This simple fix increased his conversion to 27%

August 20, 2026

Hey there,

Every user who reaches your paywall has seen a hundred paywalls before yours.

They know the pattern. Free app, nice onboarding, then the wall.

So by the time they get to yours, they're already braced. Their guard is up, and their thumb is hovering over the close button, waiting to get squeezed.

That flinch is where your conversion rate dies. You spent the whole onboarding earning their trust and lose it in the half second before the ask.

Cal AI found a solution for this, and they're doing $2M a month.

You want 2 screens before your actual paywall.

Screen 1 says:

"We want you to try [app name] for free so you can [benefit/emotion]."

Screen 2 says:

"We'll send you a reminder before your free trial ends."

Those two screens do something the paywall itself can never do.

Before you mention money at all, the user learns this is genuinely free and that no charge will sneak up on them. You just killed the exact fear they walked in with.

Now when the paywall shows up, the guard is already down.

One of my members added the two screens to his app. 27% converted into the free trial.

Screen two has a bonus: 

The user has to opt into push notifications to get your reminder. So you're collecting a permission most apps beg for later, and you're getting it at the exact moment the user wants to say yes.

That’s app marketing psychology 101.

Tell them it's free. Tell them you'll warn them before it ends. Then make the ask, to a user who is ready to buy.

Peace,
Steven