Worklog with Shawn Hickman

Should You Offer a Free Trial? Here’s Why I Said “No” for My App

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In this video, I’m sharing why I don’t offer a free trial for my app, Sofa.

When I first launched the Super Sofa subscription, I struggled with decisions around pricing and whether or not to offer a free trial. Most advice said, “You should offer a free trial because that’s what everyone does.” But that never sat right with me.

Now, after a few years of running a subscription app without a free trial, I’ve gained clarity on why I don’t do it — and why Sofa’s freemium model works better without one.

I’m not against free trials! They can work great for certain products. But for Sofa, it doesn’t make sense. In this video, I’ll walk through my thought process and explain why.

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Chapters

  • (00:00) - Intro
  • (00:15) - A little context
  • (02:05) - Camera car mount
  • (03:11) - In the car
  • (03:45) - Purpose of free trials
  • (05:16) - Sofa is a freemium product
  • (09:02) - What I've learned about Sofa
  • (13:09) - Some advice

    • Links
    • Sofa's Website
    • Download Sofa from the App Store
    • Worklog Podcast Website
    • Shawn's Blog
    • Notion and spreadsheet templates

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    Worklog with Shawn HickmanBy Shawn Hickman