Product UX · Full App Redesign · Onboarding · Retention · Monetization · A/B Testing

From under-monetized to a $121K+ subscription product

Rebuilding a frequency wellness app around activation, retention, and monetization

A full product redesign for a frequency wellness app that already had users, but wasn’t turning that usage into strong retention or subscription revenue.

The work focused on rebuilding the experience around one clear idea

A full product redesign for a frequency wellness app that already had users, but wasn’t turning that usage into strong retention or subscription revenue.

The work focused on rebuilding the experience around one clear idea

Help users feel value faster, give them reasons to return, then make premium feel worth it.

The outcome

The app grew into a $121K+ subscription product after the product experience was rebuilt

and monetization was later tested through RevenueCat experiments.

But the important part is not just the revenue.

The real shift was this:

and monetization was later tested through RevenueCat experiments.

But the important part is not just the revenue.

The real shift was this:

The product stopped depending only on users opening the app.
It started giving them clearer reasons to stay, return, and subscribe.

Proof snapshot

Users were showing up, but not staying long enough to build habit or revenue.

and monetization was later tested through RevenueCat experiments.

But the important part is not just the revenue.

The real shift was this:

and monetization was later tested through RevenueCat experiments.

But the important part is not just the revenue.

The real shift was this:

The product stopped depending only on users opening the app.
It started giving them clearer reasons to stay, return, and subscribe.

Users were discovering the app, but the experience was not yet creating enough engagement, return behavior, or revenue.

Users were discovering the app, but the experience was not yet creating enough engagement, return behavior, or revenue.

The core problem

People opened the app, but didn’t have enough reason to come back.

The app had a useful concept, but the experience felt more like a list of sounds than a guided wellness routine.

For this kind of product, retention depends on habit.

So the redesign had to answer:

The app had a useful concept, but the experience felt more like a list of sounds than a guided wellness routine.

For this kind of product, retention depends on habit.

So the redesign had to answer:

What should users try first?
Why does it matter?
What brings them back tomorrow?

The original experience focused on playing a frequency, but the product needed stronger value framing, habit loops, and repeat-use moments.

The original experience focused on playing a frequency, but the product needed stronger value framing, habit loops, and repeat-use moments.

Strategy

Activation → Engagement → Retention → Monetization

The product needed a stronger foundation before the paywall could work harder.

Activation
Make the value clear in the first session.

Engagement
Give users more ways to explore.

Retention
Build repeat use through routines, playlists, reminders, and streaks.

Monetization
Connect premium to value users already understand.

The product needed a stronger foundation before the paywall could work harder.

Activation
Make the value clear in the first session.

Engagement
Give users more ways to explore.

Retention
Build repeat use through routines, playlists, reminders, and streaks.

Monetization
Connect premium to value users already understand.

The thinking behind the redesign

The research pointed to two priorities:

Day 1: immediate value

Help users quickly understand what frequency-based listening can support.

Day 2 onwards: Habit formation

Create reasons to return through daily plans, playlists, reminders, and challenge-based streaks.

The daily plan idea was especially focused on retention: users could start a 3-day or 7-day challenge, complete a short listening session, build a streak, and come back the next day to unlock the next session.

Not every idea from this research made it into the live redesign, but it helped shape the direction: the product needed to move from one-time listening to repeat wellness behavior.

Create reasons to return through daily plans, playlists, reminders, and challenge-based streaks.

Not every idea from this research made it into the live redesign, but it helped shape the direction: the product needed to move from one-time listening to repeat wellness behavior.

The research helped define the product direction: create immediate value first, then build habit loops through playlists, reminders, and future challenge-based routines.

The research helped define the product direction: create immediate value first, then build habit loops through playlists, reminders, and future challenge-based routines.

Onboarding

Build trust before asking for habit.

Frequency-based wellness can feel abstract.

So the first-time experience needed to do more than introduce the app. It had to help users understand what sound frequencies can support :focus, sleep, relaxation, calm, meditation, or emotional balance.

The onboarding was designed to do three jobs:

Build trust
Explain the value of sound-based wellness in a simple way.

Capture intent
Understand what the user wants support with.

Shape the experience
Use that intent to guide the homepage, recommendations, playlists, and premium messaging.

The goal was not to ask questions for the sake of personalization.

It was to make the first session feel more relevant.

