Upselling FAST Users
Removing sign up friction increased engagement but dropped trial starts 40%. I designed upsell moments that made premium value clear and brought conversion back.
We Removed Sign Up Friction. Then We Fixed What Broke.
The bet seemed obvious. Let users watch FAST content without signing up first. Less friction, more engagement, easier entry. It worked. Kind of.
People came in. They watched. They stayed. But trial starts dropped 40%. We didn't lose users. We lost intent.
What Actually Changed
Before this, signing up meant something. If someone created an account, they already wanted something. Intent was baked into the flow.
Remove that gate and you get a completely different user. They're not trying to subscribe. They're exploring. We treated them the same anyway. That was the mistake.
The Real Problem
We assumed users didn't want to pay. Turns out they just didn't get it.
Free users saw premium content everywhere but had no context for what they were missing. No clear path. No explanation of the difference. Just a wall they hit eventually, or didn't.
My Role
I owned fixing this without undoing the freemium shift. Not just designing an upsell. Designing when it shows up, where it lives, how it fits.
That meant mapping upgrade entry points inside FAST, working with Growth on test strategy, partnering with research on messaging, and sequencing experiments from fast to heavy lift.
This wasn't about pushing harder. It was about being smarter.
Three Ways to Test It
Instead of overbuilding, we tested three approaches.
In Row. A simple content row showing premium content with a strong headline. Fast to ship, low risk.
Home Hero.
A dedicated hero slot with more room to explain value. Higher visibility, but risk of confusing the free experience.
Promotional Wrapper. A bigger, more expressive row format that could fully tell the story. Most compelling, but required building something new.
We didn't pick one. We sequenced them.
What the Research Taught Us
Before placement, we tested language. Because if the message doesn't land, nothing else matters. We ran user research with three title variants:
"70+ Premium Networks," "Available with Upgrade," and "Upgrade to Premium." We also tested "Upgrade for Full Access" and "Upgrade to Philo Core."
"Upgrade for Full Access to 70+ Premium Channels — Try 7 Days Free" won. 44% of users preferred it. It was clear, specific, and low risk.
Not "Philo Core." Not "Premium Networks." Just straight up: here's what you get, here's how many, you can try it.
That clarity mattered more than any layout decision.
What Worked
The In Row test proved the concept. Users noticed it. They clicked. Conversion improved.
But it had limits. One line of text can only do so much.
Home Hero gave us more room to explain. Better context. Stronger visuals. Clearer CTA. That's where things started to click.
The Promotional Wrapper showed promise too. Bigger format, more immersive, could pair with the upgrade value prop pop-up. But it cost more to build and we hadn't proven the concept yet.
The Real Takeaway
Placement matters, but context matters more.
If users understand what they're getting, they'll move. The 40% drop wasn't because we made it too easy to enter. It was because we failed to explain the value of staying.
Fixing that didn't mean adding friction back. It meant adding clarity forward.
Built in Figma Sites (Beta)
© Selected Works / Tay Williams
2018—2026
Upselling FAST Users
Removing sign up friction increased engagement but dropped trial starts 40%. I designed upsell moments that made premium value clear and brought conversion back.
We Removed Sign Up Friction. Then We Fixed What Broke.
The bet seemed obvious. Let users watch FAST content without signing up first. Less friction, more engagement, easier entry. It worked. Kind of.
People came in. They watched. They stayed. But trial starts dropped 40%. We didn't lose users. We lost intent.
What Actually Changed
Before this, signing up meant something. If someone created an account, they already wanted something. Intent was baked into the flow.
Remove that gate and you get a completely different user. They're not trying to subscribe. They're exploring. We treated them the same anyway. That was the mistake.
The Real Problem
We assumed users didn't want to pay. Turns out they just didn't get it.
Free users saw premium content everywhere but had no context for what they were missing. No clear path. No explanation of the difference. Just a wall they hit eventually, or didn't.
My Role
I owned fixing this without undoing the freemium shift. Not just designing an upsell. Designing when it shows up, where it lives, how it fits.
That meant mapping upgrade entry points inside FAST, working with Growth on test strategy, partnering with research on messaging, and sequencing experiments from fast to heavy lift.
This wasn't about pushing harder. It was about being smarter.
Three Ways to Test It
Instead of overbuilding, we tested three approaches.
In Row. A simple content row showing premium content with a strong headline. Fast to ship, low risk.
Home Hero.
A dedicated hero slot with more room to explain value. Higher visibility, but risk of confusing the free experience.
