts. Randomly assign trial accounts to the journey group or to a control group that receives none of the onboarding messages; both groups get the same handoff when seven days remain. - **Who must not enter**: Accounts that already hold a paid plan or are not eligible for a trial do not enter. Each trial runs its own instance: no second flow opens for the same trial, and an account already handed to Trial Expiry Reminder gets no message from here. - **Timing and channels**: An email introducing the first value-producing action goes out as soon as the trial starts. After 2 days the core value event is checked: accounts that completed it see the next relevant capability in-app, the others see the next required step. The journey then waits until 7 days remain in the trial. - **Exit and handoff**: With 7 days remaining, paid status is checked: a paid account ends in the Paid conversion completed exit, an unpaid one is handed to Trial Expiry Reminder. If the account pays earlier, the remaining onboarding message stops and the journey ends through the same exit. - **Frequency and consent**: Each trial gets one email and one in-app message at most. The email goes only to accounts with email subscription; the in-app message shows when the user is in the product, and the 2-day check decides which of the two versions appears. ## How to measure success **Incremental trial-to-paid rate vs control**: The journey aims past activation at payment; more accounts reaching first value does not count as paid conversion on its own. Among all trial accounts assigned at entry to the journey and control groups, the share that moves to a paid plan within the same follow-up window, long enough for the trial to mature; the gap between the two shares is the journey's effect. Email delivery or in-app views do not change the denominator. Also track: - **First-value completion rate**: By the 2-day check, how many assigned accounts have completed the core value event; the intermediate step before payment, and what splits the two in-app branches. - **Paid conversion by branch**: Read paid conversion separately for accounts that reached first value and those that did not; it shows the link between activation and payment instead of assuming it. - **Share handed off**: The share of accounts handed to Trial Expiry Reminder unpaid with 7 days left; it shows how much of the work this journey leaves to the expiry window. - **Unsubscribes and dismissals**: Watch email unsubscribes and in-app dismissals; permission lost from a new trial user also weakens the expiry messaging that follows. ## What to watch when reading the result - If paid conversion shows no gap over the control group, more accounts reaching first value does not justify the journey; report activation and payment separately. Where there is a gap, read it alongside dismissals and unsubscribes. - What you measured depends on the email then in-app order, the 2-day check and the handoff with 7 days left. Because both groups are handed off, the payment gap comes only from the onboarding touches; a payment after the handoff also enters Trial Expiry Reminder's own read, so do not add it up as two journeys' gains. - With an unclear gap, do not decide before the trials have ended; the follow-up window must cover trial expiry. Then enter each group's accounts and payments into the [A/B test significance calculator](https://alidemirbas.com.tr/en/calculators/ab-test) and see whether the gap is significant. - Even if a discount seems to lift payment among accounts that never activated, it covers the activation problem; before adding a discount to the journey, find out why the required step is not being completed. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What should a free-trial journey explain on day one? Guide the user toward one action that delivers initial value. Help complete its prerequisites before presenting extensive plan comparisons. This example checks first value two days after the initial email. ### Is free-trial conversion the same as a trial-expiry reminder? They address different needs. The first supports activation and relevant next steps. Expiry reminders explain dates, plans and access changes. This example hands over seven days before expiry. Prevent overlapping messages from both sequences. ### Does higher trial activation imply higher paid conversion? No. Measure first value and paid conversion separately using a follow-up window long enough for the trial to mature. More activation does not guarantee more payments or sustained retention.