The onboarding was designed to move users from curiosity to clarity: first explaining the value, then capturing intent, building trust, and leading into a more relevant premium moment.

The onboarding was designed to move users from curiosity to clarity: first explaining the value, then capturing intent, building trust, and leading into a more relevant premium moment.

Homepage redesign

Make the homepage a reason to return.

The homepage was redesigned to feel less like browsing and more like guidance.

It brought forward:

Recommended frequencies
Goal-based collections
Daily listening prompts
Favorites and playlists
Premium previews

The idea was simple:

The homepage was redesigned to feel less like browsing and more like guidance.

It brought forward:

Recommended frequencies
Goal-based collections
Daily listening prompts
Favorites and playlists
Premium previews

The idea was simple:

Don’t make users search for value. Bring the most relevant value forward.

The product needed more depth.

The redesign added product moments that gave users more reasons to explore and return.

Playlists helped users discover sounds by goal or mood.
Favorites made it easy to come back to saved sounds.
The player made listening feel more immersive.

Testing mindset

After the first redesigned onboarding went live, I mapped the next optimization path.

The first version was only the starting point.

I also prepared a phased testing plan to explore stronger hooks, shorter flows, clearer premium comparison, and softer upsell moments — using competitor patterns and app references as inspiration.

Not all of this launched before the product was sold, so I’m not treating it as part of the outcome.

But the goal was clear:

Keep improving the funnel one hypothesis at a time.

Planned tests included:

Stronger hook
Test a clearer first impression.

Shorter flow
Remove weak education and reduce friction.

Premium comparison
Show why upgrade matters before the paywall.

Softer upsell
Test reminder, banner, and rescue offers.

Monetization validation

The monetization work was tested in phases, not changed all at once.

One live RevenueCat experiment tested what to keep and what to remove before the paywall.

Variant B introduced two changes:

Personalized outcome message
A message based on the user’s selected goal, like sleep, focus, stress relief, meditation, or recovery.

Reminder selection
A step where users chose when they wanted to be reminded before the trial ended.

The result was not a simple win or loss.

Personalization helped build intent, but the reminder step created friction. It asked users to think about cancellation before they had fully committed.

The result was not a simple win or loss.

Personalization helped build intent, but the reminder step created friction. It asked users to think about cancellation before they had fully committed.

So the next decision became clear:

Keep personalization.
Remove the reminder decision.
Add premium comparison before the paywall.
Show the reminder passively inside the paywall.

This test mattered because it didn’t just show performance.
It showed where the flow was helping, and where it was breaking momentum.

So the next decision became clear:

Keep personalization.
Remove the reminder decision.
Add premium comparison before the paywall.
Show the reminder passively inside the paywall.

This test mattered because it didn’t just show performance.
It showed where the flow was helping, and where it was breaking momentum.

Decision made from data:
Keep personalization → remove reminder step → add value comparison before paywall.

Outcome

The app eventually reached $121K+ in subscription revenue.

Average engagement also improved from around 1m 33s to 8m+.

The outcome came from strengthening the whole product journey:

Clearer onboarding
More useful homepage
Deeper feature set
Stronger retention loops
Validated monetization experiments

The redesign helped turn an app with existing traffic but weak product pull into a stronger subscription experience with higher engagement, clearer premium value, and stronger in revenue.

This case study is based on work completed as part of a contract engagement. Client branding, sensitive visuals, and analytics details have been anonymized or recreated where needed.

Confidentiality note

Outcome

The app eventually reached $121K+ in subscription revenue.

Average engagement also improved from around 1m 33s to 8m+.

The outcome came from strengthening the whole product journey:

Clearer onboarding
More useful homepage
Deeper feature set
Stronger retention loops
Validated monetization experiments

The redesign helped turn an app with existing traffic but weak product pull into a stronger subscription experience with higher engagement, clearer premium value, and stronger in revenue.

Confidentiality note

This case study is based on work completed as part of a contract engagement. Client branding, sensitive visuals, and analytics details have been anonymized or recreated where needed.

Contact

Ready to

improve the flow?

Bring the app, website, or flow you’re trying to improve. I’ll help you understand whether you need a focused review, UX/UI execution, or a larger product engagement.

Book a discovery call

No pressure. Just a quick conversation to understand what’s blocking progress.