Promotional Wrapper. A bigger, more expressive row format that could fully tell the story. Most compelling, but required building something new.
We didn't pick one. We sequenced them.
What the Research Taught Us
Before placement, we tested language. Because if the message doesn't land, nothing else matters. We ran user research with three title variants:
"70+ Premium Networks," "Available with Upgrade," and "Upgrade to Premium." We also tested "Upgrade for Full Access" and "Upgrade to Philo Core."
"Upgrade for Full Access to 70+ Premium Channels — Try 7 Days Free" won. 44% of users preferred it. It was clear, specific, and low risk.
Not "Philo Core." Not "Premium Networks." Just straight up: here's what you get, here's how many, you can try it.
That clarity mattered more than any layout decision.
What Worked
The In Row test proved the concept. Users noticed it. They clicked. Conversion improved.
But it had limits. One line of text can only do so much.
Home Hero gave us more room to explain. Better context. Stronger visuals. Clearer CTA. That's where things started to click.
The Promotional Wrapper showed promise too. Bigger format, more immersive, could pair with the upgrade value prop pop-up. But it cost more to build and we hadn't proven the concept yet.
The Real Takeaway
Placement matters, but context matters more.
If users understand what they're getting, they'll move. The 40% drop wasn't because we made it too easy to enter. It was because we failed to explain the value of staying.
Fixing that didn't mean adding friction back. It meant adding clarity forward.
Built in Figma Sites (Beta)
© Selected Works / Tay Williams
2018—2026
Upselling FAST Users
Removing sign up friction increased engagement but dropped trial starts 40%. I designed upsell moments that made premium value clear and brought conversion back.
We Removed Sign Up Friction. Then We Fixed What Broke.
The bet seemed obvious. Let users watch FAST content without signing up first. Less friction, more engagement, easier entry. It worked. Kind of.
People came in. They watched. They stayed. But trial starts dropped 40%. We didn't lose users. We lost intent.
What Actually Changed
Before this, signing up meant something. If someone created an account, they already wanted something. Intent was baked into the flow.
Remove that gate and you get a completely different user. They're not trying to subscribe. They're exploring. We treated them the same anyway. That was the mistake.
The Real Problem
We assumed users didn't want to pay. Turns out they just didn't get it.
Free users saw premium content everywhere but had no context for what they were missing. No clear path. No explanation of the difference. Just a wall they hit eventually, or didn't.
My Role
I owned fixing this without undoing the freemium shift. Not just designing an upsell. Designing when it shows up, where it lives, how it fits.
That meant mapping upgrade entry points inside FAST, working with Growth on test strategy, partnering with research on messaging, and sequencing experiments from fast to heavy lift.
This wasn't about pushing harder. It was about being smarter.
Three Ways to Test It
Instead of overbuilding, we tested three approaches.
In Row. A simple content row showing premium content with a strong headline. Fast to ship, low risk.
Home Hero.
A dedicated hero slot with more room to explain value. Higher visibility, but risk of confusing the free experience.
Promotional Wrapper. A bigger, more expressive row format that could fully tell the story. Most compelling, but required building something new.
We didn't pick one. We sequenced them.
What the Research Taught Us
Before placement, we tested language. Because if the message doesn't land, nothing else matters. We ran user research with three title variants:
"70+ Premium Networks," "Available with Upgrade," and "Upgrade to Premium." We also tested "Upgrade for Full Access" and "Upgrade to Philo Core."
"Upgrade for Full Access to 70+ Premium Channels — Try 7 Days Free" won. 44% of users preferred it. It was clear, specific, and low risk.
Not "Philo Core." Not "Premium Networks." Just straight up: here's what you get, here's how many, you can try it.
That clarity mattered more than any layout decision.
What Worked
The In Row test proved the concept. Users noticed it. They clicked. Conversion improved.
But it had limits. One line of text can only do so much.
Home Hero gave us more room to explain. Better context. Stronger visuals. Clearer CTA. That's where things started to click.
The Promotional Wrapper showed promise too. Bigger format, more immersive, could pair with the upgrade value prop pop-up. But it cost more to build and we hadn't proven the concept yet.
The Real Takeaway
Placement matters, but context matters more.
If users understand what they're getting, they'll move. The 40% drop wasn't because we made it too easy to enter. It was because we failed to explain the value of staying.
Fixing that didn't mean adding friction back. It meant adding clarity forward.
Built in Figma Sites (Beta)
© Selected Works / Tay Williams
2018—2026